Good to know from Daniel Lak that 'the Indians would like nothing better than a Nepal that is prosperous, happy and at p'Looking at Nepal from New Delhi', #231) Such a statement, if issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have provided great relief to us Nepalis. But this assurance has come from someone who is not even an Indian national. (Or is Lak already a naturalised Indian citizen?) Frankly, does a western parachute journalist qualify to send a prescription to Nepalis, that too from a secure base called New Delhi? Why has the Nepali Times given Lak a permanent platform to frequently humiliate people living in Nepal?

Mahendra Moktan,
Baneswor Heights

. Being a respected journalist and ardent democrat, how can Daniel Lak in his Here and There column tell Nepalis to just follow the path of India? Although there are many well-educated pundits in and outside Nepal who do the same thing, as a Canadian, Lak should be ashamed to suggest Nepal follow India's example. It's like saying Canada should follow the policy made in Washington DC. How would the Canadians feel about that? Just like the Americans dominate the world, what a great idea it would be to let India dominate South Asia! As someone who has spent a lot of time in Nepal in the past, Lak is free to have his opinions. And it has to be admitted, we are also to blame for kow-towing to the Big Brotherly Great Neighbour India. Historically, Nepal's kings, prime ministers and Maoists have all followed the Indian line, and look at where it got us. So, Mr Lak, it is not the number of Indians who should or must know where Nepal is, not that the Indian media should have more reporting on Nepal, but that Indian leaders themselves must learn how to handle Nepal. The Maoists are a threat to Nepal and India, yet they are tolerated in Indian soil. Or is he suggesting that we hand defence and foreign policy over to people south of the border and only then will we be free of the 4Ms: military, monarchy, Maoists and multiparty?

C S Rana,
email

. Every politician, bureaucrat, general, businessman and opinionist in Kathmandu should read Daniel Lak's 'Looking at Nepal from New Delhi'. Our emotive pseudo-nationalism has undermined the national interest for too long. Successive rulers in Kathmandu used vitriolic anti-Indian rhetoric in public and sold us down the river in private. It is time to be transparent and pragmatic in our relations with India. Let's do our homework, figure out what it is we want and deal through a sense of realpolitik with New Delhi.

Jivan Khatri,
email