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In defence of Jaswant’s expulsion

Jaswant Singh (editorial, “Exit Jaswant Singh”, Aug 20) is one of those writers who deliberately create unwanted controversies for promotion of their books. He had played this trick in the case of his earlier book A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent India when he said that a mole existed in the Prime Minister’s office who provided information to the US government. After he failed to identify the mole, he lost his credibility both as a politician and an author.

To write a book on Mohammed Ali Jinnah is no sin or sacrilege provided it is written with a balanced perspective. I think that the author has projected Jinnah as a paragon of virtue. He has written the book like an advocate building up his case and relying on only those papers that suit his case. 

He has failed to address the great Indian leaders with the respect they deserve. It is good that the BJP has treated him fairly and squarely by disowning his book and expelling him from the party.

RAM NIWAS MALIK, Gurgaon

II

My party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), and I feel that the exit of Jaswant Singh is not due to the fact that in his book he has de-demonised Jinnah but because he has revealed the truth about Gandhi, Nehru and Patel whom he has now demonised. He has not been expelled because he has praised Jinnah. Had he been expelled for this reason, then, L. K. Advani would have been expelled from the BJP long ago.

The Sikhs since 1947 have said the same things about Gandhi, Nehru and Patel what Mr Singh has now written in his book. Since we are in such a hopeless minority, we have not been taken seriously.

SIMRANJIT SINGH MANN,
President, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)

III

First it was L. K. Advani. Now it is Jaswant Singh. The mindset of the BJP leadership is out in the open. They have shown their true colours not once but many times.

The BJP think-tank is actually more worried about the image of Jinnah than local issues. Earlier they were more worried about Lord Rama. I think the BJP does not have any issue worth pursuing. They have failed in understanding the pulse of the common man. When people are more worried about the ever-rising prices of essential commodities, the release of a new book neither interests nor excites them.

R K GARG, Chandigarh

IV

Jaswant Singh has brought out a book that claims that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru were in a hurry to take power. Wasn’t Mohammed Ali Jinnah in much greater and undue haste? There was no television in 1947 but I remember the newsreels of August 14-15 showing an exuberant Governor-General of Pakistan glowing in his new avatar.

MUKUND B KUNTE, New Delhi

V

It is really shocking that Jaswant Singh has been expelled from the BJP for praising Jinnah. You cannot gag freedom of expression and behave like a dictator. Dissent is the soul of democracy.

R L SINGAL, Panchkula

Hold the price line

In the recent past, there has been a steep hike in the rates of essential commodities like pulses, fruits, sugar, edible oils, etc. The price rise has made the life of the common man miserable. Hoarders and black marketeers are fuelling the fire by creating an artificial scarcity of these items. Keeping in view the skyrocketing prices of essential food items, many states, including Delhi, have taken over control of their distribution.

Having realised the gravity of the situation, the Chandigarh administration has constituted a team to stop the hoarding of commodities. This is welcome. The administration should distribute these products at reasonable rates.

S K KHOSLA, Chandigarh

Combat swine flu

Swine flu death toll is rising with each passing day. So far, this disease is limited only among the well-to-do people that enjoy a fairly good standard of living and are mostly well educated.

In case the disease is not controlled and if it spreads among the poor living in slums, the consequences will be more fatal. The government must take effective steps to control the H1N1 virus.

SANTOSH KUMARI, Solan.

Reader’s Digest

The decision of the publishers of Reader’s Digest to file for bankruptcy in the US is likely to depress millions of readers like me who have since childhood read this wholesome magazine. Many of its issues are collectors’ items. One hopes that the publication does not disappear.

Col MAHESH CHADHA, Panchkula

Bengal needs Gopal Gandhi Uttam Sengupta’s article, “Bullies and the bullied: West Bengal does need Gopal Gandhi” (Aug 15) was interesting. The father of the nation said that his life itself was a message. The same can be said of his grandson, Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi. His gestures like inviting a rickshaw-puller to tea in the Governor’s House, offering a lift to a stranded senior citizen and switching off the lights of the Raj Bhawan for a couple of hours daily prove that Mr Gandhi is not locked up in an ivory tower. Rather, he empathises with the woes of the common man. Such a conscientious man will naturally be perturbed over the continued political violence in West Bengal and has every moral right to ask the authorities to bring the situation under control. The people of West Bengal cannot afford to ignore his sage advice. KAJAL CHATTERJEE, Kolkata