Focus on Kashmir
Your cover story on the planning and execution of the Indian Air Forces’s February 26 attack on terror camps in Pakistan made for an engrossing read. I especially liked the part where you chronicled insurgency in Kashmir (‘Stealthy skydivers’, March 10).
Pakistan, sadly, continues to promote and fund insurgents in Kashmir. The Pulwama attack, India’s air strike and Pakistan’s retaliation have put the international focus back on Kashmir.
Should peace return to the valley, Kashmir will once again become the heaven on earth that it was. It is imperative that honest efforts are made by both state and Central governments in this direction.
Vijai Pant,
On email.
The swift and synchronised retaliatory strikes undertaken by the Indian Air Force during the wee hours of February 26 to destroy the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed was a welcome move. The military offensive comes as relief to a nation shaken by the Pulwama massacre.
The message of our air strikes is loud and clear—violence and diplomacy cannot go hand in hand.
B. Suresh Kumar,
On email.
The views of your guest columnists Hamid Mir and Ammara Ahmad are laughable. The suggestions made by Mir are immature and shallow.
India has been subjected to invasions and plunder, yet our policy has not changed. We stand to protect our territory and not to attack anybody’s territory. That is neither our history nor our character.
Piyush Vardhini,
On email.
Hamid Mir does not clarify glaring doubts that remain hidden beyond the tight security cordon around the sites that were bombed in Balakot, Pakistan, by the Indian Air Force.
What prevents Pakistan from showing to the world the “dead birds” and “fallen trees”? The area remains cordoned even two weeks after the action.
Why such hush-hush and secrecy if the IAF hit nothing but trees? This confirms that something big has happened and that the Pakistan’s government and military are working overtime to obliterate the traces of destruction.
Rathiraj,
Siliguri, West Bengal.
Tall claims
It seems that Nirmala Sitharaman has unwittingly exposed a very uncomfortable fact about the ruling party and its leadership (‘Point blank’, March 10). Despite enjoying a strong majority in Parliament, the incumbent government has not really emerged as a strong one and has been, at best, mediocre.
Sitharaman’s claims exude monarchist vibes, in a way implying that the present leadership consists of superhuman saviours and not political representatives.
Abhimanyu Sharma,
Mumbai.
Struggles of the author
Perumal Murugan has to his credit a few novels, short stories and poems (‘Rise of the phoenix’, March 10). One Part Woman has brought out well the emotional travails of a childless couple—Kali and Ponna.
Murugan suffered untold miseries for years, which compelled him to leave his house in his native village and live in Chennai, where he is doing English translation of his books. His story is not a case of ‘all is well that ends well’.
K.S. Thampi,
On email.
Talented artists
It was a noble act to project the works of 38 artists—belonging to the autistic spectrum (‘Dream catchers’, March 10). Art is the right platform for these people to share their dreams. These are gifted artists who need to be promoted. I hope the Kochi-Muziris Biennale Foundation will do all it can to further promote these talented people.
K.V. Prasad,
On email.
Errors
Some errors have crept into your issue dated March 10:
1 Page 4: Aircraft depicted as Mirage-2000 are actually Jaguars.
2 Page 39: The fighter shown as an F-16 is a Mirage.
Sujit Vasudevan,
On email.
A military aircraft in vic formation has been wrongly marked as Mirage-2000 (which were used against the terror camps in Balakot). These aircraft are Jaguars.
Prashanth Nandiprasad,
Bengaluru.
We regret these errors.
Editor
Not for Rohingyas
India not only accepted the thousands of Tibetan rebels who sought asylum in India, but also spread the red carpet for the Dalai Lama and helped establish a Tibetan government in exile in Dharamshala! The Indian Army even tried to train a guerrilla force comprising Tibetan youngsters (‘Last Word’, March 10).
India would have done better had Jawaharlal Nehru set up a national asylum law during his very first stint as prime minister. It is unfair to expect the present prime minister to set up a national asylum law for the Rohingyas who are a real threat to national unity.
C.V. Venugopalan,
On email.
Shashi Tharoor has meticulously traced the history of refugees from 586 BCE when the first batch of Jews entered Kochi. By sheltering Tibetan refugees, we incurred the wrath of the Chinese in 1962. As Tharoor has pointed out, hospitality is deeply entrenched in our tradition and we should continue to exhibit this trait. In this regard, we should be guided by human compassion alone. We should never look at those fleeing their country through communally tainted glasses.
A. Maruthachalam,
Chennai.