LETTERS

Kashmir

"Kashmir after Kargil and Kandahar" might have been a more appropriate title for the Cover Story ("Kashmir after Kandahar," February 4). Hundreds of Pakistani militants might have infiltrated into Kashmir during the Kargil war, leading to a spurt in terr orist activities. Unless Pakistan realises that a third party may be only interested in the continuation of the Kashmir problem, which could weaken both Pakistan and India, the Kashmir problem cannot be solved. A tough policy that seeks to flush out the militants and strengthen border security is necessary.

A. Jacob Sahayam Karigiri,
Tamil Nadu

The story is fundamentally wrong. Your comparisons are totally wrong. We are paying for the blunders made by the Nehru dynasty. Don't get biased just because you don't like the BJP.

Dr. P. M. Thangamathesvaran
Received on e-mail

The article "Alienation and the revival of militancy" should be an eye-opener for people who wish to underplay the revival of militancy and the almost total alienation of the masses from the State and Central governments. Kargil presented an opportunity to bring the Kashmiri people closer to the national mainstream but it was missed. Now there is a war-like situation in the valley, with the militants gaining the upper hand. The State government has lost its mandate to rule: there have been a series of b lunders and instances of corruption and nepotism. The funds allotted by the Centre are going down the drain, and developmental activities have almost come to a standstill.

The Kashmir problem cannot be wished away or treated as one related only to militancy. None of the mainstream political parties seems to be interested in studying the problem in the valley first-hand and feeling the pulse of the people. No wonder the mil itants are trying to convert the masses to their way of thinking. Merely blaming Pakistan will not help.

What Kashmir needs is a mechanism that will address the people's problems. Setting up village defence committees is not enough. Power should be delegated to the village panchayats. Organisations that agree to work within the framework of the Indian Const itution should be roped in to bring about a semblance of normalcy. There is no harm if the Government opens up channels of communication with the militants, whatever may be their hue. We should have a consensus on what we should do to contain militancy a nd bring Kashmiris back to the national mainstream. However, there is no substitute to a serious dialogue with Pakistan.

D.B.N. Murthy
Bangalore

The term "alienation" has become worn out by now with reference to Kashmir. Does Balraj Puri believe that people in the rest of the country are not fed up with our politicians, bureaucrats, civil servants and members of the judiciary? Or, does he believe that the rest of the country is steeped in wealth? There is more poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and disease in several parts of the country than in Kashmir. It has become fashionable to use certain cliches when it comes to Kashmir, and "alienation" i s certainly the most (mis)used.

The other phrase, "preserving the identity" (though the author has not used it in this article) of Kashmiris applies equally well to people living in other regions of the country. No Tamil or Bengali wants his identity to be swamped by others. Then what is special about Kashmir? It is theories such as "alienation" that cause harm to their cause, encourage divisive forces and give rise to militancy. Pakistan has slowly and surely done away with such "pre-historic" ideas, thereby ensuring that the PoK is more seamlessly integrated with it. Unless we wake up to this reality, Jammu and Kashmir will slip out of our hands, leading to similar situations in the rest of the country.

S. Sridharan
Saudi Arabia

In "A tale of shattered credibility", A.G. Noorani says that Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India when an American couple was abducted in Sri Lanka in May 1984. This is wrong. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister then.

Vadappur Deivasagayam
Received on e-mail

Socialism and nationalism

In "A century of revolutions" (February 4) Aijaz Ahmad has stated that "if all the socialist revolutions of Asia and Africa took the form of national liberation movements, it was also the case that all the communist and socialist movements in our contine nts which became mass movements did so in the perspective and environment of nationalism. Yet, because this was a revolutionary nationalism, it thought of nationalism not as something that closes in upon itself and excludes others, as ethnic nationalisms of today do, but as part of an international movement against the common colonial enemy."

Socialism may have often "rescued various nationalisms from chauvinism and bigotry" as Aijaz Ahmad has contended, but their content was definitely not always universalist. While a critique of the treatment of cultural and other minorities under "really e xisting" socialist regimes is often the realm of the political Right, it is true that hundreds of millions of persons are likely to have perished owing to the brutality of these regimes (remember the plight of Ukrainians under the Russian-dominated Sovie t state).

I support most of Ahmad's analysis and welcome his contribution to the struggle against oppression world-wide. I especially appreciate his comments about the ideological and cultural imperialism of the U.S. That reality is felt deeply in Canada.

Jason Liggett
Regina, Canada

China

This has reference to "Revisiting China" (February 4). Arnold Toynbee in his History of Civilisations identifies 21 civilisations. Of them, only two survive, at least in part, in their pristine forms. They are the Indian and Chinese civilisations. While all other civilisations rose and flourished on the basis of language, religion, geographical boundaries, race and so on, these two have flourished and survived on the firm foundations of culture, tradition and heritage. They have many features in common.

It is remarkable that despite the somewhat strained relations between the two countries since the 1962 war, China has around 400 India specialists. In contrast, the author says, India has "but a fraction of such think-tanks, not even a quarter of the num ber of area or language specialists in China."

