Letters to the editor

Gandhiji’s heroic stature and moral authority saved the lives of millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of Calcutta, Noakhali, Bihar and Delhi, during Partition. His peace mission in Noakhali has no parallel in recent history at a juncture when neither the army nor the police could provide protection to the riot-affected. On August 26,1947, Lord Mountbatten wrote to Gandhiji: “In the Punjab we have fifty five thousand soldiers and large scale rioting on our hands. In Bengal our forces consists of one man, (Gandhiji) and there is no rioting.” Truly we should keep Gandhi’s memory alive if we want to survive as a united nation.

— Hitesh Parmar

Rajkot

Gandhi jayanti?

•October 2 dawned with India recalling Gandhiji in three unique ways. One, Sonia Gandhi (who is as closely related to the Mahatma as you or I) follows up her ‘Dandi March II’ of 2005 by attending the UN General Assembly on behalf of India — thereby further cementing her name in the pantheon of legendary ‘Gandhians’ of Indian history. Two, the Congress and the CPM jointly declare Tamil Nadu CM, M. Karunanidhi, a true ‘Gandhian’ for shutting down the entire state on October 1 by his bandh call. Three, many among us now condemn the Supreme Court for doing the unthinkable — attempting to uphold the rule of law. Bharat Mata ki Jai!

— R.P. Subramanian

Delhi

Throw out this law

•The recent move of the CBI to register a case against an ex-RAW official under the Official Secrets Act 1923 (OSA) for authoring a book allegedly highlighting prevalent corruption within the intelligence agency is highly deplorable. It raises questions about the relevance of the archaic and draconian OSA, which was enacted and imposed on Indian territory by British rulers for their vested interests. Worse, Section 5 of OSA does not provide for a precise definition of “official secrets” and thus any kind of information could attract prosecution regardless of purpose or intent. There are still no rules for regulating the provisions of OSA. It has proved to be a potent weapon in the hands of bureaucrats to suppress the whistleblower. We need to get rid of this anachronistic law.

— Hemant Kumar

Ambala

Not quite civilised

•This refers to your editorial, ‘Hear, hear’ ,Nothing succeeds like success. Time was when Americans used to say, what is good for General Motors, is good for the US. Today it seems what is good for the US is good for India, going by media coverage. True, it was a sign of America’s commitment to the UN that Iran’s President Ahmadinejad was allowed to enter the country. However, by giving him history’s most obnoxious welcome, Columbia University’s president, Lee C. Bollinger, has completely demolished the image of the US as a role model for civilised countries.

— Tufail Shaikh

Mumbai