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Don't support U.S.

Sir, — C. Raja Mohan in `India and new age alliances' (Feb. 13) reads much into the suggestion of the New York Times columnist, Tom Friedman, that India should replace France as a permanent member of the United Nations' Security Council.

Many commentators in mainstream newspapers in the United States have been seething with anger at the "audacity" of the French and the Germans in not toeing America's line on Iraq. This is evident in the vituperative and undignified language they have been using in their criticism of these nations.

It is perhaps only the wounded American ego that prompted Mr. Friedman to talk about the replacement of France by India as a permanent member of the Security Council. When the present controversy cools down, Americans can be expected to play a different tune. The worldwide respect India enjoyed in the Nehru era was due to its principled stand on international issues. If India discards cherished principles of international relations and designs its foreign policy solely with a view to positioning itself for recognition by powerful countries of the Western world and for gaining permanent membership in the Security Council, it may end up losing respect among the developing countries.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore

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