LETTERS

West Asia

The Cover Story analysed minutely and superbly the volatile situation in West Asia ("Whither West Asia?", March 11). The United States is misusing its military might and its fatal policies will lead only to anarchy and wars, threatening the peace and safety of the world. The solution lies in a strong alliance between India, China, Russia and the European Union to fight against the unilateral actions of the U.S.

Akhil Kumar
New Delhi

The Shia alliance's victory was no surprise and it should not have any difficulty in playing a leading role in writing the Constitution with the help of the Kurds, who too have been denied political and cultural rights for long. As the second biggest group in the Assembly, the Kurds should get the position they deserve as Iraq's third biggest community.

A. Meghana
Hyderabad

Yael Lotan has downplayed the achievements of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process during the Sharm al-Sheikh summit. Her suggestion that both sides need an explicit timetable and a clear goal sounds well, but given the fact that the past four years were bloody, it is more reasonable and realistic to start with meaningful gestures, which will promote mutual trust. Right now, even the modest step of setting the final goal of negotiations is too risky.

Amit Kumar
New Delhi

John Cherian claims that the Israeli government "had tried to convert Lebanon into a `vassal' state in the late 1970s and the 1980s". This is exactly what Syria had done, quite successfully. Unlike Israel, which wanted peace with Lebanon and officially recognised it, Syria always believed that Lebanon is one of Syria's districts, and refused to send an Ambassador to Beirut.

Tamar Merom
Received on e-mail

Niyogi murder case

The Supreme Court's verdict in acquitting all but one involved in the Shankar Guha Niyogi murder case is a setback to the struggle of the unorganised labour force ("A verdict and some questions", March 11). Shunned by party-based trade unions of organised workers, unorganised workers always get a raw deal. It is in this context that the role and significance of organisations such as the Chhattishgarh Mukti Morcha assume great importance.

A.K. Dasgupta
Hyderabad

India and Pakistan

India's wariness about the Srinagar-Muzafarabad bus service is not uncalled for ("A bus ride for peace", March 11). The threat of cross-border terrorism still looms large over India and the winter lull cannot be construed as peace.

Siddhartha Raj Guha
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

Targeting Geelani

Considering the dubious role of the Delhi Police in the S.A.R. Geelani attack case, the investigation into the attack should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation ("Targeting Geelani", March 11).

Chandni Tyagi
New Delhi

Bill on infant food

The article on the Infant Milk Substitutes Act highlighted the benefits of breast milk ("A Bill and its import", March 11). It is hoped that the authorities will take steps to retain the law that encourages breast-feeding.

A.J. Rangarajan
Chennai

The article summarised the issues lucidly and reflected admirable grasp of a complicated subject. The writer has analysed the subject dispassionately, yet with a logic that shows the folly of clubbing the Infant Milk Substitutes Act with other statutes.

Chander Uday Singh
Mumbai

A nuclear confession

Let us salute North Korea for its admission that it has manufactured nuclear weapons to cope with the Bush administration's undisguised policy to stifle the tiny nation ("A nuclear confession," March 11). North Korea has every right to protect its national integrity and sovereignty.

K.P. Rajan
Mumbai

C.V. Raman

I was happy to read the tribute to Sir C.V. Raman ("Lasting effect", March 11). I would like to add a couple of anecdotes about the great scientist, which show his sense of humour and basic honesty.

Many years ago, Delhi University held a special convocation to confer honorary degrees on three great physicists, Sir Lawrence Bragg, C.V. Raman and Satyendranath Bose. C.V. Raman remarked: "The three of us share one common thing besides physics. None of us has earned a real Ph.D degree. We are all collecting our honorary degrees."

Raman was not superstitious and he despised rituals. On the night of his death, his wife asked him to take the name of God. He said, "I believe only in the `spirit of man'." He talked of Mahatma Gandhi, Christ and Buddha and made a request: "Just a clean and simple cremation for me. No mumbo-jumbo, please."

P.P. Ramachandran
Mumbai

The tribute conveys the message that assertiveness is an important quality. Mendelsram and Landsberg, who were undertaking research in the same field as Raman, lost their chance to be recognised as world-class scientists owing to their lack of confidence. On the contrary, Raman booked his travel ticket to receive the Nobel Prize even before it was announced.

S. Vijayan
Chennai

Cinema

The reviews of Sashi Kumar's film "Kaya Taran" on the 1984 Sikh riots and Sudhir Mishra's "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi" on the Emergency, were extremely perceptive and sensitively written ("Simmering silence" and "Mapping a political era", March 11). Such quality writings make Frontline the best English news magazine in the country.

Ajoy Bagchi
New Delhi

This refers to the article "The children of 1984" (February 25). The anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Mumbai serial bomb blasts of 1993, and the Gujarat communal riots of 2002 are some of the horrid incidents that independent India has faced. The trauma that people have undergone since then has been relatively unknown. Shonali Bose and Sashi Kumar have made a daring effort to portray it.

Neeraj Kumar Jha
Madhubani (Bihar)

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