None could have been better than Khushwant Singh to write for the Emergency (Why I Supported Emergency, July 3). He was foremost among journalists who crawled when asked only to bend. He has the cheek to say he never understood if Inder Malhotra was for or against the Emergency. Issue after issue of Illustrated Weekly was dedicated to singing paeans to Sanjay Gandhi. And in 1976 Weekly even voted him as the Man of the Year. To this, the late I.S. Johar had quipped: "Then I vote Khushwant Singh as the chamcha of the year."
D.V. Madhava Rao,
Chennai
Arun Jaitley (Nazi Priestess) likens the Emergency to a rape. The lawyer in him should know the Emergency was a legal provision in the Constitution and Mrs G did nothing against the law. Only her MPs proved themselves unworthy of their position and Sanjay's men went too far.
Parjan Kumar Jain,
Delhi
And so we had another rambling reminiscence from our favourite octogenarian - Khushwant Singh. He lavishes affection on Sanjay ("the loveable goonda" who like him may have enjoyed The Company of Women) and Maneka's Surya (glossing over its publication of unsavoury cut-and-paste pictures of Suresh Jagjivan Ram). Frankly, one expected you to poll the impressions of the average Indian on the occasion. But I guess we'll have to wait for another anniversary!
Harsh Puri,
Bhopal
I might not agree with Singh's views on the Gandhi-Nehru family, but at least he isn't a hypocrite like Jaitley. It's well known that the RSS had secretly supported the Emergency. And the Jagmohan he now rubs shoulders with is the same man who demolished all Muslim hutments. Nor should he forget that our present PM had waxed eloquent and called Indira a Durga incarnation after Bangladesh was liberated.
Narayana Achari,
on e-mail
Over two decades after the event, we could do well to ask if corruption at all levels has been checked, if more employment avenues have opened up; if relations between religious/ ethnic groups improved; if dynastic succession at all levels in politics stopped or if human rights are being respected? The Emergency's excesses may have been bad, but its efficiency could be worth emulating.
Lt Col Harish Bahl (rtd),
New Delhi
Khushwant Singh seems smitten by the Gandhi family. Why else would he call Sanjay a loveable goonda? It's such loveable goondas who create situations which make imposing the Emergency a must.
Geeta Rajan,
on e-mail
Jaitley's piece reminded me of what Samuel Pae wrote of Dr Johnson: "Now that old lion is dead, every ass thinks that he may kick at him." Rulers during the Emergency did misuse their powers but it never "generated an environment of terror and sycophancy" like Hitler. Had it been so, RSS supremo Balasaheb Deoras would never have written to Indira Gandhi promising support nor would other RSS leaders have apologised and been set free. A poll at the time in fact had shown 64 per cent of people had believed that the country was better off during the Emergency.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad
Talking of the Emergency, an interesting incident comes to mind. I'd appeared before an Income-Tax Officer (ito) in Mayur Bhavan when an ordinary-looking guy walked into his office and gave him a small slip of paper. The officer rang up (apparently) a senior and told him someone had come with a slip from the home ministry seeking a Mr Jagmohan's file. I assume the ito was advised to hand the file over and take his signature on that slip of paper. Soon after, the much forceful, defiant Jagmohan was humbled into toeing Sanjay Gandhi's line.
Jag Mohan,
New Delhi
Barring two or three, Indian newspapers had caved in during the Emergency. Many had eulogised the Gandhi dynasty shamelessly. So, it was amusing to see the same newspapers devoting reams of newsprint to its 25th anniversary. It was no less disgusting to read about BJP leaders flocking to Tihar jail to get themselves photographed behind bars.
K.R. Sundar Rajan,
New Delhi
Khushwant Singh's piece does not record the popular indignation against Emergency. Nor does it mention the bold stand taken by the (late) Ramnath Goenka of Indian Express, or of Irani and R.. Sharma of The Statesman to uphold and enshrine the freedom of the press.
Dr D.P. Sen Mazumdar,
on e-mail
Apropos your cover story Ten Years After (July 3), if we do not make a serious effort to achieve Western levels of discipline, the levels of economic growth forecast will result in a huge increase in pollution, road as well as industrial accidents, material consumption and material waste, wastage of water instead of conservation, and crime.
