 Playing
a double game is nothing new to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf ("The
Double Game", November 12). He has been a veteran at it ever since
he took over the reins of Pakistan. To put his strife-ridden country in
order he has been busy shedding crocodile tears aplenty for the "oppressed"
Kashmiris on our side of the loc and meddling in the affairs of Afghanistan.
It is almost as if he has a split personality which changes as and when
circumstances demand. To woo extra dollars from the US he projects a "moderate"
face and to woo petro-dollars from the Islamic nations he projects a hard-line
image.
Nalini V. Thiruvananthapuram
Not Before Time
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Tackling Terrorism
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| It
is nobody's case that the new Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO)
is a perfect piece of legislation that would bear no scrutiny to avoid
its misuse ("Clause and Effect", November 12). But why reject
it as a tool to target the Muslims as has been done by the Opposition?
It seems we have got habituated to interpreting everything in terms
of minority-majority syndrome, religion, caste, sub-caste, ethnicity,
language, region and what have you. In the long run, the politics
of division and discord will, more than anything else, be responsible
for the undoing of this beautiful land of ours.
Wing Commander (retd) S.C.
Kapoor, Noida
The introduction of POTO reflects the government's
impotency in curbing terrorist activities. Are existing laws not strong
enough to deal with terrorism? In the past TADA was misused and around
75,000 people, mostly minorities, were arrested under its provisions.
The conviction rate was pitiful, only about 2 per cent. POTO can only
result in more innocents being arrested and more police atrocities.
Ruby Nishat, Bangalore
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The war against terrorism in Afghanistan is taking too long without
producing any concrete results ("It's A Long Haul To Hell",
November 5). It seems the US will fail in capturing Osama bin Laden-at
least alive. But in the process many innocent lives will be lost and more
hatred from more communities and countries will be the outcome. It was
said that all wars in this millennium would be short ones. But it is proving
otherwise. Whose fault is it?
M. Kumar, on e-mail
I was appalled by the article. The cavalier fashion in which it dehumanises
the death of children in the bombing raids by calling them "tearjerkers
having reached the TV screens of the world" is crass and betrays
a lack of sensitivity which these situations demand. Irreverence might
be acceptable these days but certain sensitivities should be kept in mind
before putting down one's thoughts in ink.
Abhimanyu Saagar, Kanpur
Beyond Question
Instead of "Should India Attack?" we should be asking "Can
India Attack?" (October 29). The Indian leadership lacks the mental
strength to go on an offensive. It is a hard decision to make, what with
the presence of the US and allied troops in Pakistan. Had we had a strong
and decisive leadership, we would have retrieved PoK a long time ago.
K.L.N. Murthy, Khamman
 The
question truly reflects the paralysis in our national security apparatus.
While Pakistan has been playing havoc within India, our political leaders
have only taken counsel of their fears and made our country a prisoner
of their indecision. If we had been proactive, the problem would never
have reached such huge proportions. Today, the US claims a mandate from
the UN for its strikes on Afghanistan. But it is a mandate against terrorism,
and by that token it gives India the freedom to attack the terrorist camps
in PoK-even Pakistan. Why are we waiting for anyone's permission to protect
our national interests? It was abundantly clear after US Secretary of
State General Colin Powell's visit that the American agenda in the region
hardly includes India. So can our leaders stop licking the Americans and
get on with the business of eliminating terrorism from our country with
an indigenous strategy? Sometime or the other, it will mean a war with
Pakistan. If it has to happen, let it be sooner rather than later. If
the numbers of casualties we suffer in Jammu and Kashmir every year are
counted, war toll cannot be much worse. But at least we would have eliminated
the evil that has been bleeding us for two decades.
Brigadier (retd) Dileep Gole, Pune
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CURRENT
ISSUE NOV 26, 2001
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