Opinion - Letters to the Editor

A humanist first

Sir, — It is true that Dr. Kalam is the father of the Indian missile programme. But to say that this will send "wrong signals" is preposterous. Albert Einstein, Oppenheimer and other great scientists participated in the Manhattan project that developed the A-bomb. However, Einstein was also regarded as a great pacifist.

With neighbours such as Pakistan and China, it is only right that we develop enough deterrence so that they do not become adventurous and wander into our borders. It is, hence, not wrong to say that our nation should be strong.

George Bush sr. was director of the CIA before he became President of the United States. Vladimir Putin was a KGB operative before he got elected as Russian President. Did their background send "wrong signals"?

The Left and others are doing a disservice to the country by repeatedly raising such irrelevant questions about an honest, brilliant and intensely patriotic Indian who is essentially a humanist.

Srinivas Ramesh,
Mumbai

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