Grey areas

• RSS chief K. Sudarshan’s suggestion that Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L....

• RSS chief K. Sudarshan’s suggestion that Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani must step aside, giving way to the younger generation is very valid in the present context (‘Atal, Advani should step aside, let young rise: RSS chief’, IE, April 11). This suggestion is also valid for the RSS chief himself. Perhaps Sudarshan wants this proposal to come from others for a change in the RSS hierarchy. Both the BJP and the RSS are suffering from a “gerontocracy”. Perhaps in politics experience hardly matters, as an experienced politician is one who repeats mistakes with confidence. Thus, one should start planting new ideas on virgin soil.

— F.S.K. Barar Jodhpur

Circulating elites

• Rahul Ramagundam’s article on Laloo Prasad Yadav’s contribution to the destruction of upper caste hegemony in Bihar (‘The continuing war against social privilege’, IE, March 31) is based on several assumptions and omissions. He wrongly assumes that the upper caste hegemony has been broken; it is alive and has adapted itself well to Laloo Raj. Secondly, he fails to see that Laloo has only created a new elite out of his kinsmen, which shares power and privilege with the old elite. Thirdly, revolutionary leadership never lines its pockets or exploits the state machinery to benefit its followers, to the point of imitating the style of living of those sought to be displaced from power. Laloo Yadav’s only historic contribution is to bend the system to accommodate a hitherto deprived and marginalised group — namely, the Yadavs — but a vast majority of the people of Bihar continue to languish under the burden of poverty, in the face of increasing economic disparities. He has completely destroyed the public education system, which in effect closes the arena of progress for the common masses.

— Syed Shahabuddin New Delhi

Touch them not

• It is shocking and shameful that Somnath Chatterjee not only refused to go to Canberra because the Australian authorities were not willing to bend their security-check rules for him but has also tried to make it a case of India’s prestige being at stake (‘VIP frisking tantrums? Blame it on Indian habit’, IE, April 11). Security-check exemptions granted to numerous functionaries at Indian airports should be withdrawn. In these times, security checks need to be non-negotiable.

— M.C. Joshi Lucknow

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• It’s high time that Indian dignitaries forgot their enormous egos and got on with the real job of eradicating poverty, corruption and pollution in India.

— Sayan Ghosh Toronto

Remember this

• Just tell me one thing. How many times has Sachin Tendulkar been wrongly judged out when he was in very good touch? And why, in Multan last year, did Rahul Dravid declare when he was on 194? I can list many other situations like these. He was run out because of V.V.S. Laxman’s mistake in one of the one-days against Australia when even McGrath was not troubling him. And who helped India win against Pakistan in the World Cup in South Africa?

— Vasudeo Tewari Paris