Sir — Shabana Azmi recently shared a photograph of a signboard at the Chennai International Airport. The signage read, “Eating carpet is strictly prohibited”. This led to much mirth on Twitter. This reminded me of an earlier incident when a barber had been ridiculed for claiming in a sign that all kinds of “barbaric” activities took place in his shop. One wonders whether these sticklers — the so-called “Grammar Nazi” — would be as concerned about slippages in Indian languages, which are common enough but are rarely noticed because people lack the knowledge to catch these mistakes.
Kaveri Raj
Ernakulam
Small victory
Sir — The world has been rid of a dangerous terrorist in the form of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He was apparently cornered by elite special forces of the United States of America and died in northwestern Syria. The only other event that can be compared to this in terms of scale and importance is the killing of former al Qaida chief, Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan. But Baghdadi’s death is more significant; he oversaw the birth and expansion of perhaps the most brutal terrorist organization in the world. Its modus operandi was so vicious that even al Qaida and the Taliban, no strangers to brutality themselves, sought to distance themselves from the Islamic State. But Baghdadi’s death, his power notwithstanding, will not be the end of terrorism or even the Islamic State. The Islamic State has already selected a new leader and announced his name.
K.S. Jayatheertha
Bangalore
Sir — Although the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi must have dealt a major blow to the Islamic State it is far from the end of the road for the terrorist organization. There is a need for concerted efforts from countries across the world to finish off the Islamic State in all its regional hubs. Cutting off the sources of funding for the Islamic State and other terror organizations would be the best way of doing this. The world must unitedly work towards ending the menace of terrorism.
Ramesh G. Jethwani
Bangalore
Sir — The killing of the terrorist leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, by the US forces in Syria is a considerable achievement. It has dealt a big blow to one of the deadliest terror groups in the world. Baghdadi commanded an organization, which, at its peak, controlled a territory the size of Great Britain from where it directed and inspired acts of terror in more than three dozen countries.
Previously, Baghdadi’s reclusiveness had fed rumours of his demise, all of which proved to be untrue. Each time, he resurfaced in audio recordings and later videos, thumbing his nose at the world. This time, however, the Islamic State has accepted that Baghdadi has been killed.
Further, while one of the leaders of the Islamic State may have been eliminated, the terror organization continues to be operational and even has a new head. About 14,000 fighters from the Islamic State remain in Syria and Iraq, who will undoubtedly continue with their guerrilla attacks seeking new territory. The terror outfit has managed to spread its tentacles in West Africa, Libya, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Afghanistan and the Philippines and it has thousands of followers in Europe and other countries as well. It is this global reach that makes the Islamic State a worry for the whole world. Since the organization has repeatedly reconstituted itself each time one of its leaders has been killed, one cannot but conclude that the international community should be committed to keeping the pressure on terrorists intact instead of becoming complacent.
Khokan Das
Calcutta
Sir — The US announcement about the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has created quite a stir across the world. It seems that people have not registered that the US has also acknowledged that the Islamic State has a “deep bench”. One monster is as good as another when it comes to leading this hydra-headed terrorist organization, which has already selected a new ruler. The world must be extra cautious in case his first order of business is brutal retaliation.
Shana Ahmed
Calcutta