3rd April 2003

Dear Mr President,

Let me introduce myself. I live in Hyderabad. I am an actor by profession, but that's beside the point. I am just one of those millions of people who have been glued to the TV in recent days watching the drama called 'war' that is being enacted in Iraq.

The provocation for this letter is a photograph of an Iraqi girl I saw in the newspapers. She had been hit by a splinter during a bombing raid and blood was oozing out of her eyes.

Mr President, I don't know whether or not this war is justified. I am not even aware of the arguments and counter-arguments. But I refuse to believe that this little girl should suffer for no fault of hers.

My heart goes out to those innocent civilians in Iraq who are bearing the brunt of the attacks on their country.

Tell me, Mr President, isn't the United States a 'Superpower', and therefore you, its president, a 'Superman'?

As far as I know, Superman protects the world, he does not destroy it. But there's only destruction happening in Iraq.

Sitting in Hyderabad, I cannot be indifferent to what is happening in that unfortunate country.A war, even if it starts in one country, can have repercussions all over the globe.

Many letters have been written appealing to you not to attack Iraq. I don't know if you have read them. You may not have. If you did, it is obvious you ignored them just like you ignored the opinion of more than 70 per cent of people of your own country who have expressed themselves against this war.

You might ignore this letter too. But, don't get me wrong, Mr Bush, when I say that my heart goes out to the people of Iraq just as it did to the people of your country when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center.

I have seen pictures of you playing with your puppies. Don't you think the children of Iraq deserve your love too?.

You say you have a reason to deal with Saddam Hussein. But in this age, are bombs the only way to tackle him? A surgeon operates to heal. If Saddam Hussein is the disease, please remove him but do not destroy the healthy tissues in the body called Iraq.

Isn't your technology good enough to trace out one man when your satellites can detect a tennis ball in my backyard?

Everyday I pray for peace in the world with this invocation from the Bhagvad Gita: Sarvejane sukhinobhavanthu.

Mr President, let peace prevail.

Yours sincerely,

Chiranjeevi

Courtesy: Times of India