Worth the wait?

Sir, - The U.S. was hit once, albeit heavily, by terrorists on September 11. The reaction of its President, Mr. George Bush, was quick and sharp. He assured the Americans of ``war till the enemy is vanquished'' though at that time, the enemy was not even known. The U.S. started collecting evidence against Osama and support from all the nations for its war on terrorism.

In contrast, we have been hit a hundred times over for more than a decade in Kashmir and our casualty is much more. We know our enemy and the location of its training camps. Thousands of Kashmiri pandits have been dislocated, Sikhs killed and innocent children and women murdered in the Valley. Even the legislature has been attacked and our Parliament targeted by the ISI.

But even in such a crisis, our reaction, as usual, is to hold meetings and conduct debates, write letters to the U.S. President who says ``wait till I finish Taliban'' which may take a few years. We may lose another 50,000 lives by then.

P. S. Chandrasekhar,

Secunderabad

* * *

Sir, - One incident of terrorist attack has made Mr. Bush declare war against the Taliban even without proper evidence. But why is India waiting for someone to come and solve the problem of terrorism in Kashmir, due to which thousands of innocent lives are lost daily?

India is waiting for some power like the U.S. or the United Nations to resolve the conflict. It seems reluctant to combat terrorism. If not, it must declare war against the militant outfits and destroy their camps, as is being done now by the Americans with respect to the Taliban.

Ch. V. Phani Kumar,

Vijayawada, AP

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