Singh’s sincerity laudable, not his remarks on Modi

A reader says Manmohan Singh has no right to criticise other leaders because he himself has failed to deliver on his promises. Other topics: Syria, stay-at-home dad, man and machine, restaurant, Farooq Sheikh

A reader says Manmohan Singh should not make any negative remarks about Narendra Modi, as he himself has not been able to achieve any positive results during his nine-year tenure as prime minister of India. Harish Tyagi / EPAShow less

I enjoyed reading the article Indian PM will step down and says Modi is a disastrous candidate (January 4).

At a press conference, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged his inability to control inflation, unemployment and corruption.

I appreciate his sincerity in accepting his failure to fulfil the promises he made to the people of India. But I think he should have stopped there. Instead of doing so, he went on to make an unwarranted remark about Narendara Modi, saying that it would be “disastrous” if he became prime minister.

During his two tenures as prime minister, Mr Singh failed miserably and his party was completely defeated in four states during the recent elections. That shows that his party has lost trust among people.

The truth is that Mr Modi has, at least, proven his ability in one state, while Mr Singh has not been able to do so. Even as an economist he has not been able to show any thing over the past nine years. Now he should leave the decision to choose the next leader to the people.

Today people are more powerful than ever. For proof, Mr Singh and his party need not look beyond the capital, where the Aam Admi Party has been brought to power.

K Ragavan, India

Syria’s tensions illustrated well

I agree with the views expressed by Majid Rafizadeh in the opinion article Religious edicts broaden the scope of the Syrian conflict (December 26) over the power and influence of Shiite philosophy in the Middle East. The intricacies and nuances are illustrated well. We should also remember the role the pro-Sunni groups are playing to neutralise the Shiite efforts. In short, the article very well illustrated how Syria has become a flashpoint for the Shiite-Sunni tensions in the region.

L Raslan, US

Man is meant to earn for family

I refer to the article What life is like for stay-at-home dads in the UAE (January 4).In my opinion, men who prefer to stay at home and allow their wives to work are just lazy. In every culture across the world, a man is supposed to fend for his family. The wife might have a good job, but that's an added advantage. That should not be an excuse for a man to stay at home and look after the children. If a man has lost his job and is looking for another, I would understand but to sit back and relax and let your wife do your job is inexcusable.

I know many teachers have sufficient income to support a family, but I don’t think it affords the luxury of a potential earner to just nap around. I doubt if Jonathan Week’s friends who envy him are genuine.

Taking care of a family is one of the joys of manhood. Even if my wife gets a job that is 10 times higher paying than mine, I will still wake up every morning to work for that extra dirham.

A woman is meant to look after the kids, not a man. By doing so, he is stealing the joys of motherhood from his wife.

Mbongeni Madlisa Mpofu, Abu Dhabi

Can machines imitate humans?

I am commenting on the article First robot astronaut asks Santa for a toy rocket (December 20).

If machines take over all human activity, what will happen to the human body and its conditioned-to-work-and-think brain? Will it decay? Is man-machine coexistence possible while people are fighting for jobs and resources?

Anyway, what is the endeavour in which a robot cannot take part or channel at all? What is the fundamental difference between a mechanical structure that imitates life and life itself? I wonder if there is any.

Name withheld by request

Article on food diluted the point

What does the alleged Armenian genocide have to do with a story about the opening of a restaurant (New Dubai restaurant serves traditional Armenian cuisine like grandma used to make, December 17)?

How is that event so relevant to Armenian cuisine that the article had to devote five paragraphs to it?

Name withheld by request

Farooq Sheikh had more to give

I am writing in reference to the article Farooq Sheikh's last rites held in Mumbai (December 30).

Not many Indians of the current generation know or have heard about Farooq Sheikh. But that does not mean that his contribution to Hindi cinema was inadequate. He was indeed a great actor and had much more to give. His untimely death is really unfortunate.

There was one basic difference between Sheikh and many other famous Bollywood actors: he was not hungry for publicity. That is why he was probably not as popular as he should have been.

V Siddharth, Dubai