Sir — It is intriguing that in the article, “Rated highly” (Sept 17), Swapan Dasgupta has considered the increase in the support base of the prime minister, Narendra Modi — this was reportedly 66 per cent in August 2020 according to a particular survey — as the only parameter to judge his competence. Even if one sets aside the doubts regarding the modus operandi of the survey, does an increase in popularity always mean that the leader is right? History is proof that many decisions supported by the masses have been wrong. The persecutions of Socrates and Galileo Galilei were supported by the majority at the time; even the abolition of the practice of Sati was denounced by many.

It is not clear if Dasgupta believes that the Bengal government was sceptical about the importance of the lockdown or the use of face masks. Before the Centre declared the lockdown, the state had already closed schools and colleges. In mid-March, members of the Trinamul Congress even attended Rajya Sabha with masks on their faces — this was then severely objected to by the chairman of the assembly.

Dasgupta seems to be criticizing the Opposition parties, the intelligentsia and the international media for highlighting the plight of the migrant labourers during their exodus. But can the declaration of a nationwide lockdown with only four hours’ notice be considered justified, when lakhs of people were far from their homes? Can the -23.9 per cent contraction of the gross domestic product be attributed to the pandemic alone when the Indian economy has been sinking on account of errant steps taken by the Centre, such as demonetization and the implementation of the goods and services tax? Even the economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore did not provide any direct help to those suffering from the impact of Covid-19. The only benefit for the people would have been the offer of liberal bank loans, but even this would cause banks to suffer, for they would be burdened with more non-performing assets. Many former governors of the Reserve Bank of India and renowned economists have failed to understand how the Centre is trying to revive the economy. Surely that cannot be solely because they are opposed to the government. The Centre has given little cause for the people to be jubilant.

Somak Ghosh,
Calcutta

Sir — The article by Swapan Dasgupta was amusing. He seems to gloat over the fact that the widespread criticism of the prevalent crises in India by the Opposition parties and the common people has made little impact on the popularity of Narendra Modi — a poll was cited to show that in spite of the critical state of affairs in the country on several fronts, Modi’s popularity has increased since January. Dasgupta pins all his hopes on this and makes an attempt to assure citizens that there is nothing to worry about, no matter how gloomy the situation may look. Faith in a popular leader, it seems, is the only means of finding a way out of this labyrinth of misery. But the question is that if it is ‘faith’ that will get us through these difficult times, then what is the need for the prime minister? One could simply resort to praying to gods.

In the same breath, Dasgupta ridicules experts’ views on economics and the pandemic, and asserts that Modi’s strength lies in his dependence on managers and politicians. The indication is clear — it reiterates the prime minister’s earlier claim that hard work is more important than Harvard.

However, Dasgupta conveniently overlooks the recent findings of the Indian Council of Medical Research, the ruling dispensation’s trusted institution. According to the ICMR, for every detected case of Covid-19 in India, there are 80 to 130 cases that remain undetected. By that logic, if officially the current number of Covid-19-affected Indians is taken to be six million, in reality around 480 to 780 million people are actually infected. How, then, does Dasgupta claim that the predictions of the expert who said that 70 to 80 crore Indians could get infected in the worst-case scenario are off the mark? The answer possibly is that the faith in the leader is above every truth.

Premangsu Dasgupta,
Calcutta

Sir — Stuck between a rock and a hard place — a sliding economy and an aggravating pandemic — Swapan Dasgupta contends that the prime minister’s popularity is directly proportional to the crises faced by India, and pegs his arguments on a survey carried out by a private media channel. At around the same time, however, a survey by the RBI showed that consumer confidence was at a dismal 53.8 per cent, the lowest in a long time. Which study, then, should we trust? Perhaps this paradox could be better explained by those teaching economic theory than “managers and politicians” preferred by the regime.

Amit Mukherjee,
Calcutta

Sir — What Swapan Dasgupta did not point out in his article — even as he mentioned a “Rajabazar model” with respect to counter-Covid strategies — was the high chance that the ‘Namaste Trump’ event contributed to the spread of Covid-19 in India.

Feroz Ahmed Khan,
Calcutta

In deep waters

Sir — This monsoon — like every other year — several states in India have begun suffering from floods; Maharashtra being the latest example. Disaster management groups are doing their best to alleviate the sufferings of the people. However, the plight of animals must not be forgotten. This year, too, scores of animals were reported to have lost their lives during the floods in Assam. Care must be taken that the same fate does not befall animals in other states. Besides having special rescue teams allocated for them, citizens should also take it upon themselves to provide shelter to as many stray animals as possible.

Snigdha Choudhury,
Delhi