All in the name of Shivaji

Sir — There are times when democracy is more a curse than a blessing. The incident in Pune, where a mob attacked a research institute and destroyed many rare manuscripts, including palm leaf ones, is an example (“Mob ransacks research institute”, Jan 6). The mob apparently was angry at something a British author had written about Shivaji. But why they chose this institute in Pune so far removed from the actual object of their ire, much less why they chose this particular method, beats logic. Indeed, such incidents call for a curb on the right to protest, at any rate on the mode of protest. But the mob’s stupidity in wilfully depriving humanity of the precious raw material of history is of monumental levels and criminal in its intent. The Shiv Sena has already done enough to honour the Maratha icon — the airport, the railway terminus and even the museum in Mumbai has been renamed after him. It is now using his name to sanctify the gross hooligan instincts of its followers.

Yours faithfully,
Madan Gopal Bhattacharjee, Calcutta

Quote unquote

Sir — Mani Shankar Aiyar would have been honoured with the title of “Rai Bahadur”, and the anglicized Jawaharlal Nehru would have honoured him with the post of ambassador to the United Kingdom, had his article, “The Mahatma and the BJP” (Dec 16), been published around 1947. Ironically, even after five decades of political independence, our country remains divided between India and Hindustan, or Bharat. While Aiyar is the voice of India, Ravi Shankar Prasad represents Hindustan.

M.K. Gandhi said and wrote many things; it is for us to select an appropriate quote from his works to suit our times. Today, when our country faces a threat from fundamentalists and terrorists, Prasad is totally justified in chosing a passage from Gandhi that seems to justify violence, since “I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless victim to her own dishonour.” Aiyar counters this by quoting a passage of his choice — “Religion of non-violence is not meant merely for the rishis and saints. It is meant for the common people as well.”

Does Aiyar have the courage to tell this to those who deal in violence in Kashmir or the North-east? He should rise above political considerations and appreciate that nationalism is the only true philosophy of Gandhi.

Yours faithfully,
Balram Misra, New Delhi

Sir — Mani Shankar Aiyar has every right to criticize the Bharatiya Janata Party for quoting Mahatma Gandhi out of turn. But he should also accept that the Congress and its leaders have moved very far from Gandhi today. Are treating the minorities as a votebank and capitalizing on the fear in their minds not a form of violence too? Yes, the saffron parties believe in communalism, but is that not better than the corruption that has entered every sphere of our society under Congress rule? Why should we not celebrate Pokhran? If the Congress believes in non-violence, why were thousands of Sikhs killed by mobs, many of them abetted by Congress leaders, after the death of Indira Gandhi?

Yours faithfully,
Durga Prasad Pattnaik, Bolangir

Sir — Mani Shankar Aiyar has done well to expose the BJP’s hypocrisy in trying to justify its nuclear mission by quoting Mahatma Gandhi. First it lauds Narendra Modi, who has butchered Gandhi in his own backyard, and then distorts Gandhi’s writings. It has also similarly tried to saffronize Vivekananda and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. The unprincipled stand of political parties clearly exposes the bankruptcy of Indian politics.

Yours faithfully,
Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta

Trouble on wheels

Sir — The decision of the West Bengal government to tax owners of two-wheelers and cars is laudable in the light of its declared reason to improve roads. What is questionable is the mode of collection — advance life-time or five years’ tax together. Even more questionable is the mode of collection — cash-only. Even electricity and phone bills can be paid by cheque or credit card today. Can you imagine someone carrying Rs 20,000 (estimated lowest amount for a small-size car) to pay road tax? Or the cashier sorting through currency notes each day? The government can impose a penalty for cheques that bounce. Most new vehicle owners, who are salaried and have bought cars on loan, can hardly afford it. In addition to better roads, the city needs better traffic management and improved public transport. But the government cannot improve roads simply by taxing private vehicle owners.

Yours faithfully,
Nila Sen, California

Sir — In view of the state government’s recent directive that life-time tax for two-wheelers and five years’ tax for cars must be paid within January 7, why was not enough publicity given to the rates and so on of the new road tax (“Carrot and stick for two-whleer tax”, Jan 2)? Since for a two-wheeler, 15 years’ tax (presumably, calculated as the life time of a two-wheeler) is collected at the time of registration, what period is the life-time tax meant to cover? This might be a one-time tax, but how does the government mean to raise revenue in future years? Since the public vehicles department is ill-equipped to handle such vast pressure, given the spurt in two-wheeler ownership, why was a longer period not allowed for payment? Also, why is not there standardization of road taxes across the country?

Yours faithfully,
Malay Shanker Bhattacharya, Sheoraphuli