Your editorial (?That terror trail?, Dec 6) has rightly suggested that investigation into probable cases of terrorist funds in the stock market must maintain utmost secrecy during its pendency. The present-day global financial system is such that massive amounts of funds, some of which may be unholy, crisscross around the world. The monitoring of fund flows by intelligence agencies must be foolproof and kept confidential. Jumping to conclusions based on faulty or inadequate intelligence could harm investor confidence.
?Vijay Mullaji
Oases of openness
The case that Nirvikar Singh (?Rule and reform: India vs China?, Dec 6) makes for China being a stronger contender than India in the battlefield of ideas is based on the observation that India has not had the periodic revolutions and political movements that China has had over the past half century. It is true that India has not been a cohesive political unit in quite the way that China became under Mao?s rule, regardless of how harebrained the man?s schemes were. After the independence struggle, India has lacked a sense of collective endeavour, and very little has enthused the entire country. This has resulted in some of the fissures in evidence today. But there is still no reason for India to lag China in the field of ideas. This depends on openness as an intellectual arena, and India has many oases of these.
?John Vikluto
