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Journalism of Courage
• This refers to ‘Dubey was right, says CBI, has fresh corruption evidence’ (IE, November 27). It is admirable that you have persisted in following the case of this individual’s supreme sacrifice and its aftermath. Your daily seems to be the only one doing this with the intent and intensity such an incident deserves. Many congratulations and hope you continue to follow this case with honesty and zeal.
— Nirbhay Singh Njombe
• We elect dishonest people and appoint corrupt bureaucrats. If an honest person like Satyendra Dubey comes along, he is eliminated by being murdered or otherwise removed. People complain about corruption but do not pursue the corrupt. The way honest people are consistently run down by politicians or by corrupt government officials should have woken us up by now.
— Surinder Puri Washington DC
The violent state
• Apropos of ‘Gujarat DGP’s duty to probe phone records’ (IE, November 26), it is amazing how the system collapses! It is the duty of the state to secure the safety and wellbeing of its citizens. Now, if the state itself is sponsoring the massacre and violence, where can we get justice?
— N. Shaikh Manchester
Chosen One
• BJP president L.K. Advani said at the national executive meet of the party at Ranchi that “the BJP is really the Chosen Instrument of the Divine…’’ Kings and sheikhs of Islamic states continue their dictatorial rule on the plea that they are chosen by Allah. A Hindu Rashtra will be a theological state and instead of the people’s will, divine will will be supreme. Advani’s implication is: howsoever the people might vote, the right to rule will be with the BJP.
— N. Kunju Delhi
• L.K. Advani needs to urgently read up on history. His claim that “the BJP is really the Chosen Instrument of the Divine” is the latest in a series of ludicrous statements emerging from the BJP hierarchy after the party’s debacle in Lok Sabha elections.If only he were to read up on the great empires of the past founded on such a belief in Divine Right, he would realise that all of them collapsed under their own pressure, being incapable of sustaining such a ridiculous belief. In the modern age, post-Enlightenment, to re-introduce such a concept is a rare absurdity. It is bound to backfire as there is a growing realisation that true religion is not in being chosen over others for the sake of power, but in peoples coming together for mutual development and harmony.
— Suren Abreu Mumbai
Negative mindset
• This refers to ‘We are in denial’ (IE, November 27). Swamiji has rightly pointed to the fatal weakness of Indian society. However, I would like to point out that before the advent of the RSS and its position as a pan Indian voice of Hindu society, our society was in a much greater negationist mode due to the high voltage campaign of British scholars who must be given credit for doing such a thorough job of demoralising the Indian intellectual class that even after nearly six decades we have not come out of this negative mindset.
— Ratan Sharda Mumbai
