•Since my original note concerning Jaswant Singh’s book appeared in The Indian Express (‘Jaswant, not-so original’, IE, September 1), allow me to add this clarification. Contrary to some reports in the media, I have not accused Mr Singh of large-scale plagiarism of the kind that has recently been charged and documented against Dr A.Q. Khan in Pakistan and Dr Gopi Chand Narang in India. My comments did not deal with the main text; they were limited to instances in the footnotes and endnotes of the book for which responsibility properly lay with Mr Singh and Mr Mehra. Both, I want to reiterate, have promptly done the right thing by acknowledging the lapses and promising to make amends.

— C. M. Naim

National Fellow,Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla

People’s man

•Y.S.R. Reddy will undoubtedly be remembered for his focus, enthusiasm and dedication in all his endeavours, be it at the top echelons of government or at a local NGO (‘He got it done’, IE, September 4). It was during his padayatra that the fate of ordinary citizens changed as he realised that issues affecting them would only be addressed through direct intervention. It was this that allowed him to win the popular mandate twice.

— R. Narayanan Ghaziabad

• YSR made history for both himself and the Congress by becoming the first Congress CM to complete a full five-year term since 1956. It was his understanding and compassion for the poor that allowed him to retain power. The projects undertaken by him will carry on helping the state as he wisely invested in infrastructure and agriculture.

... contd.