Move on, Pakistan
US president Obama has been quite logical in advising Pakistan not to be obsessed with India (‘Obama warns Pak, yet again’, May 23).Hatred towards India has developed so much in the minds of the people of Pakistan that any semblance of cooperation in any field is fringed with hatred and suspicions. Militants and secessionists are being trained to create disturbances in India; counterfeit currency is being printed to destroy the Indian economy; and the list goes on. Instead of wasting all this time, energy, money and manpower towards fuelling hate, it would be better if Pakistan heeds Obama’s suggestion.It will definitely bring peace for both the countries.
—Harischandra Parshuram, Mumbai
II
Well-deserved and much-needed advice is what Pakistani prime minister received during his recent visit to China (‘China tells Pak to first get its house in order’, May 22). It should serve them well if they take it in the right spirit. Along with the unflinching support, Chinese leadership advised Pakistan, for their own long-term well-being, to mend fences with all their neighbours. Even the Chinese leadership regrets that terrorists were still flourishing in various centres in Pakistan. The US president has also rightly warned Pakistan to flush out militants. Pakistan’s overly-sensitive-and-unduly-pampered ego is likely to get hurt, but they cannot afford to ignore the advice of their good friends who have been ‘aiding’ them.
—Arundhati Wajge, Mumbai
Stop the Naxal menace
This is with reference to ‘Maoists kill 2 commandos, 2 cops’ (May 20). When everybody in India wants the government to initiate US-style action to capture Dawood Ibrahim, the internal Maoist terrorism seems to be getting overlooked. While it is next to impossible for India to go for an Abbottabad-type action, it is now time for the state government to crack down on Naxalites. Whatever may be the cause of the Naxalite movement, why should the common man pay with his life for it? Besides, they are mercilessly killing our well-trained commandos and police personnel. How long are we going to bear this?
—Anil R Torne, Talegaon Dabhade
Adding insult to injury
The prime minister and the Congress president are making a laughing stock of themselves by celebrating the two years of ‘survival’ of the UPA government. By no stretch of imagination could their governance could be called a success. Various scams, involving most of the government agencies, are tumbling out at regular intervals, leading to a staggering amount of financial loss to the country. Not a single day passes without the highest court of the land passing strictures against the government. The ruling party got a severe drubbing in all the byelections and most of the state elections held recently, reflecting the people’s resentment against the government. In spite of all this, if the UPA government had survived, it was because the opposition parties were in a disarray. Under the circumstances, the UPA celebration adds insult to people’s injury.
— VVS Mani, Bengaluru
Scrap ration shops
‘Ration shops’ nowadays are synonymous with ‘corruption shops’. More than 50% of grains, kerosene, and oil do not reach the citizens and are sold in the black market. Needless to say that there is a nexus between the ration shop owner and the officials. Bogus ration cards are in circulation, so the purpose of providing cheap ration to citizens is defeated. The government should scrap all ration shops and distribute ration by opening centres near every ward office and the job should be given to retired military personnel and teachers.
—Jagmander Goel, Pune
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