Media hell bent on making him a criminal Sir, I am an Indian national living abroad for the last few years. It is scary and shocking to see how Dr Mohammed Haneef is being treated in such a shabby way in connection with his alleged involvement in the failed UK terror plot.
Though the investigators are unable to find sufficient proof to link him with the terrorists, it seems the Australian media is bent on making him look like a criminal.
The reality is that the western media is a big culprit in making immigrants look like criminals.
In the western world often letters by outsiders criticising local government policies never get published or if they do get published it is edited. I think we as Indians should forget our differences to support Haneef and his family through this difficult time and Indian media should play a big role highlighting this issue. What crime did he do? Why should we treat him in such a shabby way? --Bala
New Zealand
Racial undertones Sir, The steps to revoke Dr Mohammed Haneef’s work visa by the Australian Ministry of Immigration Affairs seems to be not only unfair but high handed. Two weeks of interrogation by the Australian Police had failed to prove Haneef’s link with terrorist activities.
The charge that he had violated law could also not be proved. The present action seems to be a fig leaf to cover up the unjustified detention without charge. The only charge they could come up with was giving his SIM card to a cousin in UK with no knowledge of any terrorist connection. The vindictive attitude of the Australian government surely smacks of racial undertones. --H R Bapu somasekhar
Bangalore
Futile effort Sir, The state Lok Ayukta Justice Santosh Hegde appears to be taking on the MLAs. It is a futile effort in curbing corruption, except scoring a point, since this operation against MLAs does not fulfill the intention of the Lok Ayukta legislation, the aim of which is to curb corruption in the bureaucracy. It does not need a diviner to comprehend the magnitude of corruption in the higher bureaucracy. --Hucchhanna Gowda
Mandya
Hypocritical politicos Sir, A news report says that President Abdul Kalam played host to his relatives and friends in Rashtrapati Bhavan recently and paid all expenses of about Rs 6 lakhs from his pocket. He hired vans to bring his guests at his cost. It is a pity that our selfish politicians did not give another tenure for this great son of India. Compare this with the the lifestyle of our Karnataka Ministers who live in aristocratic luxury, with posh cars. Now they are planning to go to China with MLAs and MLCs on a holiday under the pretext of learning the Chinese model of development. It is high time the hypocrisy of politics is removed from our country. --K S Krishnamurthy
Bangalore
Unfortunate trends Sir, The article Socially engaged Islam by M A Siraj (DH, July 17) is apt. The author is right in saying that “Muslims also need to resist the tendency of romanticising the past”.
We cannot put the clock back. We should practice “Be a Roman when you are in Rome”.
We cannot enforce Shariat law which was in vogue about 1000 years ago. Technology has brought about a sea of change in living conditions of human beings. It is unfortunate that the present day youth instead of utilising science and technology for their better living have been indulging in destroying the world and spreading hatred amongst people. --Harikrishna S Holla
Bangalore
