It's not over and it's not history

8

There are moments in a nation's history that define its spirit and set the precedent for generations to follow. Howsoever unfortunate we are to have an open and shut case as that moment, our response to this blatant wrong will be a telling comment on our veracity and sense of righteousness. It's a relief to see all these reactions to the letter. The way civil society has reacted to this gross injustice has now forced the government to take another look at the case. The outpouring of support, cutting across all divisions, is proof that we as a nation won't take things lying down (thank God for small mercies). While we all stand united in our disgust at the way this case was handled by the Delhi Police a section of opinion talks about how we are being unfair to Shayan Munshi. Wouldn't we all have chickened out?....

The Kashmir Roundtable: An Afterthought

2

The Prime Minister inviting all the parties involved in the Kashmir dispute for a roundtable to New Delhi is one matter. That the timing was a little suspect, come as it did just before the bush visit, the separatists boycotted it (seems like they will talk to God and only to God) and that there was no agenda for the roundtable (was it basic lack of groundwork or was the intention to go with an 'open mind') is another issue altogether. Of course the protests over the gross violation of human rights in the Kashmir valley also did not help the cause at all. While most of us will agree that it was a commendable gesture on the part of the Prime Minister to invite all and sundry to at least initiate a process of taking everyone on board so that an amicable solution is hammered out, but....

An Open Letter to Shayan Munshi

10

Dear Shayan, I, like so many other viewers saw you on TV saying that you ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time and for no fault of your's, your world came crashing down. You want us to give you the benefit of age since at that point in time; you claim that you were only 19 years old. It's taken seven long years for the law to take it's course, the judge basing his 'landmark' judgment on what the investigation team dug up, which thanks to the way the police in our country functions is not much. Then again for the guilty to be brought to book a lot depended on the account of a key witness who, unfortunately for the late Jessica Lal, the Lal family and the rest of the nation turned out to be a 26 year old actor with not....