Lane discipline
It has become a routine to see cars weaving across lanes, motorbikes charging the wrong way, and riders treating helmets like accessories. Many drivers behave like the road is a combat zone, brushing past anything in their path. I have gone through the licensing-testing process and can attest that Goa’s transport office enforces fewer shortcuts than many other states. Yet the system relies on rote answers recited during a quick oral quiz – facts that evaporate when a new licence holder pulls into traffic. Driving is not a casual chore but a practised art that demands continuous awareness. A responsible driver safeguards his own life by first safeguarding everyone else’s. Lane discipline is central to that duty. A vehicle should remain in its lane unless there is a clear need to change, only after signalling in advance. Too often, slow cars linger in the right‑hand lane, forcing faster traffic to dart left and right in frustration. That one small act – cruising at leisure in the overtaking lane – sets off a chain of hasty manoeuvres, near misses and needless stress for everyone behind. If we want calmer, safer roads, we must treat lane rules with the same respect we give traffic lights. Keep to the left unless overtaking. Use indicators as a courtesy, not an afterthought. Recognise that the road is a shared canvas and driving well is an everyday performance of civic responsibility, not a private contest of speed or ego.
Raghav Gadgil, St Cruz
Soft diplomacy
So finally we did it. We have taken action by organising air strikes against terror targets in PoK and Pakistan in retaliation to the Pahalgam attack through Operation Sindoor. Reviewing the reactions of the Western media after the Pahalgam attack, one finds the BBC calling Kashmir as ‘India- occupied Kashmir’ and the New York Times sympathising with the terrorists and taking the Pakistan line that the attack was the work of independence-seeking groups in Kashmir. Even Europe was ambivalent on its stance to fully condemn the Pahalgam attack. The overall reaction from the West was that India is entitled to consider retaliatory action but should exercise restraint in its response. This is in contrast to Israel and the US action in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and against the Houthis in Yemen where at the drop of a hat the named countries launch counterattacks. Israel has had the temerity recently to get a decision to annex the whole of Gaza passed by its cabinet as if it is theirs for the taking. In any case, the lack of support from the West throws the spotlight on our diplomacy, which has not been good enough and that the Pakistan line is more supported around the world than that of India. It shows yet again that despite India touting its foreign policy credits to its home audience, there is a lot of work to be done on the world stage. We need to appreciate that soft diplomacy plays a great part in moulding world opinion which can be used to support our position in contingent situations.
S Kamat, Mysuru
Delayed action
As per the Army’s press release on Wednesday morning, Operation Sindoor, a limited, non-escalatory, strike has been launched and completed against Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This has been touted as retaliatory action for the Pahalgam massacre. Missile attacks on specific locations in Bhawalpur and in PoK were apparently conducted. This begs the question, when this information or specific intelligence pinpoint data was available about terrorist camps and launch pads across the border, why were they not targeted before the Pahalgam attack? Do we need to be in kneejerk mode all the time, isn’t the war against terror supposed to be a continuous operation? How come such precise information was acted upon now after Pahalgam and not before it, were the Indian authorities sleeping over this intelligence? Also, how can it be ascertained that the retaliatory action has fulfilled its mandate? Remember Balakot where India claimed to have eliminated terror camps and silenced 200 mobile connections, while Pakistan took the international press to the purported site of attack and showed them that some trees had been destroyed.
Misha, Varca
Rooting out terrorism
By successfully destroying the terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India has avenged the ghastly killings of civilians by Pakistan terrorists in Pahalgam. India carried out the targeted and coordinated airstrikes as a retaliatory military attack following the terrorist attack. The provocative rhetoric of Pakistan leaders and that country’s continued ceasefire violations worsened the situation. What if Pakistan carries out a counter attack? Then these attacks could escalate into a wider war-like situation. Neither of the countries can afford to wage a wider war against each other. It is the responsibility of a government to protect the lives of people and property. Both the countries must reckon with the adverse consequences of war.
Venu G S, Kollam
