India must remain careful about America’s relations with Pakistan
Barkha Dutt in her article A tricky terrain (Third Eye, July 7) is right in stating that ever since American Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden and US-led Nato forces killed 24 Pakistani soldiers manning the Salalah border
checkpost, relations between the US and Pakistan have been at low ebb. But while on the one hand America upbraids Pakistan every now and then to pacify the international community, on the other, it continues to provide Islamabad with financial aid and technological assistance. India, with no firm roadmap tabled on US-Pakistan relations, will have to remain vigilant and tread cautiously. New Delhi must always remember that one can choose one’s friends but not one’s neighbours.
Deepak Chikramane, Mumbai
Racism is very much alive here
In her article Not proud to be an Indian (Another Day, July 8), Namita Bhan-dare rightly observes that Indians discriminate against not just foreigners but fellow countrymen too. The harassment and mental torture meted out to people from the North-east in cities like Delhi and Mumbai is a reality that many Indians do not want to accept. It’s important that we set our house in order before accusing others of practising racism against Indians living in other countries.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata
Bhandare’s article tugged at my heartstrings. The brutal racist attack on Yannick Nihangaza, an African student studying in India, who’s been in a coma for over two months now, is shameful for India as a nation. We are quick to cry hoarse when incidents of racism against Indians happen in a foreign land. But, unfortunately, we turn a blind eye to similar incidents in our own backyard.
Imam Siddique, via email