LETTERS EDITOR TO THE

PUNJAB’S THREAD

THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Punjabiyat diplomacy’ (IE, April 20). It is heartwarming to note that PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab, addressed 3,000 Sikh pilgrims from India when they visited Kartarpur Sahib. Maryam Nawaz’s speech was layered with emotion as she compared the striking similarities between the two Punjabs across a border. It is disheartening that people-to-people diplomacy has not yet replaced the complicated process of political diplomacy between the two countries. We would do well to remember that a similar effort was spear headed by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who, in 1999, travelled to Lahore by bus to spread the message of goodwill and friendship between the two countries.

Shantanu Bhadra, Delhi

RESTRAINT IS KEY

THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘At the heart of Iran-israel’ (IE, April 20). Israel’s counterstrike against Iran has raised the spectre of a wider West Asian conflict amid the prevailing hostilities in the region. The ripples of the conflict have already started expanding beyond the region, with the benchmark Brent crude price rising to above $90 a barrel before falling a bit. This is a matter of concern for India, which imports over 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements. A steep hike in global oil prices could significantly raise the country’s oil import bill and make the rupee depreciate due to the larger outgo of foreign exchange. It’s the purchase of cheaper oil from sanctions-hit Russia that helped India reduce its import expenditure over the past year or so. A global economic upheaval can be avoided if neutral countries like India impress upon both sides the vital importance of exercising restraint.

Khokan Das, Kolkata

A DREAM FROM 1950

THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Story of one citizen one vote’ (IE, April 20). Our founding fathers and mothers deserve the credit for Indians being able to exercise universal franchise. A majority of them had received their baptism in public life, in mass movement against British imperialism. They did not want the common people to feel left out in the electoral process. They did not want the nascent democracy in a newly-independent nation to be an elitist affair. The nation needs to make vigorous efforts for the economic upliftment of the marginalised. We can realise a dream 75 years old, if we just try.

S H Quadri, Bikaner