Power on the Subcontinent

Sir: The war between India and Pakistan [Dec. 6] is, in reality, not for the benefit of the Bangladesh refugees, but to determine once and for all the sole power on the subcontinent and put the Soviets in a better position against China.

If India succeeds in overrunning East Pakistan, it is probable that the Bangladesh nation will be born, leaving West Pakistan but a minor power to be reckoned with. In this way, India will also strengthen her position against China by eliminating an ally of the Chinese and a threat to her flanks. The Soviets will benefit not only by securing bases to operate at will in the strategically important Indian Ocean, but also by obtaining a stronger position to contain the Chinese.

MARK E. SINGER Champaign, Ill.

Sir: I am at a loss to understand how it serves the interests of this country to befriend the theocratic dictatorship, Pakistan, against democratic India. It is true that Pakistan once provided us with a base for flying U-2 spy missions over the Soviet Union. But since then, she has been blackmailing us continually into giving her sophisticated weaponry by threatening to go over to Communist China. It is well known that not one shot supplied by us to Pakistan has ever been used against the Communists. The arms have always been used against India, and lately against the Bengalis in the East. We must revise our policies before we have irretrievably pushed India into the Soviet orbit, thus imperiling democracy in Asia.

A. DATTA Greensboro, N.C.

Sir: I can already see the Statue of Liberty in tears over the hypocrisy of the U.S. Government. I am, however, heartened by the moral support of the American people in general for the cause of Bangladesh. It seems that there is a yawning gap between the conscience of the American people and the policy of their Government.

RAJEEV K. MAHAJAN New Delhi

Sir: Which of the two events should be more alarming--a clash between two armies resulting in a few hundred deaths, or the systematic killing of a million innocent people? If world leaders were more pragmatic, the double tragedy could have been avoided long ago.

SHYAM B. BHANDARI Iowa City, Iowa

Sir: For some it is fairly easy to put blame on India for the deterioration of the situation in the subcontinent. However, these observers seem to overlook the fact that India has acted with restraint and patience for the last nine months, struggling hard to feed, shelter and cure the 10 million extra people in the already overcrowded country while the world "watched."

MAHESH C. BHARDWAJ Lexington, Ky.

Sir: May I comment on the unbelievable restraint exercised by President Yahya Khan in the face of continuous provocations by India. Each and every Pakistani proposition was rejected by the "peace-loving" followers of Mahatma Gandhi. Was there ever a better example of dire contradiction in the sayings and actions of a civilized government?

S.N. AHMAD Zurich

The Live War

Sir: President Nixon has stated that the U.S. ground combat role has ended in Viet Nam [Nov. 22]. We grunts feel that since we are still out in the bush, we should at least get credit for it or be pulled out. Instead, people back home get the impression that we're sitting on fire bases playing volleyball and getting stoned. There are still Americans being killed and wounded out here, so to us the war is still very much alive.

SP/4 J.P. CAMPBELL and the men of Delta Company 2/8 1st Cav. Div.

Sir: I wonder what our American P.O.W.s still being held in North Viet Nam think about this "Doppler war" that "recedes" into the past [Dec. 6]. This will be my husband's seventh Christmas as a P.O.W. If all the men being held were sons of our esteemed Congressmen, I wonder if my man would be experiencing the Doppler effect at home this Christmas. I guess you could call this my Christmas wonder.

MRS. JAMES BOND STOCKDALE Coronado, Calif.

Sir: Let's get one thing perfectly clear: even after the American ground troops have left Viet Nam, American soldiers will still be there fighting from the air.

BLASE DISTEFANO Houston

Desert Fox or Dead Lion?

Sir: Having served in Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps (1941-43), I think I know somewhat more about him than some current historians [Nov. 29]. Indeed Rommel was no successful strategist, but he was a brilliant tactician. His campaign in North Africa is legendary and still unequaled. But those junior generals of today sometimes think they know better 27 years after Rommel's death. Are they kicking a dead lion with the hind leg?

OTTO BUCHINGER, M.D. Bad Pyrmont, West Germany

Hide! The Treadmill

Sir: Psychologist Edward de Bono [Dec. 6] must indeed be a young man to claim there is no dog-exercising machine.

