Post facto

Sir — K.P. Nayar’s report on the controversy surrounding Arun Gandhi’s remarks in a website of The Washington Post made for astonishing reading (“Jews fell Bapu grandson”, Jan 24). The word “omnipotent”, used in the very first line of the report with reference to the American-Jewish community, has an obvious anti-Semitic ring to it. The sentence seems to suggest that the non-Jewish people in America are a minority, dominated and ruled by the powerful Jews. While diaspora politics is a fact of life in American society, most Americans can discern the difference between political activism and socio-religious conspiracies, even if Nayar cannot. Arun Gandhi’s comments did not befit a man of his learning and stature. Nayar is mistaken if he thinks that the Indian government should act in defence of Arun Gandhi. The matter will be resolved most honourably if Indian diplomats create no more ado about Arun Gandhi’s resignation from the University of Rochester.

Yours faithfully,
Ramesh Kumarn, Bangalore

Sir — “Omnipotent” means “having great or absolute power” or “having great influence”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. It is an adjective usually used in relation to god. Does K.P. Nayar believe that Jews have god-like authority over America? The United States of America is built on the backs of immigrants, who include Asians, Jews, Africans, Europeans and other racial groups. Jews here have no more, or no less, authority than people from the other communities. America has never had a Jewish president. The majority of Americans are Christians, not Jews. Nayar’s comment, as such, is misleading and biased.

There is no doubt that even a non-Jew would find Arun Gandhi’s remarks insensitive and cold. His comment about the Jews amount to telling them, “Yes, people of your religious belief were nearly wiped off the planet only two generations ago, but you really need to get over it. I’m tired of hearing about all the millions killed”. It is difficult to see how such ideas agree with the beliefs of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi.

Yours faithfully,
Matt Volke, Rochester, US

Sir — In his article, K.P. Nayar downplays the offensiveness of what Arun Gandhi has said. Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson accused the Jewish people of both exploiting the Holocaust and promoting global violence. Such bizarre charges befit extremists more than the head of an institute devoted to promoting global peace.

Nayar also asserts that most of the posts written in response to Arun Gandhi’s comment were clearly by Jews. This is difficult to believe, since writers of messages sent via email can easily fake their religious identity and ethnic background. Nayar seems to have assumed that anyone who found Arun Gandhi’s remark offensive must be a Jew. As a non-Jew, I can vouch that this is not the case.

Yours faithfully,
Dexter Van Zile, Boston

Sir — By no stretch of the imagination can Arun Gandhi be accused of going against the principles of his grandfather. Gandhi would have gone on a fast unto death had he witnessed the sufferings of the Arab population brought on by the policies of the modern state of Israel.

Yours faithfully,
J. Sikdar, Calcutta

Road rage

Sir — On a recent fact-finding trip through Bengal, I was lucky to travel the length and breadth of the state but unlucky to have made a major part of it by road. The roads were, by and large, in poor condition but one in particular — NH34 — stands out in this regard. It was easier to drive alongside the highway than on it. The rudimentary metal sheet covering the road was worn away at intervals, thus producing giant craters waiting to swallow any small vehicle. During my drive from Malda to Murshidabad — a journey of around 140 km, which took me around four hours — I did not see any repair work being done on the road. Since the metal cover is already riddled with potholes, it can be done away with altogether and the road returned to its original kuchcha state. That would be less shameful than a road that insists on being called the ‘national’ highway and is yet one of the bumpiest stretches in the state.

Yours faithfully,
Devdan Sen, Surrey, UK

Sir — Most of the roads in north Calcutta are veritable nightmares. The footpaths, and sometimes areas on either side of the roads, are occupied by food kiosks and vegetable vendors patronized by different political parties. Moreover, vehicles remain parked haphazardly on the roads, side by side, in two rows for hours, thus leaving very little space for the pedestrians. To make the situation worse, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation periodically digs up different areas of the road either to realign the underground water supply pipes or the sewerage system. This goes on endlessly through the year. What is most surprising is that the men keep breaking up the earth in the areas that had been dug up and hastily covered only days ago. Nothing can explain this weird procedure but the notion that CMC workers never complete their jobs satisfactorily, making it necessary for successive batches of labourers to undo and re-do the work of their predecessors. If this is indeed the case, then the incompetence of the CMC not only aggravates the sufferings of the citizens but also results in an unpardonable wastage of tax-payers’ money.

Yours faithfully,
Tapash Chatterjee, Calcutta