Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Dispel hatred

Sir, — Your Editorials `Harvest of hatred' (Dec.16) and `Dissecting the Gujarat verdict' (Dec.17): it is evident that the voters were swayed by communal passions. The BJP is a clear victor in the hustings, with 126 seats and 50 per cent of the vote. Hatred politics seems to have won. The strategy of terrorising, as in the Dangs, too seems to have helped in drawing to its fold Dalits and Adivasis, two important elements of the KHAM factor.

Gujarat forms part of an extremely important economic zone of India. The people of Gujarat form the most crucial element of this. If, instead of good governance, the elected government peddles more hatred and polarisation, the State will suffer economically. Let sanity prevail and the sober elements in the BJP and the Sangh Parivar change their strategy. Let the Modi government show the world it can also govern.

Job Mathew,
Thiruvananthapuram

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Sir, — Against the high-power Hindutva rhetoric of the ruling party, the Opposition's rather feeble advocacy of secularism and pluralism had no chance to succeed. With no other issue that directly affects the people having been seriously raised by the Opposition, except for routine grievances against the BJP Government, Mr. Modi was able to play the Hindutva card without let or hindrance.

With economic issues receding to the background as a result of the near monopolistic sway of capitalist ideology on the Indian polity, the Hindu communalists have been able to come to centre stage in the political arena.

Unless political parties at the centre and left of the political spectrum again start pleading the cause of the economically backward and fight elections on economic issues, they will be leaving the political space to the exclusive use of communal forces as has happened in Gujarat. Dancing around the entire space from right to left, as the Congress is doing today, will not help either.

K. Vijayakumar,
Bangalore

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