Editor,
I write to express my sorrow and disgust for the unjust, untimely death of young Nido Taniam in Delhi. For people like me (who studied in Delhi decades ago) the xenophobia in our country is totally unacceptable. I seriously question whether Delhi is fit to be the capital of India. The capital should be a metropolis that earns this status by representing ALL citizens of India equally … regardless of ethnic origins … It should not be an heirloom bequeathed historically. That a young person had to die needlessly simply because our capital is populated by bigots, is wholly unacceptable. Delhi’s maltreatment of women also makes it unfit to be a capital. The hooliganism of Delhi is an old problem. It was no different in my day … from wolf whistles on the streets to xenophobia against all who were non-Hindi speaking …
All claims of India to being an ancient civilization … sophisticated and non-violent … become a farce when one encounters the hooligans of Delhi. When will we Indians learn to judge one another by the contents of character (as Dr. M. L. King said) and not by facial features?
Yours etc.,
Deepa Majumdar,
Via email
Will Indians elect the right leaders?
Editor,
Soon the world shall witness one of the influential events on planet earth, namely the 16th Lok Sabha elections in India. The people of the world’s largest (approximately 1.3 billion people) and possibly one of the greatest democracy will exercise their franchise. It is now hoped that the people of India will rise above party, caste, religious, etc. affiliations and vote only for honest, capable, and nationalistic leaders. Hopefully, the rest should automatically fall into place.
While India surely has made great progress in many disciplines, nevertheless, the disease of corruption is sapping the vitality of our nation. Hence, it is overdue the public of India show their maturity in electing the finest of our people. Moreover, even though corruption is a common phenomenon in most areas in the country, India has often been quite fortunate to have honest, intelligent and educated leaders to lead her. Hence, we have succeeded in moving ahead, though sadly we are still in no way close to attaining our full potential.
Yours etc.,
Dr Upinder Fotadar
New York City, USA