Khokan Das,
Calcutta
Lessons of history
Sir
— Ramachandra Guha’s article, “Rich in tongues” (Oct 27), should serve
as a warning to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and to all those who
believe that “to be properly Indian is to be a Hindu, and to be truly
Indian is to be able to speak Hindi.” If the government tries to impose
any one language on the entire nation, it will only lead to disastrous
consequences.
In the article, Guha has quoted from a letter
written by one M.S. Ali that was published in The Statesman a few days
prior to Partition. Ali had stated that no language should be given
preferential treatment in the then soon-to-be-formed state of Pakistan.
But the first governor-general of Pakistan, M.A. Jinnah, had other
plans.
Jinnah chose Urdu as Pakistan’s national language as he
believed that “[w]ithout one state language, no nation can remain tied
up solidly together and function”. This rigidity on the part of Jinnah
and his successors proved harmful to the interests of Pakistan. In 1971,
Bangladesh was carved out of Pakistan primarily on the issue of
language.
India was fortunate to have leaders like M.K. Gandhi
and Jawaharlal Nehru at the time of Independence. They were pragmatic
and believed in promoting diversity. The current crop of leaders should
follow their path. We must take a lesson from history and not repeat the
mistakes of Pakistan.
Jahar Saha,
Calcutta
Sir
— In the article, “Rich in tongues”, Ramachandra Guha has rightly said
that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre is trying
to promote Hindi at the expense of other Indian languages. However, the
policies of the BJP should not come as a surprise. The party is merely
following the agenda of the RSS, which apparently believes in the idea
of ‘Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan’. One hopes that the BJP would soon realize
its mistake. The saffron leaders must understand that the different
religions, languages and cultures do not weaken India. Rather they
strengthen the bonds of nationhood.
Debasish Chatterjee,
Calcutta
Sir
— While reading Ramachandra Guha’s article, it seemed as if the
columnist is suggesting that the BJP is the only party that “slyly seeks
to promote Hindi”. But the fact is that the record of the principal
rival of the BJP, the Congress, is not too different either in this
regard.
Both the parties are primarily based in the Hindi heartland and have tried to project Hindi as the lingua franca of the nation.
Anisuzzaman Chowdhury,
Calcutta
Protest responsibly
Sir
— Assam witnessed a 12-hour strike recently on the issue of citizenship
(amendment) bill. Nearly 60 organizations had given a call for the
bandh. It seems that most people in Assam are against the bill. But is
going on strike the only way left to register one’s protest?
Bandhs
lead to a loss of income for the daily wage earners and adversely
impact the overall economy as well. Further, if a person needs to be
hospitalized on a bandh day, it becomes quite an arduous task to find
transport. Pelting stones at vehicles ferrying students or attacking
public buses should not be encouraged.
There are better and more
constructive ways to oppose. To get their demands heard, the leaders
need to hold wider discussions and debates, make the public more aware,
sign petitions and send them to the central government.
Manaswita Mahanta,
Guwahati
Parting shot
Sir
— The minimum pension amount under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, which
is managed by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization, should be
hiked immediately. The pensioners under this scheme receive far less
than they deserve, if one takes into account their age, period of
service and, above all, the amount that had been deducted from their
salary every month towards PF contribution.
One wonders how can the authorities expect a retiree to subsist on a pension of Rs 1,000 per month.
Manas Kumar Majumdar,
North 24 Parganas
Source: The Telegraph
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