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Journalism of Courage
8226; A significant event in history is being created right here in this country of over a billion, thanks to the uncanny judgement of a simple but fully conscious electorate composed of the very poor, the middle class and the distinctly better off. It is a fantastic step which can hardly be described as just 8216;8216;a small step for India8217;8217; because in fact it is 8216;8216;a giant leap for democracy8217;8217; 8212; globally! Can you believe it? Someone who, in the recent past, has been foul-mouthed by all and sundry irresponsible politicians out of sheer arrogance of power, has risen to the occasion to take the reigns of office in the world8217;s largest democracy. Undoubtedly, the whole world will acknowledge this fantastic phenomenon and when this Republic has lived a thousand years it will be said that it was India8217;s most uniquely finest hour!
8212; Mukund B. Kunte New Delhi
Take that baton
8226; In his graceful front-page write-up 8216;Mr Vajpayee8217;s high ground, Mrs Gandhi8217;s road ahead8217; IE, May 14 Shekhar Gupta is right in saying that Vajpayee has cruelly been denied the great trysts with destiny he had scripted. As he says, the import of this election is more intricate than just calling it the revenge of Bharat on India, the message from the poor to the feel-good classes, and so on. Gupta also has the vital message for Sonia Gandhi, that for her it8217;s a formidable challenge, morally, politically and intellectually, and that she may do well to learn from her predecessor the art of managing a rainbow coalition.
8212; M.C. Joshi On e-mail
There8217;s Manmohan
8226; Sonia Gandhi will win enormous respect if she proposes the name of Manmohan Singh for the prime minister8217;s position and remains the party president herself. Singh should select a young team of technocrats for various ministries and assure India that he will fight against corruption and keep the momentum of economic reforms going, but at the same time frame policies where the fruits of progress reach the downtrodden as well.
8212; Dinesh C. Maheshwari On e-mail
The tribute holds
8226; Nani Palkhiwala8217;s reaction after Atal Bihari Vajpayee had to quit in 1996 because of lack of majority in the Lok Sabha was that 8216;8216;we may not get a person like Vajpayee as prime minister8217;8217;. It is still relevant. No prime minister has contributed so much to the country8217;s economic prosperity and cordial relationship with neighbours, including Pakistan. His team 8212; led by Advani, the two Aruns, and the shrewd duo of Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha 8212; did a great job during their tenure in various capacities. We will miss him.
8212; Kumar Situr On e-mail
Politics of shine
8226; The NDA8217;s lacklustre performance in the general elections is a clear indication of the fact that India as a country still needs to stick to addressing grassroot issues like water, electricity and poverty. The India Shining campaign clearly backfired on the BJP and its allies. The Indian public has definitely become far more intelligent and a few attractive advertisements failed to lure the common voter in the villages where the shine was not visible.
8212; Rajnish Sharma On e-mail
