L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Crash its own doing

Apropos “Divided in merger” (Perspective, August 12), despite government support in various forms, such as making it compulsory for public officials to travel only by Air India and not private planes, despite its high rates, the airline has been suffering losses. Obviously, pampered by unfair practices, it has not learnt to struggle and hence turns a blind eye to improving services.

Anup Kumar Gakkhar, Haridwar

Not a girl’s world

Tears rolled down my eyes after reading “Conform or be damned” by Ratna Raman, (Spectrum, August 12). It reminded me of the fact that I am a girl, which in a country like India is a matter of contradiction. The attempts to understand women outside their biological identities have been few. This is because women are not allowed to be comfortable in their own skins. This cannot come about until rules are enforced and punishments quickly meted out to all offenders. As charity begins at home, we should first allow our daughters to go out and live their lives, rather than keep them in ‘Lakshmanrekhas’.

Swaranjli Sehgal, Yamunanagar

Kashmir’s turn

Apropos Raj Chengappa’s Ground Zero ‘How green is the Valley’ (August 12), I must congratulate The Tribune for meeting a long-standing politico-social intellectual need of the people of Kashmir by launching the Kashmir Tribune. This is an indication of the realisation that true progress lies in moving forward in a sustained environment of peace, which allows people to match their abilities with aspirations and opportunities.

Ved Guliani, Hisar

II

Three years back, I participated in a seminar at Kashmir University, Srinagar. I was pleasantly struck by two things as compared to other campuses: The students and teachers were warmer and more helpful to the delegates — perhaps the Sufi influence in the Valley — and that the young scholars who participated were more knowledgeable, articulate and had better command of English. I discerned a wide chasm between the Valley and the rest of India at the emotional plane. Unless this hiatus is bridged, there can be no real meeting of hearts.

D.R. Chaudhry, Rohtak

Love of sports

Ira Pande in her article “Switching on the read channel” (Oped, August 12), touching upon the euphoria over Olympics, appears to be over-concerned with the diminishing popularity of books and the habit of reading, even among the educated. But to blame TV for all this is not logical. Just as TV has both good and bad, literature too has it. Indelible prints are indeed left on the mind by fine writing, but can the image of Kapil Dev holding aloft the World Cup be wiped away so easily?

Sanjeev Trikha, Fatehabad