CK Lal has never tried to hide his views on the army. However, he seems to be extra vitriolic in his latest column ('Military fatigue', #273) about the Jaleswor incident, probably because his own community was mistreated by the army. In future I hope Lal realises that soldiers for the last four to five years have been fighting the insurgency non-stop, being far away from their near and dear ones and without any dasain or tihar or any form of leave. It is easy to write, Mr Lal, but it is much tougher to be in the army. Please show some sympathy to them once in a while and be more mellow in your choice of words.

Dr Amrit KC,
Bishalnagar

. All you journalists ever see is the negative. Does CK Lal realise that if it was not for these very frustrated, untrained soldiers you would either be wearing a green uniform or killed. Let's give the RNA some credit. They lay down their lives to protect the country from a ruthless enemy. It can't be easy killing fellow Nepalis on Nepali soil. They are in constant danger and all the good that they do goes unnoticed. I want to take this oppurtunity to thank all the soldiers of the RNA for doing what they are doing. No army is perfect we have seen this in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq but every soldier knows his duty and they join the armed forces to protect the very people who criticise them. I feel sick of you journalists. How would you feel if you were out there at the front facing an enemy that wants to destroy our nation? May Goddess Kali shower her blessings on every soldier of the RNA.

Name withheld,
email

. Good thing we still have commentators in this country like CK Lal who have the courage and foresight to warn us about the dangers of alienating taraibasis. Mr Lal is telling the RNA for its own good and for the future of this country that it has to stop making excuses for excesses like the Jaleswor incidents and human rights violations which are pushing the country to the brink. While being forced to deploy in an unwinnable guerrilla war, there is a danger the soldiers are creating a bigger crisis with all the people they harass. A nation's army can't say: "They're doing it, too, and so can we." As a state party, it has to be more responsible towards all citizens and not just the mainstream community.

Jaganath Sharma,
email

. C K Lal is right in pointing out that it is tough for army personnel in the tarai. But the way the soldiers are behaving, it may be difficult to save their image. Last year, while travelling with my dad on the highway soldiers at checkpoints repeatedly used rude and unprintable words while addressing my elderly father. And forget about 'tapai' or even 'timi', it was 'ta' all the way. I was helpless before an armed 20-year-old soldier. Welcome to Nepal, I thought. How can there be respect for human rights with an attitude like that? If this guy was a bad apple, there seem to an awful lot of bad apples out there. This year, I was in Delhi for a week on transit to Nepal. My father asked me not to bring anything apart from my clothes. He wanted me to leave even the gifts elsewhere, in case I encountered unnecessary hassles at the checkpoints. If they can't differentiate between a Maoist and an innocent citizen how are they going to fight this war? And it's the Maoists who declared a ceasefire, not the forces who are supposed to protect and safeguard citizens. Lord Pashupatinath has turned away. May someone save Nepal. PS: Please do not disclose my name. I do not want to jeopardise my family.

Name withheld,
email

. Although I used to be a supporter of the king, I am having second thoughts about his blatant disregard for the country and his choice of cronies, but I still feel that the parties joining the Maoists is not the solution as you argue in your editorial ('Breakthrough in Delhi?', #273). How can you join forces with the Maoists when we all know that they do not accept political pluralism? One can't forget history-look at Mao and Chang Khai Shek. They fought the Japanese together and then Mao tried to backstab him. It is sad to see the political parties falling into the trap of joining forces with a party that has slaughtered their ranks for years just to get power. Mr Girija Koirala is nothing but a power hungry, corrupt politician (this goes for MK and all the rest of their buddies as well). Don't they have any remorse for all the party workers whose blood has been spilt? They just want to join mainstream politics because they know they have lost the people's support. The Maoists can't be trusted, they will eventually take up arms again until they have absolute power. Baburam Bhattrai and Pushpa Kumar Dahal should atone for all the lives they have taken. They should never be allowed to join politics and should be tried in Tundikhel as traitors and terrorists. And if the political parties join them then they should be tried as well.

Name withheld,
email

. Your editorial shows how the Nepali Times has lost its direction. Readers like us relied on your paper to reveal the truth and show a direction during this turmoil and conflict but it is now clear that you have eaten up everything that you stood for and advocated. The very title is disgusting. India has been a pure hypocrite towards Nepal with regard to the Maoist problem, the Bhutani refugee problem, building dams in border areas and interfering in politics. To expect that this country will come up with something beneficial for Nepal is pure stupid. I agree that the current government with its bad policies and governance is the reason why the Nepali people are still giving some space to the political parties. But what the parties have done in aligning themselves with the Maoists and India is completely in line with what they have done in the past and what they represent. The parties are the personification of corruption, immorality and power at any cost. With this alliance, they are well on their way to obtaining one more title: 'terrorist'. Having lost all hopes of getting to power by fooling the Nepali people again, Madhab Nepal adopted the Maoist methodology of terrorising when he said that there will be a big revolt and bloodshed if this alliance does not have its way. The Nepali Times would have done better if it had not echoed these threats. With these forces at play, I do not want my name revealed.

Name withheld,
email

. As long as brave Nepali gurujis like Narjit Basnet and Dhan Bahadur Khadka profiled by Naresh Newar in his excellent field report 'Frontline teachers' (#273) who have have suffered being dismembered by Maoist butchers still believe in the power of the pen over the barrel of the gun, the Nepali younger generation will still have hope. I salute all the Narjits and Dhan Bahadurs in Nepal for their sacrifice.

Dhruba Khanal,
email