Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Protests

The U.S. President may fool his countrymen in the name of "war against terror" or democratising West Asia. But on this side of the globe, the people are aware of his hegemonic mindset and the ill-conceived ideology of imperialism. Congratulations to Arundhati Roy who conveyed the anti-Bush sentiment in just two words: "Go home."

Anjum Husain,
Sofipora, Kashmir

Mr. Bush's definition of freedom as a universal value is a farce. Notwithstanding his pious statements, his administration has failed to respect democratic values in Iraq. It even failed in its own city of New Orleans. The U.S. invokes democracy to create and open up markets for trade. It believes in just two things — Americanisation of democracy and Americanisation of world trade.

Dinu Jose,
Thiruvananthapuram

Americans are businessmen and they need to sell their weapons. They want nations to be at loggerheads so that they can sell to both sides. It was the U.S. that supplied arms to Osama bin Laden to fight Russians in Afghanistan.

It supplied weapons to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. It is aiding Pakistan, which supports terrorists against India. It will never let Israel and Palestine coexist in peace. In view of all this, it is surprising that the Left parties have not withdrawn support to the UPA Government. It looks like they do not want to lose their status of enjoying power without responsibility.

M.M. Kale,
Kakinada, A.P.

The U.S. seems to be drawing closer to India because of the realisation that there is no use in supporting Pakistan. The Americans may also be under the impression that appeasement of India, which is all set to become a major economic power, will put them in the driving seat. Let them understand that their pockets are too small to hold this ancient democracy.

S. Thejha,
Coimbatore

That the anti-Bush protests turned violent in Hyderabad and Lucknow (where they claimed three lives) is unfortunate. I appeal to young citizens not to be carried away by emotions, which only bring bad name to them and the community.

Abid Pasha,
Hyderabad

The U.S. and India need each other's support to combat terrorism. Indians must realise the importance of having a powerful ally in view of the strategic relationship being developed by our not-so-trustworthy neighbour with a powerful country on our other border.

Aravind Vummidi,
Chennai

The photograph of CPI (M) leaders protesting Mr. Bush's visit (March 3) was shocking. Is it appropriate for elected Members of Parliament to call the leader of another democracy a barbarian?

If Mr. Bush is a barbarian, how is one to describe those leaders who killed their own countrymen for dissent?

K. Viswanathan,
Coimbatore

Decades of blind anti-Americanism in the name of non-alignment, coupled with a pronounced pro-USSR leaning, alienated India from the U.S. and the West. At last, when India is slowly trying to crawl out of the NAM cocoon in its own interest, some sections including the intelligentsia and media are making an unfair attempt to generate anti-America fever. Their actions are brazenly biased and detrimental to India's interests.

K.S. Ramakrishnan,
Chennai

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