:: Letters to Editor

Govt should act, not talk

Sir, It is difficult to visualise what led a balanced and mature politician of the stature of P. Chidambaram to say, "We will also retaliate with the force of a sledgehammer". The home minister said this would be India's response if there was another 26/11-type attack. The statement smacks of a total disregard of diplomacy. In any case, offensive diplomacy has never been our forte. How does Mr Chidambaram propose to retaliate - by funding terrorists in Pakistan, or engineering blasts? If at all one has to retaliate, shouldn't action speak louder than words?

A.K. Singh

Via email

Vande mataram: personal choice

Sir, The controversy over the recitation of Vande Mataram is basically a clash between monism and monotheism. While the former takes its stand based on non-dualism which considers one self-existent singularity as constituting the source of the entire manifested cosmos, the latter is founded on dualism that believes that cause is independent of its own effects, which is why it posits an extra-cosmic, anthropomorphic God who, despite having no causal connection with anything, manages to manufacture the cosmic system out of nothing. Obviously, non-dualism makes better sense than the absurd creationist theories of monotheism. The singing of Vande Mataram should be left to individual choice, and not turned into a communal issue.

Arup K. Isaacs

Via email

Mps, babus must emulate judges

Sir, In making their assets public, our Supreme Court judges have lived up to their reputation of high integrity. They have shown that our higher judiciary is responsive to the expectations of the people. The declaration of assets comes at a time when controversy surrounds the elevation to the apex court of the Chief Justice of the Karnataka high court, and gives a moral lead in deciding the matter. The people should now ask MPs and government officials to follow the example of the judges.

J.S. Acharya

Tarnaka, Hyderabad

Quit dieting, start yoga

Sir, With reference to the news report Want to stay trim? Eat lots of tomatoes (November 5), every other day a new study comes up or a dietician tells you the innovative and fastest ways to lose weight. There are various diets, Atkins diet, tomato five-days weight loss diet, cabbage soup diet, low fat diet, low carb diet etc. Young people, in a bid to lose weight quickly adopt these easy measures. Little do they realise that they are harming themseves. The best way to lose weight is to excerise and yoga.

Pradip Talukdar

Via email

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Bjp's series of woes goes on

Sir, It is no secret that the Reddy brothers - Karnataka tourism minister G. Janaradhana Reddy and revenue minister G. Karunakara Reddy were recently admitted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because of their tremendous money power. They had substantially financed the party's election campaign and are clearly out to extract their pound of flesh. That they managed to rope in the Assembly Speaker, with the lure of making him chief minister, is a sad commentary on how the august institution of Speaker stands defiled today. Karnataka has proved to be the latest flashpoint in the BJP's serial of woes.

J. Seshagiri

V.V. Mohalla, Mysore