Former law minister Shanti Bhushan’s comment in the report Midnight Moves (October 16), that Prime Minister Gowda’s visit to Chief Justice Ahmadi’s residence at an odd hour must have been in connection with Narasimha Rao, whom Gowda had been meeting on a day-to-day basis since the fate of his government depended on Congress support, could have been justified if the meeting was after a prior appointment. But, if the visit was necessitated by a sudden call, one wonders how any highly placed gentleman could have denied entry to a person heading the Union Government at his residence. It is the guest who should have given due thought before making the visit. Gowda had clarified that his visit to Ahmadi was routine. This further created doubt, for if it was a routine meeting on administrative reasons, it could have taken place at the Prime Minister’s residence, as has occurred in the past.
P. Gautampurkar, Kota
L’Affaire Celibacy (October 16 ), was a good writeup on the temptations any priest undergoing a vow of celibacy faces. But, we should not make any effort to profane the image of priests in the eyes of the public. A large number of people would not be aware that there are many types of Churches—Catholic, Protestant, Methodists, and most people only know that priests do not marry. Such a sensitive subject should be portrayed with a lot of consideration.
Frank, Delhi
Apropos A Lady with a Mission (October 16), the appointment of Dr Katakshamma as Asia’s first lady bishop by the Lutherans is a bold step and an honour for women. Law declares man and woman equal, but in practice this is possible only when it is a socially accepted norm or has religious sanction.
I.C. Firdous, Delhi
Apropos Hindi Writer’s Cul-de-Sac (October 9), you are the first English magazine to bring the ‘Hindi crisis’ to the forefront. The callous and disheartening education system of this country needs to be changed at any cost. Hindi is anathema for the elite class of this country. When works of English writers like Shoba De are selling like hot cakes, and talented Hindi writers’ books are thrown in the dustbin, this is definitely not a good sign. Unless our education system is changed, the only thing we can do is look at the sky and count how many stars are shining. We can at least teach our children that in Hindi. As a South Indian I can react only this strongly.
S. Ganesh, Bangalore
The article, The Executive Never Sleeps (October 9), was well presented. It highlighted the merits of the process of globalisation. A new Indian is emerging as a result of the liberalisation wave. This change in the corporate world will surely enthuse others. Please carry more such stories in future.
Hara Mohan Mishra, Puri, (Orissa)
The executive does not sleep for fear of losing some customers to competition. But he is already losing on another front. After decades of back-breaking work, his body unable to take any more, and he is languishing in his plush apartment surrounded by luxuries he has slogged hard for, he realises his monumental loss—having missed the birth of the first-born, or the moment when his newborn first uttered ‘Papa’ (of course he saw it on the Handycam), the first fashion-show of his daughter. Then, I am sure he asks himself, ‘Was it worth it?’ And though the executive is winning a battle for India and his economy on the global front, he is on the verge of losing a personal one.
Vikas Choudhry, Rajasthan
This refers to Vinod Mehta’s column, Please Save the Party (October 9). The need to revive the Congress revolves around its significance in the ‘not-so-rich’ Indian democracy. Narasimha Rao and his men are responsible for the "gradual decline and then swift move toward bankruptcy" of the Congress. But we must not forget that it was he who navigated the nation out of dangerous waters five years ago, when India’s economic condition was at an all-time low.
Nitish Singal, Delhi
Your column pleads to save the Congress on the grounds that the ‘party’ is not corrupt but yes, its members might be. But what is a party? You can’t simply call a party’s office-building a party. A party comprises a group or assembly of members who are of the same opinion or interest.
Dinesh Kumar Channa, Lucknow
The Congress continued to rule in gross violation of Gandhiji’s wishes after Independence. It has degenerated into a party of scoundrels and has corrupted every institution that sustains a democracy. It is a cancer afflict-ing our body politic. Let it die so that India can live.
R.R. Shanbhag, Mumbai
Sanjay Suri’s article, The New, Improved Jinnah (August 28), is a travesty of the truth. He constantly implies that we are out to "rubbish Nehru". This is nonsense. Nehru’s charisma, learning and vision are facts of history. Any prime minister who can quote Keats is an attractive figure. Had he not been India’s great prime minister, he would have been a successful Cambridge don. But, he had a human side and his relationship with Edwina is a fascinating one. Nehru was one of the great figures of Partition. I and my associates have attempted to restore that other great figure in that drama—Jinnah. The idea is not to demean or caricature anyone. Perhaps Suri had his own agenda. If so, he succeeded in conveying an erroneous impression of the content of the film and its purpose. What he wrote was distorted and distorting.
Akbar Ahmed, Selwyn College, Cambridge
