Letters to the editor

Tomorrow, if you or I chose to criticise the caste system or untouchability or even ‘sati’, it would be construed as ‘hurtful activities or expressions’. And since the minister has propounded a rule for all foreign guests, would it not have been better if he had also let his compatriots know as to who would set the benchmark for ‘hurtful activities and expressions’ which our foreign guests are required to refrain from? Hopefully, he does not wish to let the ‘lumpen crowd’ on Kolkata’s streets or outside the Baroda University set these benchmarks for us. Till now, the whole world considered India a beacon of pluralist democracy. It seems however that our vote-bank compulsions have not only deprived us of the chance to reaffirm our commitment to such a democracy, but have also sent clear signals about the hollowness of all our claims to being a secular country.

— Satish Dayal

New Delhi

Assam tribals’ voice

•The protesting adivasis being brutally beaten up and women being publicly stripped speaks of depraved, even unhinged, minds ‘Back story of Guwahati violence’, But why is it that the whole Indian landscape is marked by such ugly incidents? For this we must go to the root cause that has brought about this revolting mindset: vote-bank politics with the release of the Mandal genie, which in recent years of Congress rule has proliferated, with every policy initiative packaged in reservation sops queering the pitch and vitiating the atmosphere. There is nothing wrong in the notion of giving equal opportunities to all, but when policies emanate from personal or party motives, we have such untoward developments.

— H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana

Anand

•What occurred in Guwahati during the protest rally of the tribals working in the tea estates is shameful ‘Backstory of Guwahati violence’, It is the duty of every sane citizen of India to honour the freedom of speech and the freedom to organise public demonstrations to demand one’s rights granted by the Constitution. The government should take immediate action against those who inflicted atrocities on the tribals during the November 24 rally in Assam’s capital.

— Fr William

Ahmedabad

Army’s politicisation

•I fully endorse the contents of Lt Col Malhotra’s letter, ‘Forces of honour’. I would also like to add that only pliable officers with political clout ultimately reach the position of chief of army staff. After having reached the top, they start planning for their post-retirement jobs — such as becoming governors. Given this, they cannot afford to raise their voices against the downgrading of their status vis-a-vis bureaucrats and other government officers who are all placed higher than them in the warrant of precedence. However, I do not agree with Col Malhotra on his suggestion that the “soldier must defend his honour”. They are helpless in the face of their commanders taking every act of dishonour lying down.

— Dalip Singh Ghuman

Chandigarh

Novel name

•In the article, ‘Booking lives, living books’, Narasimha Rao’s semi-autobiographical novel was wrongly referred to as ‘The Outsider’. The title of the book is The Insider.

— Pranav Sachdeva

New Delhi