Humanity as religion

Reference to the article 'The freedom to differ' (August 23); all citizens are entitled to religious freedom under Article 25 of our Constitution and nobody has the right to force his/her views on others. Blind faith of any kind leads to lack of freedom of mind and justice. No religion teaches hatred.Strict rules and superstitions of any kind only harm the evolution of that particular religion.The great saints of India have taught us the religion of mankind which we are missing in our life nowadays. Let us try to adopt the religion of humanity and save mankind.

Subhash Chander, Jagadhri

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Intolerant to dissent

Reference to 'The freedom to differ' (August 23), the attack on Swami Agnivesh during Vajpayee's funeral procession is politically motivated and condemnable. Like a number of slain rational thinker-activists, his only fault is that he openly challenges the Hindutva ideology and denounces superstitions, religious beliefs and customs propounded and propagated by the Sangh Parivar. Diversity is at the core of Hindu religion, but sadly, those who hold opinion contrary to the ruling establishment are attacked or killed with impunity. Such incidents are a direct threat to our democracy and the rule of law. 

DS Kang, Hoshiarpur

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A bizarre spin

As rightly expressed in the editorial, 'Resilence of Kerala' (August 23), Kerala will soon return to its glory. If this misery was not enough, some self-appointed fundamentalists and self-proclaimed experts are attributing the gigantic sufferings to the consumption of beef, women being permitted to pay obeisance at Sabarimala, etc. What about the 1984 riots, merciless killing of innocents in Gujarat, 2004 tsunami, Mumbai riots et al? Were they all beef eaters? One's head hangs in shame and disgust to know that some among us are exploiting someone else's misery for appeasing their political bosses.

SPS Narang, NEW DELHI

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Hockey team does proud

Refer to 'Hockey men win 26-0' (August 23); it is good to know India scored 43 goals in two matches it played against host Indonesia and Hong Kong. The Indian team also surpassed the 86-year-old record when India defeated USA 24-1 in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Old records erase, new surfaces. It was wonderful to see the team score four goals in the first five minutes. India holds another record: India's Ajit Singh, father of Olympian Gagan Ajit Singh, scoring the opening goal in the first 13 seconds against at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The Indian forward line has adequate match practice from  these two matches. The point of concern is our defence, goalkeeping and tie-breaker. Hope India has enough practice to overcome these weaknesses before going to Jakarta.

Gurdeep Singh, Dharampur 

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How much cash fine?

The Haryana Government has announced a Rs 3 crore award plus job for the Asian Gold medallist while both Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced Rs 50 lakh, which is reasonable. Cash awards should be of a reasonable value. Even if the government gives the award, it comes from the taxes which a common man has to bear. What will the state government give to those excelling in fields other than sports?

Bhartendu Sood, Chandigarh

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Speech long & uninspiring

The article 'Another Independence Day, another jumla' (August 23) consists more of rhetoric and less of substance. The 80- minute speech of Prime Minister Modi at the Red Fort last week can be described in one sentence: 'It was most uninspiring.' Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh also delivered insipid speeches, barring one in 2006. But his speeches were without hyperbole and relatively short.

RN Malik, Gurgaon

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Hi-tech war easier said

While readers interested in hi-tech future warfare would be enlightened to read the article 'Reorienting military to designer wars of future' (August 23), the question would be, at what cost? Such high-technology warfare has failed first in Vietnam and then in its aftermath as far back as in 2000. Moreover, it must be remembered that military doctrine does not change overnight. It takes ages to first innovate, process, practice and finally establish; all related to the nation's economy and social well-being.

Col Mahesh Chadha (retd), by mail

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