• Congratulations for Kiren Rijiju’s article ‘Too far from Delhi’ . You have rendered a national service by publishing the former MP’s brilliant piece on Arunachal Pradesh. It is tragic indeed, that the sensitive and strategic Northeast region continues to be neglected stupidly even 60 years after independence. I have been crying hoarse over the past four decades against this neglect since 1966, when I first visited the region at the invitation of the then governor, Vishnu Sahay, formerly Union cabinet secretary. Sadly, nobody in New Delhi seems to be honestly bothered about the region, even as government and other leaders continue to wax eloquent hypocritically about strengthening India’s unity and integrity.

— Inder Jit

New Delhi

Judicious offer

• India and Pakistan had settled down to a predictable routine . Nitpicking in Kashmir from time to time to suit domestic politics on either side was a mutually accepted gambit. We carried on business with Pakistan irrespective of whether it was under military or civilian rule, our chief concern being a relatively stable Pakistan that would be a buffer between India and the wild terrain to the northwest. But today’s violence has the potential to turn the Indo-Pak equation on its head. Should Pakistan succumb, our whole western border would be open to the worst extremists. The PM’s overture to Pakistan is therefore welcome. Isolating Pakistan at this critical juncture would be counter-productive.

— R. Narayanan

Ghaziabad

Pakistan’s call

• Let’s not be cynical; but Manmohan Singh’s offer of friendship to Pakistan is wishful thinking in the given circumstances. Unfortunately the ISI and extremists are running the show in Pakistan. One may recall that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee had offered a similar package, with a rider to walk the extra mile, it had no positive response. Taking advantage of Manmohan Singh’s offer, Pakistan must show its indisputable interest in stopping cross-border terrorism, dismantling terror training camps on its soil and bringing to justice the perpetrators of last year’s Mumbai attack. This would pave the way for resuming the composite dialogue and restoring peace in the region.

... contd.