P.R. Iyer,
New Delhi
Your cover story was interesting but underplayed some glaring lacunae in our economy which could undermine growth. The babudom, for one; the around Rs 50,000 crore npa in banking, recovery of which has been made difficult by lack of effective legal recourse; investment in infrastructure, especially power, where sebs are in a financial mess and where foreign power producers are leaving for more lucrative markets. Finally, low spread of literacy and a surging population will negate expected growth when translated to per capita levels.
A.S. Narayanan,
Ernakulam
The cry for more autonomy by the National Conference (For Old Times' Sake, July 3) is just a ploy to steal the thunder from the Hurriyat and other militant organisations. Farooq Abdullah should realise that more autonomy doesn't mean the state can stand on its own feet; it can't do so without massive infusion of funds from the Centre.
D.B.. Murthy,
on e-mail
Prem Shankar Jha's right when he says the Kashmir problem can't be solved by flirting with Farooq one day, followed by an affair with the Hurriyat and then a dalliance with Pakistan (Last Nail in the Coffin, July 3). If there's one item on the BJP agenda that can be implemented pronto, it's j&k's integration with India. Its consequences can't be worse than what we're facing already.
Brig (rtd) K.S. Chhokar,
Delhi
Apropos the article Hawk Flock (June 26), I'm a government servant working in Andhra in the personnel section. I can vouch for the fact that more than 20 per cent of the sc/sts who've joined various government services on the basis of their status are actually practising Christians. Their names are derived from Hindu gods and goddesses but they do not actually belong to the community.
Gopala Krishna D.,
Visakhapatnam
I thought you were different - shorn of the herd mentality. But where are the follow-up articles on the drought in Gujarat and Rajasthan? After a deluge of stories, there's now a drought.
Balbhadra Rana,
Rajkot
Apropos the last item in Vinod Mehta's Delhi Diary (Dress Code Soup, July 3), the ambassador's wife obviously was not up to date on our politicians' sartorial preferences. To their shame or acclaim, many now dress western style, complete with the breast-pocket lookout. The kurta-pyjama ensemble is used when they tour their constituencies and meet the natives.
G.P. Jain,
New Delhi
In Pulling Doves From a Hat (March 13), I proposed a Kashmir solution within the Indian Constitution. The Kashmir Valley would become a separate entity within India with increased autonomy. Jammu and Ladakh would be incorporated into existing adjacent Indian states. The premise of my proposal was that "the Line of Control would have to be the basis for a settlement" and that President Clinton "could help to pave the way for an eventual settlement by publicly declaring US support for the LoC as the permanent boundary." Urging "a new flexibility with respect to autonomy," I wrote that "India could offer to break up the existing Jammu and Kashmir state as part of a settlement. Jammu and Ladakh could be incorporated into India and the Kashmir Valley split off as a separate entity". The Outlook secondary headline - Jammu and Ladakh could be part of India and the Valley a separate entity - was an accurate quotation. Regrettably, standing alone, it gave some readers the impression that I favour the separation of the Valley from India.
I'd like to make clear that now as in the past I favour a settlement in which the Valley would remain within India with increased autonomy. The separation of the Valley from the Indian Union would aggravate existing problems and institutionalise instability in South Asia.
Selig S. Harrison,
Washington
In your recent interview with Pak ex-captain Rashid Latif ("Sachin knew everything", July 3), you mock an icon which would be hard to find, or restore, once it falls. For God's sake, leave Sachin alone.
Puneet Ghai,
Washington DC
To commit a mistake is not a sin, the sin is not to accept it (Plucking Banjos, July 3). Cronje could have denied the whole match-fixing scandal, but he chose to confess with the full support of his government and his people, and that too at a time when he was at the peak of his career. For this, he should not only be pardoned but also be allowed to play again.
Avinash Zargar,
Jabalpur
Latif is talking nonsense when he says Sachin knows everything. He has just made that statement to hog the limelight.
Soumick Nag,
Serampure, West Bengal
Now that one skeleton after the other is tumbling out of the cupboard of the world of cricket, cricket lovers like me demand justice for the long hours we stayed awake to see live matches and passionately following the game.
Nilanjan Mukherji,
on e-mail
