Indo-Pak ties; between a rock and a hard place

Barkha Dutt’s suggestion in Khakis over civvies (Third Eye, July 24) that India should directly work with the military in Pakistan was ill-conceived besides being provocative. India has always encouraged the return of a civilian government in Pakistan.

Barkha Dutt’s suggestion in Khakis over civvies (Third Eye, July 24) that India should directly work with the military in Pakistan was ill-conceived besides being provocative. India has always encouraged the return of a civilian government in Pakistan. As a mature democracy, India should show Pakistan how to strengthen its democracy and deal with its military effectively. However, to say that India should sabotage the political establishment and work with the army directly is preposterous. It will only lead to more harm than good.

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Himadri Mohanty, Gurgaon

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Barkha Dutt aptly analyses the repeated failures of dialogue between Indian and Pakistan and this time between Foreign Ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi and S.M. Krishna. The efforts of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to initiate the peace process with Pakistan may start bearing fruit only when the dialogue takes place with those who frame policies on India in Pakistan. Previous efforts by Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Shariff, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not meet with any success. So it’s better that we initiate talks directly with the military and the ISI who actually wield power.

Rajarshi Dey Sarkar, Kolkata

Partners against crime

The editorial Orientation programme (Our Take, July 29 ) rightly states that India and Britain share good relations. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s criticism of Pakistan is apt. His warning to Islamabad to stop spreading

terrorism in the world confirms that both India and Britain realise that a strong partnership between the two nations will go a long way in restoring peace in the subcontinent.

Ram Pathak, via email

The rot’s set in deep

Kudos to Biraj Patnaik for exposing the apathetic attitude of the authorities and making the common man aware of the government’s neglect towards such a serious issue (Toads for breakfast, July 28). It’s a crime against humanity to allow grain to rot when millions in India go hungry day after day. There is no use blaming only politicians for this debacle. If the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is short of warehouse space, why doesn’t it seek the help of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) that also works under the ministry of agriculture? Why is there no understanding between the two organisations under the same ministry? It’s time the government apparatus got its act in place. Millions are suffering because of their irresponsible attitude.

N. Nagarajan, via email

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That corruption among the Food Corporation of India officials led to grain rot is shocking to learn. What is worse is that no one has been hauled up for the mess yet. Time and again there has been a demand to bifurcate the FCI into zones for better management, but officials with vested interests have come in the way. Corruption seems to have seeped into the deepest areas of our democracy. The Centre must learn something from the ongoing inflation and curb the corrupt practices of officials.

Manjula Pal, Delhi

A bizarre blind spot

This has reference to the editorial America two-timed (Our Take, July 28). President Barack Obama should cut the flow of precious dollars to Pakistan which is determined to spread terror across the world. It is envious why the US keeps supplying a rogue State with money in spite of being aware of its true motives.

Uday Agnihotri, Delhi