Mellow fruitfulness

Sir — Some of us who love good English writing appreciate the articles penned by Ashok Mitra in his regular column, “First Person Singular” in The Telegraph. I never endorsed the views of Mitra when he operated as the finance minister of West Bengal in the Left Front government from 1977 to 1987. In those days, it seemed to many of us that Mitra is a conceited politician. But the same Mitra as the columnist comes across as a purveyor of brilliant English prose. There is such a smooth readability about his pieces. The articles convey a good deal of softness, which seems to belie his earlier abrasive persona. I can hardly square my previous impression of the political bigwigs in the Left Front with Mitra’s excellent writing. His command over the language is enviably rich. Yet it is so easy on the mind and brain.

His latest article, “The Compleat economist” (April 4), is a tribute to his friend, the eminent economist, Nirmal Kumar Chandra. Mitra goes on to depict Chandra as a scholar, as an “economist’s economist”, in an analytical manner, without making his article dry or drab. His anecdotes and reminiscences are such a pleasure to go through.

What stands out for me is the mellow poignancy Mitra displays in the last paragraph of his article, when he asks for Nirmal Chandra’s forgiveness for breaching his dear friend’s trust by writing this article to lament Chandra’s demise. This, as he says, was to assuage his conscience, which would not have given him any peace otherwise.

I offer my heartfelt condolences to Mitra for losing a trusted friend of many decades. In a strange way, I can empathize with Mitra. Because I too have a clutch of friends of 55 to 60 years and all of us have crossed seven and a half decades on the face of this earth. Each of us knows only too well that we are now, perhaps, living on borrowed time. Even so, whenever we meet, we start behaving like children in their early teens. So say our spouses. But there is nothing that we can do about it. Because who knows whose turn it will be next — tomorrow or the day after?

Mitra should gift us with some more articles like this one. And may he lead a healthy and cheerful life.

Yours faithfully,
Dipak Banerjee, Calcutta

Disputed leader

Sir — The article, “The fear of fascism” (March 22), by Ramachandra Guha, raises pertinent questions among the secular-minded people of the country about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. It is a common fear among intellectuals and social activists that the democratic fabric of the country will be endangered if Modi comes to power. Guha has rightly pointed out that critics speak of Modi as an “Indian Hitler or Mussolini”. The author has also compared Modi to Hugo Chavez because the former presents himself as a “lone outsider taking on the Establishment, in his fusion of his State with his self, and in the demonization of his opponents”. Modi’s arrogance towards Opposition leaders and his unapologetic stance on the Gujarat carnage are evidence of the kind of leader he would make.

Modi is an astute politician. He is now building up the persona he wants to project. He is also forcing analysts to transform his image into that of a moderate politician. One could read Modi’s silence on the Hindu rashtra issue as proof of a new pragmatic Modi yet one could also read his candidature from Benaras as an indication of his Hindutva beliefs. It is relieving when Guha reminds us that India’s tradition of secularism is more powerful than the impact of one politician.

Yours faithfully,
Basir Ahmed, Salboni, West Midnapore

Sir — There is hardly any reason for Ramachandra Guha to believe that a possible Modi government would mean fascist rule in India. Guha writes, “These fears are not entirely invalid. In his ongoing campaign tour, Narendra Modi has regularly made nasty personal remarks about his political rivals.” But almost all political leaders engage in personal attacks on rivals during election campaigns.

A Hindu state does not necessarily mean that it would be anti-minority. Why can there not be a progressive Hindu state with equal rights for minorities? The condition of the people was arguably better during the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s rule under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Modi has proved his capabilities as a leader. He deserves a chance to show his mettle.

Yours faithfully,
Mihir Kanungo, Calcutta

Letters from Bihar

Man with a mission

Sir — Many thanks to the Supreme Court for its decisive move to cleanse the Board of Control for Cricket in India that has become the fiefdom of a few influential individuals. N. Srinivasan, the former president of the BCCI, is himself responsible for the embarrassment he had to face in the wake of the apex court directive asking him to give up the top post of the board till the inquiry into the match-fixing episode concerning the Indian Premier League was completed. Srinivasan should have been removed from the post right at the beginning of the controversy because the scandal involved his son-in-law. His presence as the head of the BCCI would never have allowed for an impartial probe. Hopefully, Sunil Gavaskar. who is going to head the board for some time, will put the functioning of the governing body in order.

Gavaskar is known for his impeccable conduct both on and off the field. He is a person who means business. I believe that he would bring his own style of functioning to help clear the air about the IPL that has become one of the most pursued brands in international cricket. Any malpractice in a tournament of such stature would only bring disrepute to the game of cricket, which has become religion to many sports lovers. They just want a good game. The greed of a few has given rise to doubts in the minds of cricket fans. Many have started believing that all matches are fixed and that there are players who do not play the game in the right spirit. Gavaskar faced the toughest bowlers when he used to open for India. Now that he is in that position once again, one would expect him to face the toughest task of cleansing the game in his own unique style and restoring the confidence of the people who follow the game passionately.

