No politics, please

Sir — Sarath Fonseka should have retired gracefully. Instead, he joined politics, a move that has had disastrous consequences for the former general (“Fonseka found guilty of ‘graft’”, Sept 18). Not everyone can become a Dwight Eisenhower or a Charles de Gaulle. Even Colin Powell, who became extremely popular after the Gulf war, refused to contest for the White House. The stand taken by Powell should be emulated by others. Fortunately, India has not had to deal with such a syndrome among its senior servicemen, and hopefully will never have to.

Yours faithfully,
Jayanta Kumar Dutt, New York

Burden of memory

Sir — Ipsita Chakravarty’s concluding remarks in “Regarding death”(Sept 16) go like this: “People must not be allowed to forget what they have seen. For the collective guilt, grief and anger that this seeing evokes are potent agents of political change”. Chakravarty’s argument reminded me of what I had seen during a visit to Cambodia in 2005. On that trip, I had the opportunity to visit the sites near the capital, Phnom Penh, where the Cambodian government has set up exhibits depicting the brutalities perpetrated by Pol Pot and his henchmen.

In one such exhibit, the apparel worn by the victims have been kept on a glass-shelf the size of an almirah, and their skulls placed in the lower chamber. It is indeed a gruesome sight to behold. I could see lots of people, including foreigners, watching the exhibit in horror. Some of them were also photographing the contents. The location — formerly a huge school building with a sprawling area — was the place where men ,women and children were first tortured and then butchered. The building’s walls had on them numerous photographs that vividly depict the kind of torture that was inflicted on the hapless victims. The tools that were used to torture the people have also been preserved carefully. Later, I learnt that some people in Cambodia were against exhibiting such examples of brutality. But a majority thought otherwise. They were of the opinion that it would be prudent to make Cambodians aware that some of their own countrymen were responsible for killing thousands of innocent people. The evidence of such unparalleled horror, they hoped, would make the people of Cambodia doubly vigilant about safeguarding their own security and that of their country.

Yours faithfully,
Chitta Ranjan Nag, Calcutta

Surprise win

Sir — India scripted a sensational victory against a fancied rival, Brazil, to enter the elite Davis Cup World Group (“Bopanna wins a ‘world’ war”, Sept 20). On the final day, Somdev Dev Varman and Rohan Bopanna, undaunted by their earlier defeats, fought with grit and determination and won their ties against their higher-ranked opponents. The unexpected victories brought much joy to Indians who are deservedly proud to have such talented tennis players.

Bopanna and Dev Varman had been vanquished in their opening matches. Inspired by Paes and Bhupathi, who won their doubles match with ease, Bopanna and Dev Varman beat the Brazilians in the return leg. Bopanna deserves more credit since he is not quite comfortable playing singles. But he overturned all calculation and gave his very best for his country. Paes and Bhupathi are unlikely to continue for long, but India has got worthy successors in Dev Varman and Bopanna who will continue to win more laurels for India in the future.

Yours faithfully,
Adhip Kumar Bose, Calcutta