Letters to the Editor

Hindu Rashtra

SINCE the BJP came to power at the Centre, some chauvinistic Hindutva elements, especially in BJP-ruled States, reportedly with the party’s backing, have become aggressive and are engaged in creating disturbances, which have claimed some lives (Cover Story, July 21). Muslims are living in fear because of the constant threat to their lives and properties at the hands of these vested interests. Over 100 Sangh Parivar fringe groups recently gathered in Goa and made a fervent appeal to the government to declare India a Hindu Rashtra. Such events are a blot on Indian democracy. India will always be a secular state.

Jayant Mukherjee, Kolkata

THE spurt in violence against Muslims, with cow vigilantes becoming a law unto themselves, has grave implications for communal harmony. Be it the stringent regulation on the cattle trade, the appointment of people owing allegiance to Hindutva as chairpersons of state-owned educational institutions and research bodies, or the imposition of Hindi in south India, the ruling dispensation at the Centre appears to be going full steam ahead towards implementing its long-held dream of creating a Hindu Rashtra.

With the opposition camp in disarray, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre feels emboldened to carry forward with its pet Hindutva themes to the detriment of the liberal and secular character of Indian society. It is time liberal and secular forces raised their voices in unison against attempts to polarise society and to ensure that its pluralistic character remains intact.

M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

“GAU rakshaks” are tacitly being promoted by the governments at the Centre and in BJP-ruled States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words at the Sabarmati Ashram were just rhetoric.

The conclave in Goa has set 2023 as the target for the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra. By a strange coincidence, Modi has mentioned 2022 as the year by which a “new India” can be created. The Sangh Parivar’s ultimate aim is establishing a Hindu Rashtra as V.D. Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar envisaged. The Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee report states the real condition of Muslims in India.

S. Murali, Vellore, Tamil Nadu

BY leaving the word secularism open to wide interpretation to suit their vote-bank politics, Jawaharlal Nehru and his Congress played with the social harmony of the country (“Debating secularism”, July 21). India has suffered a lot because the word secularism was not clearly defined and the Congress gave religious laws a predominant role. Under the secularism practised today, there are no Indians, only Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and so on.

No country can claim to be secular unless it has secular laws that apply to all its citizens irrespective of their religious persuasion. It is high time a secular civil law was drafted as mandated by Article 44 of the Constitution and all religious laws were thrown into the dustbin.

Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

GST

THE switch over to the Goods and Services Tax heralds a new beginning in India’s tax regime (“Taxing times”, July 21). From a troubled economy after Independence, the nation moved to liberalisation and then to globalisation.

The GST is aimed at not only simplifying the tax system and making tax compliance easier but also making tax avoidance difficult. All these are necessary for faster economic growth. There are hiccups in its implementation, with many people saying that GST was implemented without adequate preparation, which is unacceptable because there were debates and discussions for more than a year before the Centre rolled out the GST on July 1. Hence, deferring it further would have defied logic.

K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad, Telangana

Gorkhaland

CHHATTISGARGH, Jharkhand and Telangana were carved out of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh respectively, and people are now enjoying their own way of life in their new States (“Hills in chaos”, July 21). It would be prudent for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to concede the just demands for a separate State for Gorkhas. She tried to impose Bengali in the volatile region and had also planned to cut off ration supplies. Had she done so, those agitating would have only been provoked further. Her plan to create a rift among them is akin to the hated “divide and rule” policy of India’s colonial masters.

K.P. Rajan, Mumbai

Farmers

THE government is obliged to redress the grievances of farmers on a war footing (Cover Story, July 7). But the remedial steps should not be just a knee-jerk reaction intended to pacify the agitators. The government’s callous and complacent attitude towards agrarian distress should change. Its initiatives should stem from the fundamental realisation that in an agrarian economy like India the farming community plays a pivotal role in the country’s development.

Mohit Jacob, Ahmedabad, Gujarat