Outsiders stay away
The opposition to the farm laws mirrors the real concerns of farmers. But why did some of them cross the line on Republic Day? Now they have to fight hard to win back the trust of the people and the government (‘Delhi-cate moment’, February 7).
The protests should not become a rallying point for everyone who is against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. External forces should stay away. Farmers are the backbone of our economy. No matter how long the protests continue, all the concerns of farmers should be addressed by the government.
Krishna Prasad,
Mumbai.
My heart bleeds when I look back on what happened on January 26. The whole system failed. The protesting farmers failed as they didn’t keep their promise. The intelligence failed as they didn’t alert the police. The police failed as they could not control the situation and, above all, the leaders failed as they did not take the demands of the farmers seriously.
Sunil Chopra,
Ludhiana, Punjab.
The farmers’ agitation does not seem to have much support outside Punjab and some parts of Haryana.
There are ways to resolve the impasse:
1. The government can give a long rope to farmers, and persuade them to accept the laws with some modifications.
2. The government can repeal the laws, diffuse the situation, and reintroduce the laws, with some modifications, after consultations with an expert committee, since it has a brute majority in Parliament.
3. Amend the laws in such a way that they are implemented only in states which favour reforms.
K.V. Jayaram,
On email.
The farmer leaders, leading the agitation, should be squarely blamed for the mayhem that occurred on a very special day. They would have received more support had they been wise enough to accept the offer of the government to keep the controversial laws suspended for 18 months. If so, it would have been a win-win situation for both the parties.
Jothindra P.L.,
On email.
I have been a reader of THE WEEK for more than two decades and was under the impression that the magazine stood for peace and tranquility. Your cover photograph (issue dated February 7) showed an angry man wielding a sword, with a khalsa flag in the background.
Publications like yours should not eulogise violence, especially when there are perceptions and apprehensions.
Sreekumar R.,
On email.
India will lose if the issues between the farmers and the government are not resolved soon. Both the sides should not be stubborn.
Also, we are capable of handling our problems. We don’t need foreign hands to tell us what to do. What is worrying is that such protests are an open invitation to hostile nations to create all kinds of problems in our country. The sooner the protests end, the better. More maturity is expected from the government.
Pankaj Rathore,
On email.
Proud of India
It feels great to know that India is supplying vaccines to not just neighbours, but also to distant countries through its new diplomatic outreach, Vaccine Maitri (‘Vax Indica’, February 7). This is a well-considered move and deserves applause.
India will produce many more vaccines in the coming days and supply it to the world. We have a wealth of scientific expertise, which the world should make use of.
Rohit Bansal,
On email.
I blame the Congress
We need a clear distinction between the state and the nation (‘Last word’, February 7). For the last 2,000 years, India has combined civilisational ethos, demography and history of various ethnic groups and evolved as a nation.
In the quest to brand itself ‘secular’ and guided by narrow electoral interests, the Congress is denying India’s heritage.
If traditional Indian nationalism increasingly comes to be identified as ‘so called’ exclusionary, aggressive and communal, the blame should go to the Congress and its appeasement policies.
This reality is to be accepted, and introspection needs to be done instead of covering up with intellectual sermons on pluralism.
Murali N.,
On email.
I have been a regular reader of THE WEEK for many years. I am also a fan of Shashi Tharoor, your columnist―both as a writer and as a politician.
I am wondering why in his column Tharoor mentioned his new non-fiction as magnum opus.
Sumedh Shah,
On email.
Modi won’t do it
R. Prasannan’s suggestion for a jawan-kisan parade (‘PMO Beat’, January 31) was a stroke of genius. But in the Narendra Modi government, there is no one to bring in new and controversial ideas, or to act on them.
The government was having endless talks while making efforts to break the will of the farmers to protest. There was no radical thinking―to make farmers feel proud, or allowing them to participate in the parade in gaily coloured tractors.
R. Krishnan
Bengaluru
Following the rampage by the tractor rally in the capital on Republic Day, it is shuddering to imagine what would have happened if the protesters were allowed to take part in the Republic Day parade, as suggested by Prasannan, citing inauthentic report of Jawaharlal Nehru having allowed the RSS to participate in the Republic Day parade of 1963.
B. Gurumurthy,
On email.