Target practice

Sir ? ?Modi springs population panel? (Sept 11) doesn?t surprise. Only, why did Narendra Modi have to wait for the census?s misconstrued figures of the minorities to be publicized to realize what could be done through a population count? Hadn?t he been informed of the grand sangh plan? Had he known earlier, Modi could perhaps have capitalized on the figures to steamroll the Congress into submission in the general elections. But don?t blame him. How could he have known of the surprise the Gujarat electorate had in store for him? But then again, hadn?t something of a ?census? already taken place in Gujarat prior to the Godhra carnage, listing minority houses and establishments which could be targeted at whim? They were eventually razed to the ground. Is something like that again in the offing, Modi, now that the minorities are coming back to their properties?

Yours faithfully,
J. Chatterjee, Calcutta

Missing the wood

Sir ? Ashok Mitra in ?The also-ran nation? (Sept 4) unnecessarily brings in politics in his analysis of the Indian debacle in the recent Olympic games. Since he cannot find faults with the American performance, Mitra has to disparagingly say of the United States of America that ?a large part of American glory is on account of the performance of black participants still struggling for a dignity under the great Yankee sun?. Perhaps Mitra should be informed that at least in sports, the Americans do not discriminate against any colour. Which is why black participants can bring their country the Olympic gold. One should ask Mitra how many in his dream Chinese team were Tibetans, the people whose struggle for freedom and dignified life has been crushed by China?s brute state communism. Despite that one would prefer not to bring in politics while commenting on the spendid performance of the Chinese.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir ? Besides the drawbacks of Indian sports highlighted by Ashok Mitra, one thing that has been cause for much embarrassment is our failure to learn from past mistakes. We are more efficient in burying our problems than tackling them head on. It would not be indecent or incorrect to suggest that the three C?s ? corruption, cover-ups and cheap gimmicks ? are what make up Indian sports. India has an edge over China insofar as our rights to freedom of expression and choice of means are concerned, thanks to our democratic ideals. But, sadly, we have not been able to use this advantage to create a people-friendly environment. Our policy-makers should set the priorities right ? the country?s before their own.

Yours faithfully,
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad

Sir ? Three points warrant mention with regard to Ashok Mitra?s article on India?s Olympic sojourn. One, he is out of sync with the status of coloured Americans in the US. They are not as persecuted a lot as Mitra would have us believe. Icons like Colin Powell, Jesse Jackson and Will Smith are proof enough. Two, while comparing the equal potential of India and China, Mitra omits the real cause of the former?s regression ? inferior political leadership. In India, a man who is known as the king of scams is the Union railways minister, backed by Mitra?s own party. Such a minister in China would have been sidelined by the communist party.

Three, Mitra would do well to advise his home state to become the vanguard for the kind of reforms China has undertaken. For starters, the horror that is West Bengal?s healthcare service needs to be set right, not to mention other similar horrors as the one recently witnessed in Amlashol.

Yours faithfully,
Jayanta Kumar Dutt, Calcutta

Sir ? One cannot be sure who are more responsible for India?s debacle in the Olympics ? the sportspersons or their coaches. The Union minister for sports, Sunil Dutt, has apparently expressed his happiness over the performance of the Indian contingent. But will this feel-good factor take us anywhere in sports?

Yours faithfully,
Manushi, Silchar

Unequal share

Sir ? It is shameful to read the report, ?One hangs, other goes free? (Sept 10). Both the families of Dhananjoy Chatterjee and Putul Maiti are poor. Is this why Chatterjee was sentenced within 15 months for capital punishment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and Putul?s rapist given a life imprisonment 50 months after the crime, and that too by the same judge? The poor obviously are powerless, more so before the judiciary.

Yours faithfully,
Hara Lal Chakraborty, Calcutta

Sir ? The self-deprecating remark of Dhananjoy Chatterjee?s advocate that Chatterjee would have lived had he been able to afford a better lawyer couldn?t have sounded more true now that the verdict on Goutam Biswas has been passed.

Yours faithfully,
Chameli Pal, Batanagar