Promises meant to be broken

Barkha Dutt in A vote for a change (Third eye, April 25) rightly states that politicians lure people into voting with their false promises and impractical strategies.

Barkha Dutt in A vote for a change (Third eye, April 25) rightly states that politicians lure people into voting with their false promises and impractical strategies. This certainly goes against our national interests. Unless the common man wakes up to the reality behind these farcical assurances, India will be at the mercy of selfish netas who will one day damage our democratic set-up. Corruption and hoodwinking will continue till such time as either honest people abstain from entering politics or people use their voting power wisely. It is high time that voters stop allowing politicians to exploit them.

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Mahesh Kumar, Delhi

II

Barkha Dutt correctly points out that we are getting more argumentative, more demanding, more emotional but less contemplative while making political choices. This is stopping us from evolving into a mature democracy. The implication of these meaningful debates is that our politicians have stooped to new levels. They have become abusive and are acting like goons while hurling expletives at each other. Our present state of politics is more corrosive than it is productive. This is leading to the rise of new problems instead of providing solution to older ones.

R.K. Malhotra, Delhi

III

Barkha Dutt’s analysis of our politicians’ false promises made for interesting reading. However, the reference to the 1999 Kandahar episode seemed irrelevant. It is disheartening to see that the BJP has been pilloried for the IC-814 hijacking for so many years now. Was it not the government’s duty to save hundreds of lives at that time? It wasn’t the first time that our nation had to succumb to terrorists’ demands. Also, by accusing a national party of something it did ages ago shows the lack of any worthwhile talking point in these elections.

Jayati Mukherjee, Delhi

Look ahead to the past

Khushwant Singh in Do you want India to be a Hindu Rashtra? (With Malice Towards One And All, April 25) has rightly propagated the need to make India a truly secular State. Under Jawaharlal Nehru’s leadership, India strived for equality for all and shunned all forms of discrimination. But our leaders today don’t hesitate while dividing society for their own benefit. In the name of globalisation, they are promoting crony capitalism. If we want to, and we should, uphold secularism as in the times of Gandhi and Nehru, there is a need to switch to old economic and social policies that worked in accordance with our needs.

Vinod Kumar Marwah, via email

A thousand problems in 100 days

With reference to Sandeep Bhojwani’s article A hundred points of light (April 30), for the US President Barack Obama, his first 100 days in office will remain to be the most challenging ones. From the day he took the presidential oath, he has been flooded with problems from almost all sectors. The US has been reeling under recession, the Taliban is on a rise and the Afghan problems still persists. But Obama’s attitude towards all these issues has been positive, and this is what was expected from him.

Sourabh Nagpal, Delhi

The Mannargudi magic

Apropos of Mannargudi Days (Urban Gypsy, April 25), it was an enjoyable experience to read an article that was not written for the sake of just writing. For a moment, the beautifully crafted piece transported me to the bylanes of the temple town of Mannargudi.

Mushtaq Shiekh, via email

It’s just the beginning

apropos of the report Pakistan goes to war with itself (April 30), one can say that it’s better late than never. Asking for international support can also be considered if Pakistan is serious in its intentions of fighting its enemies.

Abhinav Goutam, Ranchi