MUSLIM-BAITING

Sir- No pain is vaster than you and me unless it is made to be felt as on obligation. That is what our space-filter columnists want. Iqbal Masud has been found no exception in his article, ‘A pain vaster than you are me’, (February 5).
Iqbal Masud talks about the ‘Islamicising; of the Gull conflict, especially in the context of communal tension in India. He may be right. There has been unwarranted criticism of the way Muslims in India have reacted to the Gulf war. Many have charged the Muslims with extra-territorial loyalties which has led to the heightening of communal tension in India.
It is interesting to see how some of the major papers interpret news of the war.
Let us take one day – February 6. These then were the headlines. ‘Israel bombs PLO bass (The Independent), ‘Bush rejects Iran’s offer to mediate (Business and political observer) ‘Bush rejects Iran offer (The Times of India) and ‘Iraq halts oil supply as 5 cities bombed heavily’ (The Hindustan Times). Now, one can forthrightly differentiate the attitudes. Except Hindustan Times, all the other newspapers either blammed Israel or the US. The Hindustan Times appeared to be jubilant over Iraq being bombed and its inability to supply oil.
Osama
New Delhi