•India’s food-grains stock is dwindling. We are looking at importing huge amounts of grains. Our agricultural output is going down. It is just a matter of time before the Indian government goes around the globe with a begging bowl to feed its population.

This is a man-made scenario, for which our governments alone are responsible; the uneducated poor farmer has nothing to do with it. If farmers cannot make money from their produce, they will not grow more food crops, since growing more of them would send them deeper into debt. Those who fail to understand the illogic of it all continue in the ‘suicidal’ debt trap.

— Ajay Date

Pune

New economy

•Our agriculture-based economy is in a very critical condition, thanks to all-time high prices of essential commodities, particularly of food-grains. This is due to the fact that the dispensations at the Centre since 1990-91 have concentrated solely on ‘sowing’ liberalisation, globalisation, cars and computers in the name of economic reforms, resulting in neglect of our backbone, namely, agriculture. Consequently, they have reaped for their countrymen what was sown by them.

I totally agree with the demands by the CPM for ban on forward trading in all the agricultural products, extension of the public distribution system and for the toughest steps against hoarding of food-grains.

— Hansraj Bhat

Mumbai

Karat stick

•Your analysis that the Left is holding the Manmohan Singh government ransom over the Tibet issue is disturbing ‘Historic blunder’. The other day, while addressing the Ukrainian delegation, Somnath Chatterjee threw the speaker’s neutrality to the winds and admonished the US for policing the world. Now why is he quiet over the police state of China?

... contd.