Thank you for publishing P Sainath's excellent article "Rationalism and nationalism" (#26) which is one of the most cogent and well-argued pieces I have read in a long time in these intolerant times. And there I saw the reason for all the intolerance and bigotry amidst us: the twisting of facts, scapegoating and deliberate manipulation of media that has sown communal discord throughout the region. Nepal has been a convenient scapegoat for India, and the backlash was what we saw in December. The street violence in Kathmandu was just the latest episode in this ugly saga.

Lal B Rai
Kathmandu

I was reading Nepali Times and watching Star News. And as usual the Indian channel had a piece on smuggling from Nepal to India via the "open border". While this is true, it is only half true. Smuggling cuts both ways. There is plenty of smuggling from India to Nepal (as has been over decades). The crooks from UP and Bihar are not saints. The Indian Press conveniently leave this out. Maybe you can do a piece on this to give this a more balanced coverage.

S Shrestha
by email