Opinion Letters to the editor: Historic wrong

Historic wrong
We at the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS) are outraged by the news that Penguin Books India has agreed to withdraw Wendy Doniger’s much-acclaimed book. Doniger is one of the most respected Indologists in the world. She has spent a lifetime exploring the richness of India’s religious pasts, showcasing the creative interplay between multiple traditions — the Puranic and the Vedantic, the folkloric and the Brahmanic. Drawing on many disciplines, she has investigated the variegated world of Hindu mythology and theology, to explore what they say about order and chaos, morality and ethics, the erotic and the non-erotic. Her reading of Hinduism has inevitably disturbed those who wish to sanitise and straitjacket Hinduism, and repress the multiplicity of traditions that constitute it. While welcoming critical engagements with the book, the CHS condemns attempts to curtail the circulation of this book. Penguin’s decision to sign an out-of-court settlement abandons the basic ethics of publishing. It has agreed to this even without the Indian state or judiciary taking a position against the book. This decision will affirm the power of the forces of religious intolerance, encourage further attacks on authors who question fundamentalist interpretations of the past, and subvert the right to freedom of expression. It will undermine further the rapidly eroding public space wherein critical debates can take place.
— Rajat Datta
Chairperson, CHS,
Jawaharlal Nehru University

Not just Lokpal
Apropos of ‘It’s not just corruption’ by Pratap Bhanu Mehta (IE, February 17), Kejriwal is so obsessed with the Jan Lokpal Bill that he does not delve into the root cause of corruption. The bureaucracy and police feel it safer to be loyal to the ruling party rather than faithful to the Constitution. Commissions have been formed for administrative and police reform. Their recommendations are gathering dust. These reforms must precede the Jan Lokpal Bill.
— M.K.Mahapatra
Pune

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Lonely AAP
This refers to ‘Lok Sabha polls: AAP targets big names in first list, Yogendra Yadav and Medha Patkar in fray’ (IE, February 17). Kejriwal is not prudent to field his party’s candidates against heavyweights from the Congress and BJP. During its 49-day stint in Delhi, the AAP drew the ire of the Congress and BJP and invited criticism from the public. To succeed in elections, you may beat foes, but in government, you need friends to help you along.
— Surinder Marwaha
New Delhi

Budget this
The interim budget presented is nothing but a ruse. UPA 2 has done nothing to boost economic growth and now they want to lure people by reducing the price of consumer durables.
— Harsh Shukla
Mumbai