After New Delhi boldly issued a visa to exiled Uighur-Chinese leader Dolkun Isa, it is deeply disappointing that it developed cold feet following China’s angry protest (“Visa for Chinese exile cancelled”, April 26). What is quizzical is that if the electronic tourist visa was invalid, why was it issued in the first place? One finds it hard to believe that it has been explained away as “a glitch”. The stark reality, and one we are unable to accept, is that at most multilateral forums, China has been consistently humiliating India by adopting a distinctly hostile stance towards it. By backtracking on the visa issue, the message is that India is a soft state. Rather than cower, we need to make it clear that bilateral relations can only be based on a give-and-take policy.
Nalini Vijayaraghavan,Thiruvananthapuram
