Smart voters

Smart voters
The edit ‘Victors again’, (DNA, September 21) was timely. Any politician basking in his past glory is brought back to earth by the electorate. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar is said to have done some good work which reflected in the results of the last election. But Lalu Yadav has definitely struck a sympathetic chord with the people. The same cannot be said of Gujarat where the Narendra Modi bandwagon is merrily moving on despite attempts from various quarters to disrupt its smooth sailing. To look for the unpredictability of voters, we need not look beyond Andhra Pradesh where in recent years no chief minister won so handsomely as the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Indian voters are shrewd enough to keep their democracy alive.
—Ganapathi Bhat, Akola

Helping Myanmar
‘China-Myanmar conflict gives India an opportunity’ by Seema Guha’s (DNA, September 21) was one of the very few analytical articles focusing on a geopolitical opportunity for our country. Myanmar’s efforts to bring the rebel forces in its northern borders under its control for eventual merger into its army are vital for a united post-election democratic Myanmar. India cannot afford to lose this opportunity to help Myanmar. Will India miss the Myanmar bus also in spite of its age-old traditional economic, social and political ties is a billion dollar question.
—S Subramanyan, Navi Mumbai

Nuclear deterrence
Rajesh Basrur says that India’s credible nuclear deterrent is actually adequate (‘Testing diversion’, DNA, September 21). But are the nuclear bombs really a deterrent? The US could use nuclear bombs on Japan in 1945 because it was the only country which could boast of a ‘credible nuclear deterrence’. Do you think the US would have dared to do so if Italy or Germany had nuclear bombs? The US fought with Vietnam for over a decade and suffered a humiliating defeat. Why didn’t it use a nuclear bomb? Because, had it used a bomb, it would have led to a third world war, for Russia and China would not have sat quietly.
—KP Rajan, Mumbai

Great form
India’s win at the Davis Cup World Group play-off is a matter of celebration (‘Somrise’, DNA, September 21). Somdev Devvarman’s never-say-die attitude against Rik de Voest and his subsequent victory reminds me of Ramanathan Krishnan. After losing the first two sets and trailing in the third set against Thomas Koch of Brazil in 1966, Krishnan made an extraordinary comeback and won the match for India.
—A Seshan, via email