This is not the time to do research on the Maoists to see how they evolved, or whether or not they are true followers of the Great Helmsman ("Maoism in a post-Mao world," Puskar Gautam, #93). The present situation in Nepal is the outcome of various things, such as lack of political commitment, no sense of responsibility, misguided professionals, corruption, mismanagement, and most of all lack of values and confidence as a nation. It's a shame that the credibility of our nation is fading and that we are no longer in a position to decide our own destiny.

Many say the Maoist revolution has its roots in corruption and poverty. I have my doubts. It started because of our lack of sense of values and selfishness. We don't have to follow Mao to tackle poverty and corruption, in fact Mao may not be the right person to follow as his own country has abandoned his ideas. It is a classic example of how immature and mentally straitjacketed we are as citizens, so much so that we are ready to destroy our own lives and lives of our children in a fit of pique at our present politicians.

"Sameer"
USA

. After the advent of the Maoist insurgency the morality of truth has taken a back seat. The rebels who were once lauded by the people for social reformation have now plummeted to the abyss of satanic acts. They have lost all humanity and ethics, they have gone beyond common sense and unleashed a sadistic barbarism on their motherland. Can't the so-called great minds like Dr Baburam Bhattarai stand apart from the destructive bunch of anarchists that have hijacked the revolution? You can exploit the emotion of the ignorant and destitute population and urge them to act at gunpoint. But you will only succeed in destroying everything. You cannot heal a society after you have torn its fabric to shreds.
KP Poudel, by email

. We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on Sanskrit University. These terrorists are no different from the Taleban who destroyed the Buddha statutes in Afghanistan. The recent attack by Maoist terrorists is a cruel attack not only on the university, but on Hinduism as well. We hope the Nepali government will take action against the perpetrators.

Kamala, Rita Rana, Subhash Giri, Prativa KC, Barbara Gurung, Chandra Rana, Nandida Rai, Manisha Kapoor, Bharati Shah, Reema Gurung, USA