The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : The Modi affair

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Friday, Apr 01, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

The Modi affair

Sir, — The editorial, "L'affaire Modi" (March 30), strikes the right note when it says that for those committed to democratic values, Mr. Modi is persona non grata and Moditva is a blot on India's civilisational heritage. It is also a blot on the electorate that returned him to power despite being aware of his complicity in the post- Godhra riots. The need of the hour is to educate the electorate on the considerations to be taken into account before voting to avoid the kind of perversity we are faced with today.

G.M. Rama Rao,
Visakhapatnam, A.P.

Sir, — The editorial was indeed a slap in the face of pseudo-swabhimanis and the hardcore parivar enthusiasts who at one point hailed even Nathuram Godse as a hero. Hats off to the bold and hard-hitting comments, which are important to the survival of democracy in India.

Though the judiciary will take its time to deliver a final verdict, there is no doubt in the minds of democrats and international forums that Mr. Modi cannot escape the blame for the riots. The BJP should at least now act.

J. Rajiah,
Tirunelveli, T.N.

Sir, — I appreciate the bold stand taken by The Hindu in the matter. In these days of political charlatanism, it is only voices such as The Hindu 's that give hope to ordinary citizens like me.

Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan,
Chennai

Sir, — It is surprising to note that the biggest democracy is not a party to the International Criminal Court but elects the likes of Mr. Modi, whose achievements include the subversion of justice, to run a State.

Chandra Prakash Mathur,
New Delhi

Sir, — If democracy is a clash of ideas, why not leave it to the people to experiment and draw their lessons? Can the average Indian not be trusted to accept a different viewpoint, but reject the same if Indianness is threatened? Let us not make a Hitler out of Mr. Modi.

K.S.K. Prasad,
Hyderabad

Sir, — While acknowledging the detractors of Mr. Modi and his policies, what is surprising is the fact that the U.S. is being benchmarked as an exemplar of moral rectitude. It is not as if the U.S. was governed by nobility while taking note of the affairs of Mr. Modi. Nor is it correct to prosecute Mr. Modi on the basis of the findings of the NHRC and some NGOs.

S. Thyagarajan,
Chennai

Sir, — The direct involvement of Mr. Modi should be proved beyond doubt if he is to be pronounced guilty. Communal riots have taken place in Independent India before 2002 also. No one has ever been punished, thanks to the political and criminal justice system. Is it then fair to target Mr. Modi and Mr. Modi alone?

G. Ramachandran,
Kuzhithurai, T.N.

Sir, — The concerted and obsessive attempt of the media and intellectuals to demonise Mr. Modi seems to have struck the right chord in the international fora. But they should realise that demonisation campaigns boomerang over a period of time. The Indian mainstream has always sympathised with the victim of such campaigns.

As for l'affaire Modi, it is an irony that a BJP Prime Minister implored Mr. Modi to follow the raj dharma while a Congress Prime Minister had to dismiss all that was said against him as "allegations," that too on the floor of Parliament.

S. Sundararaman,
Bangalore

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