Bring ’em home

Sir — In different periods of Indian history, foreign invaders have taken away precious artefacts and priceless stones and jewels from India. Tamerlane invaded and looted Delhi in 1398, while Nadir Shah invaded India in 1739 when Mohammed Shah was the Delhi Sultan. Ahmed Shah Abdali also contributed to the flow of Indian wealth out of the country. Finally, the British robbed us of almost all our treasures that had survived the earlier onslaughts. Although Vijay Mallya has recently brought the sword of Tipu Sultan back to India, it was a purely political move. He just happens to be rich enough to win the hearts of his constituency in this manner. But if the rich of the country keep joining politics and try to win over people in the same way, India can certainly expect to recover a portion of its lost treasures. And that cannot be a bad thing. If Mallya is indeed able to trigger a new trend among his ilk, then he can be forgiven for all the petty politicking he may have done.

Yours faithfully,
Soham Gupta, Calcutta

Enter at your own peril

Sir — Ashok Ganguly’s “Travels to America” (April 29) made for uneasy reading in these troubled times. Ganguly’s moot point remains unclear in his rambling and unctuous article about his return to what he evidently considers the land of plenty, the blessed and the free. He displays a child-like enthusiasm for the draconian steps that the American government’s department of homeland security has now put in place. He thinks this is “scientific progress”, but that shows his limited perspective. For someone who has had to smear his hands in indelible ink some forty years ago, the wonder of simply placing one’s hands on a screen and having Uncle Sam know everything about him is understandable. What escapes Ganguly’s blinkered vision is the regression this act symbolizes in terms of human freedom and creativity that he appears to cherish.

He sees nothing wrong in the “non-Caucasian” passengers being singled out for frisking at the airport. Such humiliation seems to be par for the course for him as he shuffles along, slowly but surely, towards an America out there, its glittering research centres and universities just beyond the minor inconveniences posed by immigration officials and customs inspectors. He does not mind wearing the badge of ethnic inferiority, bears the stigma of suspicion with remarkable stoicism and the idea of racial profiling induces only minor discomfort in him (“some uneasy conjectures”). One does not expect Ganguly to emulate Rohinton Mistry, the Canadian author of Indian origin, who pulled out of a book promotion tour of the United States of America in November 2002, after being picked on several times by American immigration officials. Mistry complained of “unbearable humiliation”.

What kind of brownie points is Ganguly trying to score by calling US immigration officers “polite”? He appears to be blissfully unaware that the homeland security’s high-handed measures led them to frisk the Spanish crown prince, Felipe, last month — an incident that led to a “diplomatic spat” between the two allies who now occupy Iraq. There are regular reports in the international press about the systemic brutalization of passengers for minor, even non-existent anomalies in travel documents. Could it be that Ganguly is too dazzled by America’s glister or seduced by its “creative juices” to see the gross injustices that the keepers of America’s security mete out every day? I am unsure of what irks me more about the article: the author’s tone of hushed reverence for all things American or his patronizing view of how little Indians know about America. To suggest: “We may not be aware of the fact in India, but obesity, as a topic of public debate, is way ahead of business outsourcing in America” is an insult to the intelligence of the readers of The Telegraph. Many readers must have noted the irony of those facetious comments about American obesity, seen against the op-ed-page excerpt from a World Food Security report (“Dietary considerations”). Even in the best of times, US foreign and security policies (it is important here to distinguish the zealots who crafted the policies from the vast number of friendly and welcoming Americans) were short-sighted and a little hard of hearing. Post September 11, they have gone blind, deaf and rabidly mad. It is disturbing to see someone overlooking the obvious for the proverbial thirty pieces of silver. Ganguly might be inclined to call them dollars instead.

Yours faithfully,
Debanjan Chakrabarti, Calcutta

Sir — I agree with Ashok Ganguly that long after today’s irritants are forgotten (along with the people who caused them), the world will gratefully remember America’s contributions to the progress of civilization. In fact, the finger-print operations to which the author was subjected to 45 years ago for getting an American visa, was also a temporary measure introduced by Joseph McCarthy. It was withdrawn soon after he ceased to be the secretary of state.

Yours faithfully,
H.P. Mitra, Calcutta

Courtship drama

Sir — J. Sengupta’s apprehensions about the Bharatiya Janata Party “losing its claim to being a party with a difference” (“Minority report”, April 29) are misplaced. By wooing Muslims to vote for the National Democratic Alliance, so that they could secure for themselves better chances of higher education, economic uplift and empowerment, Atal Bihari Vajpayee has made them come out of their self-imposed alienation and rethink about continuing to be captive vote-banks of the so-called secular parties. In the process, Vajpayee is also trying to unshackle the BJP from the stranglehold of the Hindutvawallahs. He is more than a mere politician; he is a statesman. I wish him success.

Yours faithfully,
Banikumar Banerjee, Madhyamgram

Sir — Atal Bihari Vajpayee has realized that without the support of the Indian Muslims, the BJP cannot expand its influence at the national level. Going by his campaign speeches, there seems to be some rethinking in the BJP’s attitude towards Muslims. But although Vajpayee commands respect among the minority, Muslim voters are not going to be terribly excited by his appeal so long as the party allows the Modis and Togadias to continue with their anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Yours faithfully,
Md Ayub Ansari, Jagatdal

Sir — Only a few days ago, the prime minister asked people not to vote for the small parties, yet his government is totally dependent on them. Now he says there is no major difference between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. Is he veering towards senility?

Yours faithfully,
Md Arif Akhtar Faridi, Calcutta