'Most new BJP voters are not convinced about its Pakistan policy'

Pathankot terror attack

Politics in the aftermath of a terror attack is seen in poor light by the public (“’Only Nixon could go to China’: Or why Modi can calmly tweet about Yoga during a terror attack”). The Congress’ decision not to politicise the Pathankot attack is commendable.

While your assessment of Narendra Modi’s calmness and sense of assurance vis-a-vis his die-hard old Hindutva supporters on his Pakistan policy may be true, the problem is that most of the new voters for the Bharatiya Janata Party are not convinced about its approach to Pakistan.

Also, most Hindutva supporters want nothing but war with Pakistan.

The basic difference in your analogy of Nixon and Modi is that China is not a neighbour of the US, while Pakistan is a neighbour of India. Also, Pakistan was born out of India and considers it as its main enemy, whereas China in 1972 did not consider the US as its chief enemy. Therefore, whatever concession Modi gives to Pakistan after this attack will affect his vote bank as well. – Vishal Jindal

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It is a shame that even with prior intelligence and all our resources and thousands of troops in force, Indian lost seven personnel to neutralise five terrorists who had no other support. – Kirpal Singh

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With the government finally admitting that were some “gaps”, it can be said that the operation to neutralise the terrorists could have been conducted in a better way. Apart from violating the unity of command, the government’s decision to hand over the situation to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval did not turn out to be wise.

Doval summoned National Security Guard commandos instead of army regiments - already stationed at Pathankot - to flush out the terrorists. Army regiments are quite experienced in such operations unlike the NSG, which is better suited for situations like the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Had a defence officer being given the charge for the whole operation, the results could have been better and with fewer casualties. – Sumit Jain

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India’s strategy in Pathankot was undermined. Our soldiers did not have bulletproof vests. A satellite is needed to maintain a constant watch. We need such equipment to modernise our operations. – daneshwarih on email

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Please find a more intelligent international relations perspective than Vikram Sood’s puerile wail of “let us be more masculine and not have pictures of women weeping” (“New Year’s lessons from Pathankot: India must stop being a grieving helpless nation”). – Rochelle Pinto

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The Indian government must draw from the finer points of this write-up to finally arrive at a policy to effectively deal with a Pathankot-like situation. – Prayag

Ignoring Malda

The violent attacks against innocent people, police stations, burning of several vehicles and large-scale violence in Malda is the outcome of vote bank politics of the ruling party of West Bengal (“Why did the media ignore the Malda communal violence?”).

Apart from Zee News, why have no other so-called national television channels reported and covered these riots? The question which comes to the minds of millions of Indians across the country is whether these channels paid not to cover such incidents? Their decision to ignore the communal violence in Malda is utterly shameless.

The deafening silence of the “secular and intellectual” writers in India is despicable. They should take back all their awards. – Vijay Dabade

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Ipsita Chakravarty’s report tactfully presents a picture of there being “correct” reportage of the communal tension in national and regional newspapers. Anyone who can read Bengali will clearly understand that the dual reports that were cited from the Bengali newspapers mention almost nothing about the actual incident, merely reporting intra-party clashes in the Trinamool Congress.

It is clear that vote bank politics is now getting institutionalised by Mamata Banerjee’s government and it will surely have ramifications in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s heightened Hindutva campaign. It seems that Scroll.in, which is known for its objective reporting, is now turning biased by defending incidents where a section of Muslims are involved in acts of violence against the administration. – Santanu

Saving Goa

What Goans truly want - good roads, water, electricity - we do not get (“Goa rules that a coconut tree isn’t really a tree – and a liquor firm reaps the benefits”). But deals are inked with outside collaborators to take and sell Goan land for selfish monetary reasons.

The government, chief minister, and legislators are neither botanists to tell us about coconut trees nor are they lovers of this state.

Why can’t we grow a bigger forest cover, water harvest for more water bodies, clean beaches for more turtles, clear rivers for more fish, and grow rice again?

We need to enhance what God has gifted Goa, not destroy it for tourism and people who only want to own a holiday home in Goa and not live here.

I pray this matter is thought about by all Goans and Goa residents as we are witnessing for two decades now a genocide of a land, people and culture. – Wendell Rodricks

Lacking insights

The article fell short of elaborating the issue mentioned in the headline, i.e. why people borrow more (“Call money racket: Why do people in Andhra Pradesh borrow recklessly?”). I would have liked some insights on any social reason for borrowing such as consumption needs, agri-finance, sending children abroad, running small business or just shopping.

Besides, no role of the regulator was mentioned. Part of the problem is the lack of awareness among borrowers about their rights and lax enforcement by agencies and regulators. – Ajit

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While this is a good article, it needs to be more informative and requires a good conclusion. – A Srinivasarao

Missing link

The story quotes Census 2001 and Census 2011 data to explain the declining child sex ratio in the country (“Three charts show how child sex ratio in India has dipped further – but there is a silver lining”).

I agree that a story on those lines is always relevant. However, as a reader, I feel that this story doesn’t add anything to the 2011 data. We have entered 2016 and I’m sure that there would be studies and research articles that would have been published after 2011 on the same issue and that would add something more about the current child sex ratio trend. The story should have had something on the situation after 2011. – Kavita Upadhyay

Independent streak

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown his individuality by not working under the command of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (“What explains Modi’s last-minute snub to RSS wing at Indian Science Congress?”). He has done the right thing.

After all, what are the Vijnana Bharti’s achievements? Can this sanstha spell out how many patents belong to it for scientific inventions? Everybody desires to have applause and awards without any substantial achievements. – Pramila Khanna

Captivating account

Even though my generation (born in the 1960s) may not have seen all these professions in full scale, “The Lost Generation” gives us a vivid picture of all that is but fading in our lives (“Last and final call for rudalis, bhistiwallahs, ittarwallahs, malhars, and others”).

Written with the warmth that is only possible by touching both the minds and lives of these people, it is a wonder that a person so young and so far from the “lost generation” has been able to make my eyes misty. – Manju