Looking back

— A.G. Athale Pune

• Savarkar looked upon Hindu nationalism — Hindutva — not as a religious ideology but as a socio-political cohesive force. His concept of Bharat was inclusive of all who cared to be ‘patriotic’, irrespective of their methods of worship. He never accepted divided loyalties. He opposed pan-national religious sentiment in conflict with loyalty to the nation-state. V. Venkatesan has torn history out of context for deliberate distortion (‘The repackaging of Savarkar’, IE, Sept 24). Savarkar never feared for himself but cared a great deal for the cause he held sacrosanct, that is, freedom from the British Raj, modernisation and creating a powerful and free India.

— S.C.N. Jatar Pune

• Apropos of the piece, ‘The Repackaging of Savarkar’ (IE, Sept 22), it set me thinking on the two lethargic traits that the ‘liberal rabble’: trying to erase vile figures and events from public memory for ‘healing’, and assuming that ideological triteness, even when packaged with hatred and popular prejudices, will not find followers. In spite of Venkatesan’s arguments, Savarkar deserves charity — for intellectual banality — but his opportunistic public relations brigades do not qualify for that either. A truly outstanding and incisive article.

— Robin Koshy On e-mail

Martyrs’ column

• Apropos Manini Chatterjee’s article, ‘Kala Pani story’ (IE, Sept 20), I appreciate her apt description of ‘revolutionary terrorists’ as those who leavened with their blood the mainstream freedom struggle.’ I endorse her suggestion that the Cellular jail should have a memorial to all the martyrs in the cause of freedom, who were sentenced to transportation for life to the Andamans. At least the names of all those revolutionaries who spent at least 10 years there or who died while in incarceration should be engraved on a martyrs’ column.

— Syed Shahabuddin Delhi

Better administration

• The Centre’s committee of secretaries (COS) has rightly decided — as your editorial,‘The flab busters’ (IE, Sept 21) — on as a slew of austerity measures. It sends out a message against sloth and drift and the assurance that the administration will be a leaner and meaner and will deliver the goods. A debate on the role of government in times when it is becoming less and less overwhelming in our lives is needed, as you correctly conclude.

— Vinod Chowdhury Delhi