History revisited

Nayanjot Lahiri in History in the telling (May 5) has put forward material that we should consider while celebrating the 150th anniversary of 1857.

Nayanjot Lahiri in History in the telling (May 5) has put forward material that we should consider while celebrating the 150th anniversary of the events of 1857. But it seems that for her, history resides in Delhi and its surrounding areas only. We should remember that there are other freedom fighters who need to be remembered on the occasion too.

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Naval Langa
Ahmedabad

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It is only too appropriate that the Archaeological Survey of India engages at once in the task of correlating the chronology of monuments like Red Fort for all to get an effective insight into the historic 1857 mutiny.

K Venkataraman
Delhi

Cheap gimmick

Gauhar Khan’s statement Gauhar gives it away this time (May 8), against Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw is not only whimsical and illogical, but lacks sense. Gauhar has indulged in cheap gimmicks to popularise his book. His statement must be ignored. He does not realise that not only he has failed to tarnish Manekshaw’s image, he has also brought disgrace to the Pakistani army. The implication of his allegations is that in spite of knowing all about the Indian Army’s strategy, Pakistani army failed to win the war.

SP Sharma
Mumbai

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Is it not possible that Sam Manekshaw may have provided the Pakistani army with information? Some one could have fabricated the information with the specific intention of misleading the Pakistani army. The issue is not entirely illogical.

J.S. Bawa
via e-mail

Advantage India

Apropos of the article India 2020 (May 9), KK Birla has rightly projected the various aspects of India’s booming economy. The statistical forecast mentioned by him is a welcome sign for the country. But India has several hurdles like corruption, sordid politics and illiteracy that need to be tackled. India’s green revolution is also at a juncture where it needs to be rejuvenated. If the agricultural system is reformed, it will play a pivotal role in boosting the GDP of the country.

Ramesh Kumar Raja
Delhi

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K.K. Birla has advised our countrymen to ‘present a true image of united India’. But our politicians promoting the ‘caste-based quota system’ with a vengeance, on specious pleas that caste divisions already exist in society. The advice seems more apt for them. Birla says the percentage of minorities, at present 12, is likely to go up to 13 or 14 in 2020. With state-level minority status being planned, the concept of national level minorities will lose its meaning.

RC Rao
via e-mail

Unfortunate remark

Apropos of the report Too many Biharis here? Sheila is sorry she said so (May 10), it is sad that a Chief Minister is issuing such statements. In fact, not only Delhi, people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and many other backward states migrate to various parts of the country to earn their livelihood. Dikshit should be ashamed of herself as she has wittingly or unwittingly played into the hands of narrow-minded regionalists.

Md Mudassir Alam
Delhi

Double standards

With reference to Vikram Sood’s article Top billing for Tehran (May 10), how can a country that does not give fundamental rights to its people, hates democracy and free speech and legalises the public stoning of its women be a friend of India? Do they share cultural ties with us when our movies, songs and dances are banned in Iran for the last 30 years? The article shows hypocrisy when it criticises the US for its interests in the gas and oil, while suggesting that India should have access to it.

Love Singhal
via e-mail

No web warmth

Apropos of the report Spidey casts a worldwide web, third time over (May 5), the popularity of Spiderman surpasses that of
Superman and Batman because Spidey is your friendly neighbourhood superhero. He is supposed to be a cool person you can bring home and introduce as a friend.In Spiderman 3, amid all the new villains, Spiderman is almost reduced to a caricature. Maybe, the next time the director of the Spiderman series will keep this in mind.

Adhiraj Sharma
Delhi

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I disagree that crowding the movie means making the movie uninteresting. A comic book hero depicted on the screen has to be about larger-than-life excesses. And it is these excesses that may have led to too many things happening in the movie. After all, fantasy is all about pursuing the spectacular, and in the case of Spiderman 3, the spectacular comes alive by way of too many things happening.

Rupinder Chadha
Delhi

Past glories

As the nation remembers the first War of Independence on its 150th anniversary, there were no celebrations in Barrackpore, where the first seed of the Sepoy Mutiny was sown by Mangal Pandey on March 29, 1857. Thanks to the media, millions of Indians are getting to read about the unsung heroes of the 1857 revolt. After the mutiny, much of the Indian subcontinent passed from the control of the East India Company to direct rule by the British government, until Independence in 1947.

Palaschandra Biswas
via e-mai

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