Unconvincing reply

Sir, - I am surprised at the brazen but futile attempt of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to justify the police excesses during the DMK rally in Chennai. Ms. Jayalalithaa does not sound convincing when she claims that it was difficult for the police to distinguish between the journalists and hoodlums in the crowd. She also noticeably fails to make any mention of the actions of the police against the journalists inside the DGP office premises. The journalists could not be faulted for assuming in their moment of distress that the DGP office was the safest place to take refuge in. They could hardly have imagined that the hallowed spot would be converted into a convenient hunting ground for the police themselves.

Any force, civilian or military, will act in similar fashion once it is let loose by its bosses. Wisdom demands that the rulers take extraordinary care to see that the abundant energies of such forces are not frittered away in meaningless pursuits but are channelled in pursuance of nobler objectives.

N.S. Sankararaman,

Chennai

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