There are few authoritative studies by Indians on American, European, Russian, English and even Asian history. We have authorities on English language and literature, but on no other languages. Tolstoy and Gorky, Aristotle and Plato, Rousseau and Hobbes and Marx and Engels are taught and studied in their English translations. Even Indian Indologists and historians seldom have access to the original sources in Sanskrit and Persian.

K. C. Kalkura
Kurnool

Ties with Singapore

As the first foreign VVIP visit of the millennium, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Thong's visit would certainly give a much-needed fillip to India-Singapore ties ("A window to South-East Asia," February 4). There was a brief period of stagnation in th e relationship owing to the political instability in India and the financial crisis in South-East Asia. The importance given to the southern cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai in Goh Chok Thong's itinerary might have caused a "mild South Indian f ever" among the city-state's entrepreneurs in the IT sector. The visit has paved the way for India's active participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

K. Sabesan
Madurai

Kandahar

"Defeat at Kandahar" (January 21) presented a detailed picture of the hijack drama. The Purulia arms-dropping incident, the Kargil war and the hijack incident have shown up the chinks in the Indian security armour. We seem to have no comprehensive strate gy to strengthen internal and external security. Is it not ironical that a nation that possesses nuclear weapons had to be "soft" with a few hijackers? The compromise with the hijackers was indeed demoralising and self-defeating. It is time that we reali sed that terrorism employs hi-tech and is carried out with a lot of professional training and financial backing.

Himanshu Mishra
Ghazipur, U.P.

The defeat at Kandahar has not perturbed me as much as the support the suspected hijackers got during their stay in India. Problems for India did not start at Amritsar but much earlier, on December 6, 1992. That is the day when Indian Muslims felt betray ed by India. The situation will improve only when the culprits in the Babri Masjid demolition case are punished.

Amarendra Acharya
Bhubaneswar

The most disgusting part of the hijack drama was the killing of Rupin Katyal. In the Koran, Allah says that if anyone saves the life of a person he saves all the human beings on the earth, and if anyone kills a person who is not guilty of murder or of de stabilising society (such an act is called "fasad" in Urdu) then he kills all human beings on the earth. It is an act of cowardice, which belongs neither to Jihad nor to Islam. I am unable to understand what kind of Islam they are following when t hey kill innocent people.

Javed Ahmad
Roorkee, U.P.

Rastogi

In "Agendas and appointments" (November 26) it is mentioned that K.G. Rastogi shot a "Muslim woman". The incident is cited from his book Ap Beeti. I read the book, which is for private circulation and is not priced. The word used is "sundar yuwati ", which means a pretty woman. By replacing the word "sundar" with the word "Muslim", the article has introduced an element of communalism.

Dr. Devi Prasad Verma
Patna

Electoral reforms

This has reference to Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill's interview ("Setting the agenda for electoral reforms," January 21).

In view of the frequent elections forced on the nation by bickering political parties and the consequent drain on the exchequer, it would be a good idea to ask candidates to make some contribution towards the election expenditure. The nomination fee and security deposit of all candidates for Assembly and parliamentary elections should be retained by the Election Commission irrespective of the electoral performance of the candidates. The money thus collected would reduce the pressure on the national trea sury. It would also act as a check on power-hungry politicians who bring down governments.

Jaya Prasad
Patna

Nuclear myths

In "Changing tack" (January 7) the author rightly concludes that "nuclear arms clearly are no remedy for the fundamental problems afflicting South Asia". Indian bomb enthusiasts - scientists, defence analysts, retired generals and ultra-patriotic politic ians - were all in ecstasy after Pokhran-II. It was as if India had become a superpower and our Pakistan- centred defence could take on anyone in the world. Home Minister L.K. Advani warned Pakistan to take note of the changed global equations and to be careful in dealing with India. But within days, Pakistan too had its fireworks, in Chagai.

The Indian bomb enthusiasts changed their tune. They said the tests ensured nuclear deterrence. The superpower pretensions were shed and the posture turned defensive.

The nuclear doctrine drawn up by the National Security Advisory Board, which consists mostly of nuclear hawks, did not specify the requirement for minimum deterrence. However, it ensured that the nuclear cake was to be divided equally among the three def ence services. A three-pronged nuclear defence system involving land-, air- and sea-based nuclear launchers was envisaged.

It may take decades to put in place the three-pronged defence system, and the country may go bankrupt. The nuclear bomb enthusiasts flaunt the 'no first use' decision as a great proposition. Even at the risk of being branded unpatriotic, I would say that even a "second use" is immoral. Killing two lakh people in Karachi and Islamabad may not be compensation for the death of one lakh in Delhi. More nuclear weapons do not mean better defence capability or more safety.

N. Kunju
Delhi

Ayodhya

As the Ayodhya agenda has been dropped by the Vajpayee Government, there is nothing to worry about it ("Ayodhya Agenda," January 7). As a matter of fact this government does not have any agenda. Vajpayee has inducted several BJP haters in his Cabinet - f or instance, Ram Vilas Paswan, who voted against the BJP-led government when Vajpayee sought a vote of confidence. Meanwhile, Kalyan Singh who sacrificed a lot for the BJP, has been eased out.

Nav Nirman Singh
Allahabad