Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

A collective effort

Sir, — Apropos the article by Harish Khare, "Mahatma to share space with Savarkar" (Feb. 25): Though Gandhi unquestionably pioneered India's freedom struggle, it is also not disputable that the struggle was a collective effort of men professing different ideologies. Therefore, to single out a stalwart like Veer Savarkar is painful. If not for freedom, why was Savarkar put in the Andaman prison cell?

V.E. Venkataramani,
Chennai

Sir, — It is not as if Savarkar was associated with Gandhi's assassins as mentioned by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. They happened to be his followers and belonged to the "fanatical wing of the Hindu Mahasabha" as pointed out by Sardar Patel in his letter to Nehru. Rafiq Zakaria, historian, in his book, "Gandhi and the break-up of India", says: "According to Godse's own admission, his mentor, Savarkar, in his last years, disapproved of the hostility towards Gandhi and tried to dissuade Godse from harbouring any evil intention against him".

V. Krishnamachari,
Mumbai

Sir, — It is an occasion for the BJP to celebrate as it has fulfilled a part of its hidden agenda. However, it is difficult to understand why the Opposition leaders, Pranab Mukharjee and Somnath Chatterjee, were silent when the topic was discussed by the Parliament sub-committee. They must apologise to the people for their breach of responsibility and resign from the Parliamentary panels in which they are members.

George Mathai,
Kochi, Kerala

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• A cautious budget
• Preventing killings
• Godhra, a year later
• Original inhabitants
• Derailed promises
• Outdated customs
• Not on a par
• A collective effort

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu