Important victory

Sir — The Sri Lankan army deserves praise for wresting Kilinochchi from the Tamil Tigers’ grasp after almost a decade (“Military gets ready to deliver knockout blow”, Jan 4). The victory means that the troops are now ready to enter the Elephant Pass, which is currently controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and also arrest its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. It is pertinent to mention in this context that Prabhakaran is a proclaimed offender in India for his role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Instead of allowing some regional parties to support the LTTE indirectly, the Indian government should try and restore peace in Sri Lanka at the earliest.

Yours faithfully,
R. Sekar, Visakhapatnam

Sir — Both Sri Lanka and India have suffered the depredations of the Tamil Tigers for the past 25 years. The absence of international pressure and India’s meddling on behalf of Tamils enabled the separatists to set up a parallel administration in the northern parts and run it through repressive means. However, the fall of Kilinochchi signals the end of LTTE’s reign of terror, unless its leaders and the cadre succeed in evading the death they deserve and are able to resurrect their outfit once again.

An end to the war waged by LTTE will also mean a revival of democracy in the territories that were under the occupation of the Tigers. This has already been achieved in the eastern part, which was liberated early last year. Colombo has set an example for other countries to follow in the war against terror. Sri Lanka has demonstrated that unless there is political determination, terrorism cannot be defeated.

Yours faithfully,
K.S. Jayatheertha, Bangalore

Sir — The LTTE may be making a strategic retreat to minimize its losses of men and material. There will soon be a time when its forces are concentrated in maximum numbers in a particular area. This would make it very difficult for the Sri Lankan army to defeat the rebels, and the government forces will suffer serious losses. Moreover, there have been reports of Tamil civilians fleeing the areas that have fallen into the army’s hands. The Indian coast guard must be put on high alert to stop the influx of fleeing civilians and LTTE cadre into this country.

Yours faithfully,
Govind Das Dujari, Calcutta

Easy target

Sir — In “Heal the wounds” (Dec 30), Malvika Singh’s remarks that “the men in uniform…represent repression and the restriction of freedoms” in Jammu and Kashmir. Truth be told, this is a distortion of facts. The Kashmir conundrum was created by Jawaharlal Nehru, and made further complicated by successive governments. The gains of a spectacular military victory against Pakistan were frittered away by Indira Gandhi in Shimla in 1972, even though the problem could have been resolved on India’s terms then. This clearly proves that India isn’t keen on a permanent solution in Kashmir. The men in uniform did not go to Jammu and Kashmir on their own accord. They were deployed there to counter militancy. It is a pity that Singh chooses to remain silent on the sacrifices made by our troops to protect Kashmiris. Surely columnists need to be objective, and not partisan, in their analyses. Despite Singh’s reservations, New Delhi must establish Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh as separate states, redraw the borders and scrap Article 370 for good. Only then can there be peace in the region.

Yours faithfully,
Jayanta Kumar Dutt, Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir — “After the candles” (Jan 4), by Seetha, demonstrated that the people of Mumbai are determined to change things after their brush with the worst conceivable nightmare. One small step taken by each individual will result in a giant leap by the state which could then inspire the entire nation.

I had watched live pictures of the Mumbai attack on television, and heard for myself the chilling accounts of the survivors. During that time, I had felt one with Mumbai and its citizens, like many others who shared their agony, anger and helplessness. The images of the Taj up in flames and the sounds of gunfire and explosions made our hearts bleed. The wounds have not healed, and the longer the scars remain, the better it is for this country that tends to forget tragedies.

The need of the hour is ‘positive action’. The desired results may take sometime in coming but the will and the spirit of the people of this country should not be allowed to droop — we simply cannot afford this, especially since as a nation, we have been hit where it hurts most. Perhaps citizens will need to lend their voices to the pledge taken by the music director, Vishal Dadlani, to ensure that each individual promises to do something, however small, to bring about change. Mumbaikars are not alone in their mission; the rest of the nation is with them. Sadly, it took a tragedy like this to unite India.

Yours faithfully,
Chandrima Chanda, Calcutta