Opinion Three views
Amidst the two extremes of the portrayal of Indira Gandhi by columnists one as a scheming,ruthless autocrat and the other as a sagacious emancipator of the nation....
Amidst the two extremes of the portrayal of Indira Gandhi by columnists one as a scheming,ruthless autocrat and the other as a sagacious emancipator of the nation Shekhar Guptas The idea of Indira (IE,October 31) comes out refreshingly unskewed. Leaders become significant not so much by what they do,but by their reading of the prevalent political milieu,events and circumstances of the times,and by the clarity of their resultant actions. The hallmark of a good raconteur is to observe and analyse rather than get addicted to a personality or a pet thesis. Gupta has attempted to
do this.
R. Narayanan
Ghaziabad
An enigma
This refers to Pratap Mehtas The original Mrs G (IE,October 30). Its a well-researched article,truly food for critical thinking. In the post-Nehruvian-era,and even today,no political leader has risen to that status. She truly became the leader of the masses and of the whole country. She inherited unparalleled political acumen and passion for India. Its true that a strong democracy demands two equally strong political parties. Unfortunately,not only Indira but even her father never really liked to have that ideal textbook situation for Indian democracy. However,if we ponder the last centurys world history,there hardly was a political leader who didnt possess such traits. And which hasnt wilfully assaulted institutions?
Nehrus projection of good intent,and his showcase policies of creating linguistic states,gave birth to unity in diversity and also fuelled bitter provincialism in the long run. On the other hand,Mrs Gs intoxication of power and paranoia in identifying every opposition with a foreign
hand pioneered violent street politics.
G. Bhattacharya
Porbandar
Then and now
Raja Menon succumbs to the easy temptation of blaming the army and air force for the Indian navys woes (Turfed out of our own backyard,IE,November 2). He must realise that the combat aircraft India bought those days,along with the investment in infantry,ensured its territorial integrity. Calling these investments bizarre only reflects strategic naiveté. It was the infantry airdropped by the IAF that saved Srinagar in October 1947; and,had we not lost the aerial war to the PAF in 1965,it would have ended in a definite victory. Our greatest military victory in modern times came in the lightning campaign of 1971 when infantry overran riverine East Pakistan under the absolute air supremacy of the IAF on the eastern front. Those were different and difficult times. India was then a poor third-world country with little financial muscle. It could not even dream of being a maritime power when its very territorial integrity was at stake. However,this is very much the Indian moment,and nothing should now stop the Indian navy from achieving its objectives.
Niharika Rai
New Delhi
Share
