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Journalism of Courage
What could have inspired Mani Shankar Aiyar to order the removal of the Savarkar plaque in Port Blair, sparking off a totally unwarranted controversy and embarrassment for his party and the government? In a damage-control exercise, the Congress has said that the function at Port Blair was not organised by the government and that the remarks against Savarkar were not the party’s view but Aiyar’s. So many others like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose differed with Gandhiji, yet contributed in their own way to achieving the common goal of independence from the British.
— M.C. Joshi Lucknow
• There is no doubt that V.D. Savarkar contributed to the freedom struggle in his own way, though it was in opposition to the ways of Gandhiji. He was also a great writer, poet and social reformer. For that he should be duely credited. But there are more questions to be answered. Savarkar was associated with the people who actually carried out the task of killing Gandhiji. In all possibility he could have been aware of the conspiracy to kill Gandhiji. For that at least he doesn’t deserve to be placed on the same footing as the Mahatma.
— H. B. Yashod Pune
Aiyar’s footnote
• Bal Thackeray and Manohar Joshi have drawn upon the cultural talent of their neighbourhood hero Narendra Modi’s five crore subjects to devise what is certain to take the world by storm, the Maharashtra Garba, performed while holding footwear rather than sticks. In all fairness, they should recognise Mani Shankar Aiyar’s contribution by giving him at least a, well, footnote.
— Mukul Dube New Delhi
History’s reruns
• Is Mani Shankar Aiyar’s exercise another instance of the victor writing history to suit his preference? When will he and his government learn that their predecessor government was booted out of power because of similar insensitivity? Those that do not learn from the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them and be destroyed, again.
— Sunil Minneapolis
Is she, isn’t she?
• If Uma Bharti is a criminal, the case against her should not have been withdrawn. If she is not, why was the case re-opened? Perhaps, to show that a “murder” is excusable but fighting for things Indian is not!
— M. Anoop Perth
Morning song
• Jyoti Malhotra begins her article ‘Thukpa for the soul’ (IE, August 29) by referring to the early hour of 6 a.m. as nauseating. Why? Has she never noticed the beauty of the rising sun, heard the singing of birds or felt the joy and hope of a world stirring to life? Or is this just being trendy?
— Anita Gulati Faridabad
