The language wars

While students from abroad are making a beeline to universities in India to study Sanskrit as a window to Indian culture, both Urdu and Sanskrit are today treated as an optional subject in school-level studies in our country and most students know nothing better than to treat them as academic devil 8212; easily gotten rid of as soon as they pass out of school.

A far greater threat to these languages is the attempt by fundamentalists to link these languages to two different communities. The only links Urdu and Sanskrit have are to Indian history and culture 8212; there are still old-generation Hindus who speak no other language but Urdu, while a prominent Muslim like Shah Rukh Khan takes pride in teaching Sanskrit to his children, having studied the language himself upto tenth standard. Justice Katju is a well-known Urdu and Sanskrit lover and I hope his sounding of the alarm bell will turn the spotlight on these two important symbols of our cultural heritage.

Tata Progress

There can be no better example of self-centered political opportunism than Mamata Banerjee8217;s vicious campaign against the Tata car project at Singur. Mamata8217;s demand that land acquired for the project be returned to the farmers smacks less of a genuine concern for the farmers and more of an ill-conceived vendetta against the current government. Nobody can claim that the farmers will actually be better off if their land were to be returned.

Experts point out that since the land8217;s fertile uppermost layer has already been removed due to construction on the project, it is no longer suitable for farming. Many of the land owners in fact do not even depend on agriculture for their livelihood. They are settled in bigger cities and earn their living from industrial jobs, using their land only to supplement their income. The actual cultivators are hired employees, who would have actually earned more by working in the beleaguered car plant. By denying these people their right to a dignified livelihood and preventing the Tatas from setting up the car plant, Mamata is playing a dangerous game, one nobody wins in the end.

Meanwhile, other states are ready to make hay out of West Bengal8217;s blunder. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the pragmatic chief minister of Maharashtra has already invited Tata to relocate its car plant in the state. However, Tatas are now keen to move the Nano production to Uttarakhand, thanks to the progressive policies of the then N.D. Tiwari government.

Mumbai harmony

In wake of the recent turbulence in Orissa and J038;K, I wonder if the entire country needs to learn a lesson or two about secularism from the people of Mumbai. The city8217;s religious harmony can be witnessed in full glory on Ganesh Chaturthi, when thousands of Muslims, Christians and Sikhs come out and seek blessings from Ganesha in their neighborhood pandals. Prominent Muslims like Salman Khan take pride in worshipping Ganesha for the full duration of the festival. Even though the festival has coincided with the holy month of Ramadan this year, the huge turnout of Muslims seeking blessings from Lord Ganesha is heartwarming.

The writer is a Congress MP in Rajya Sabha