Struck by a star

Sir — There must have been a serious lack of news stories on June 10. Or why would The Telegraph devote such an enormous amount of front-page space to Kareena Kapoor (“All’s well?”, June 10)? Kareena may have won in the best actress category at the IIFA Awards ceremony in Bangkok, but that could not have been reason enough to splash photographs of her and her beau, Saif Ali Khan, all over the paper. I am sure that the readers of The Telegraph have more interest in issues other than the matters of Kareena Kapoor’s heart.

Yours faithfully,
Priyanka Dutta, Calcutta

After terror

Sir — It is heartening to know that Darul Uloom Deoband and Jamait Ulema-e-Hind, two of the most orthodox Islamic institutions, have issued a fatwa against terrorism, saying that “there is no place for terrorists in Prophet Mohammed’s faith. There is no relation between terrorism and Islam” (“Islam body issues fatwa against terror”, June 2). Both the Deoband seminary and the Jamait have a major influence over Muslims all over the world. Their denunciation of terrorism as un-Islamic, along with their passionate avowal of Islam as a religion of peace would surely go a long way in turning many Muslims away from the dreaded path of violence. The declarations of the Jamait and the Deoband are comforting for all those who live in the fear of terrorist attacks ever since 9/11. One hopes that this initiative will be followed up by other global Islamic bodies so that that war on terror achieves its end.

Yours faithfully,
Ranjan Das, Bhubaneswar

Sir — The Darul Uloom Deoband’s condemnation of terror may mark modern day Islam’s first decisive steps towards separating the religious sphere from the political, thereby allowing believers to breathe easy even in non-Muslim societies. Because the bomb blasts in various parts of India in the last few years have been repeatedly traced to Islamic terrorist outfits, people have tended to associate Islam with terrorism and thus to be suspicious of every Muslim. But the truth is that most of the blasts have been masterminded by terrorists outside India, whose main goal is to split the country by turning Hindus and Muslims against each other. It is important for Indian Muslims to realize this. They should join in the war against terror by denying illegal Pakistani or Bangladeshi immigrants entry into India. The frontier states of India are particularly vulnerable to such immigrants who mingle with the locals under false pretence to further their odious plans. Keeping this in mind, Indians in the border areas should be especially careful.

Yours faithfully,
J.S. Acharya, Hyderabad

Now or never

Sir — There were a large number of water bodies in the Nandannagar area between Belgharia and Agarpara railway station. Over a period of time, miscreants have been slowly filling up these jheels. Recently, the members of a local club, Netaji Youngs’ Association, had been trying to fill up a huge pond in Nandannagar by dumping wastes into it. They intend to make a playground in the area. I submitted two letters to the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, requesting it to take steps against the misdeed, but to no avail. I discussed the matter with the law officer of the state fisheries department and following his advice, submitted a copy of the letter to the fisheries minister, Kiranmay Nanda. The law officer promised to take immediate action. However, work at the pond continues as before. Since the concerned departments seem unwilling to prevent the pond from disappearing, the media should take up the cause before the jheel becomes history.

Yours faithfully,
Dilip Sarkar, Calcutta