The Nepal Tourism Board's objection against mandatory passports for Indian tourists flying to Nepal is welcome. ("The Indians are coming," #79). It is a marked departure from the orthodox Nepali blindspot for Indian arrivals. We have to stop being xenophobic and try to be more pragmatic in our national interest. But passport-free entry alone is not going to solve the problem of our ailing tourism industry. We must not just make it easy for Indian tourists to fly in, but also to drive up to Nepal. Let us follow landlocked Switzerland's example and allow free and unrestricted entry for cars with the motto "don't check vehicles, check the humans inside". As Indians get more mobile, highways expand and are improved, this will bring in a new influx of visitors who spend money along the highways and not just in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

S Grimalji
Kathmandu

Loved CK Lal's "Guns and roses in Delhi" (#79). Never seen anyone in the Indian media take apart the hypocrisy of our Republic Day procession with such objectivity and conviction. Why do I have to come to Nepal to set things in my own country in proper perspective? One thing though: as a short-time resident of Nepal, I am concerned about the little things that happen to me every day that prove a latent prejudice against Indians. CK Lal says Nepal is "India-locked". I don't think so, I think Nepal is "ideas-locked".

J Kumar
Kathmandu