Yours faithfully,
Manish Ranjan, Patna

Trouble spot

Sir — I would like to congratulate the Uttar Pradesh police for taking quick action against the Congress candidate from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, who was caught on camera delivering a hate speech against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. A good number of intellectuals keep describing Modi as a divisive politician. The same set of intellectuals, however, appear to have gone into hibernation after finding a glaring example of such divisive politics being preached by a Congress candidate. Interestingly, the Congress’s so-called concern for preventing communal forces too stands exposed. The party did criticize the statement of Masood, but that did not stop its vice-president and heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi, from campaigning in Saharanpur. Ideally, he should have cancelled the candidature of Masood and asked the local voters to support those whom they think are really secular.

But Rahul Gandhi did not rise to the occasion. Apart from paying lip-service and criticizing Masood, he did nothing that could make the people believe that he is a politician with a difference. The episode in Saharanpur has also exposed the Congress’s double standards on the issue of corruption. Rahul Gandhi has spoken at length on the corruption issue and has also tried to create a storm by suggesting that the government ordinance that sought to protect convicted politicians should be torn. People had started believing that he genuinely wanted to cleanse politics. He, however, chose to be different at the time of ticket distribution. Would the BJP-bashers now come forward and say why their party should be seen as a torch-bearer of secular politics in the country, a claim they have always made?

Yours faithfully,
Binod Prasad, Patna

Sir — The BJP appears to be in a hurry to get on board as many people as possible to win the maximum number of seats. It tried to reinstate Pramod Muthalik, the chief of the Rashtriya Hindu Sena, into the party fold but abandoned him immediately after there was a furore over his background. It learnt nothing from this lesson and went on to include Sabir Ali, a former member of the Janata Dal (United), only to dump him a few days later. The protest against Ali started when senior BJP leaders started speaking out about his controversial past. Had the party done the necessary homework, it would not have faced the embarrassment of dumping controversial leaders after welcoming them into the party fold. These two incidents have sent a message to those who believe that the BJP is serious about getting India out of rot.

Yours faithfully,
Sanjay Kumar, Muzaffarpur

Letters from Odisha

Promises for the people

Sir — With the elections at the doorstep, political parties have started releasing their manifestos through which they put forward what they want to do for the people after they come to power. A few days ago, the ruling Biju Janata Dal released its manifesto promising several things. One of the major projects promised is the Chief Minister Sadak Yojana that would connect all the villages in the state. After 14 years in power, I think it is a bit too late for the the chief minister, Naveen Patnaik,to realize how important it is to increase connectivity to rural areas. Where was any such plan prior to these elections? He had forgotten about the lack of road connectivity to a majority of areas in the state during his last three tenures. It seems that this time around too, the promises are not going to be fulfilled. Instead of making more promises, the party should act on the ones it had made before.

Yours faithfully,
Sarat Mohapatra, Bhubaneswar

Sir — The recently-released BJD manifesto seems to have a couple of interesting schemes. For example, the Chief Minister Sadak Yojana, which supplements the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana which promises connectivity to all villages having a population of 100 and less. The idea of connecting all panchayats through transport facilities under the Biju Gaon Gadi Yojana and the street-lighting provisions for all panchayat headquarters are a welcome initiative. The expressway the BJD has planned, connecting the northern and southern parts of Odisha, and also running through the backward regions of western Odisha and the Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput districts, is a unique scheme. Clearly, the BJD is a notch above other parties when it comes to flaunting an impressive agenda.

Yours faithfully,
Rudraprakash Swain, Cuttack

Sir — It seems that Naveen Patnaik is busy planning schemes that bear his name. Yet he mostly campaigns citing the legacy of his father. The schemes announced in the BJD manifesto reflect his self-advertisement. Only time will tell if this formula will bring success for him or not. No matter how many schemes bearing his name are announced, there is every chance that many of them will not see the light of day.

Yours faithfully,
Tejaswini Mallick, Bhubaneswar

Sir — In his 16-page long manifesto, the BJD chief, Naveen Patnaik, has certainly promised “sun and moon” as The Telegraph pointed out (“Naveen promises sun and moon”, March 30). To lure voters, schemes such as the Chief Minister Sadak Yojana and the Chief Minister Employment Generation Scheme have been announced. The Re-1-a-kg rice scheme is the worst of the lot. Instead of engaging more people in the workforce to increase production, such popular schemes would only help slum-dwellers take to easier methods to earn money. Such schemes also give middlemen the chance to indulge in corruption. Instead of bashing the Centre for its alleged indifference, the state government should seek to clean its tainted image.

Yours faithfully,
Sudhir Khatua, Bhubaneswar

Act now

Sir — Thanks for the report on the protest by the Assam NGOs against the proposed dehorning of rhinos in an attempt to discourage poachers from killing the animals (“Forum against dehorning” March 27). Although an open global debate is raging over this issue, the major concern is the lack of coordination among government agencies, NGOs, wildlife conservationists, crusaders and enthusiasts. While we debate what the best approach should be, the human-animal conflict is unfortunately swept under the carpet. Unless the most important stakeholders in this entire crisis — the poor, rural, fringe-dwelling, local human populations surrounding the rhino belts — are included in the conservation efforts, neither the government nor the NGOs will ever be able to address the current chaotic situation properly.

Without this initiative, all efforts are going to be limited to academic discussions and debates. They will surely result in the utter failure to protect this highly vulnerable species. And one day we will wake up with a shock to the fact that the majestic one-horned Indian rhinos no longer graze the marshy grasslands.

Yours faithfully,
Saikat Kumar Basu, Lethbridge, Canada