Back in the early 1920s, when I was a youngster growing up in the hills of western New York State, our neighboring farmer had one. He put it to good use too. It was a treadmill affair for churning butter. Whenever he got it ready to use, the big collie dog would bolt out of the house and hide in the barn.

My sympathies were with the dog. I had to churn by hand.

FRANK M. BIRCH, D.V.M. Warsaw, Ind.

Insult to Motherhood

Sir: Your story "First No to Sex Bias" [Dec. 6] says somewhat disapprovingly that the courts have upheld laws that forbid women to work as bartenders. If a man bartender becomes rude or obnoxious, one can always slug him over the head with a beer bottle, but what do you do to a woman bartender under similar circumstances? Women tending bar are an insult to motherhood. They should be home looking after their children.

MICHAEL ZIAS Bradford, Pa.

Majority Rule in Rhodesia

Sir: TIME'S report on Rhodesia [Dec. 6] states that the procedure agreed to by Premier Ian Smith and Sir Alec Douglas-Home "gives the whites an effective veto at the crucial final stage" in progress toward majority rule.

The proposals are complicated. The creation, following parity, of the ten Common Roll seats through which majority rule will be achieved will be written into the constitution. Alternative arrangements can be substituted only by amending the constitution, which would require a two-thirds majority in each house of the Rhodesian Parliament. Such a majority would need at least 17 African votes in the House of Assembly. Thus it is the Africans who have the "effective veto" on any proposals that would frustrate majority rule.

SIR COLIN CROWE Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations New York City

The Trouble with Scrooge

Sir: It being that time of the year again, I thought it extremely appropriate for TIME to expose Christmas greeting cards for exactly what they are worth [Dec. 6]. I have sent these meaningless cards for years and only very recently realized the alternatives. To my favorite charities, I will henceforth donate a sum equal to what my cards would have cost this year. Scrooge would not have been so bad after all, if only he had given his money away to those less fortunate than himself. I now know how he would have felt had he done so.

B.J. MITCHELL New York City

The Hazard of the Anti-Hero

Sir: "The Bandit Who Went Out into the Cold" [Dec. 6] does journalism an injustice by creating an antihero. "D.B. Cooper," the parachuting skyjacker, prints out as a courageous, daring individual. Let us pray that in the next instance God is the copilot and no lives are lost, and let us treat the recent case for what it was: a serious crime. As a commercial airline pilot, I feel my chances of being hijacked are enhanced by such reporting.

MICHAEL R. BEVER Londonderry, N.H.

Man of the Year Nominations

Sir: Man of the Year? Henry Kissinger, who has been instrumental in moving the world toward a historic rapprochement.

LARRY BAUER Cleveland

Sir: Edward Finch Cox, living symbol of the dreams and aspirations of millions of decent young Americans. What divine justice that this young man, who refused to betray the values his forefathers cherished, should be rewarded with the hand of America's own princess, Tricia Nixon.

ALAN SPALDING Durham, N.H.

Sir: Our Supreme Court Justices. They upheld one of our most basic tenets for existence as a free state: freedom of the press.

PHIL ENOS Fresno, Calif.

Sir: My choice for TIME'S Man of the Year: Danny Murtaugh, manager of the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

ISRAEL GOODMAN Louisville

Sir: George Harrison, the musician who tied together his friends, fame, talent and human concern to the benefit of the Pakistani refugees.

JOEL F. GLAZIER Wilmington, Del.

Sir: My nomination for the Man of the Year is Lee Trevino, because he brought laughter, excitement and suspense to many, many millions of people.

JESSE AGUIRRE Garland, Texas

Sir: Our policemen as Men of the Year. Twenty-four hours a day they place their lives on the line for the citizens of this country. How many people could or would take the risks and indignities that each lawman has thrust upon him daily?

ELIZABETH I. STRANG Burbank, Calif.

Sir: Gloria Ms. of the Year. MICHAEL REARDON Billings, Mont.

Sir: I nominate Premier Golda Meir, of whom Ben-Gurion once said, "She is the best man in my Cabinet," as the Woman of the Year. Troubled by foreign and domestic problems, she has succeeded admirably in keeping her ship of state afloat.

GEORGE TOPAS Lakewood, NJ.

Sir: Man of the Year: Spiro Agnew. No particular reason.

THOMAS L. FRAZER Arvada, Colo.

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