Your coverage of the elections in Uttar Pradesh was comprehensive. Even though the BJP is not as confident as it was some months ago, I feel it will still return to power in the state (‘Wave to wavering’, February 27). Yogi Adityanath continues to be popular and there is nobody in the state who can take him on. Akhilesh Yadav, who is also a popular leader in UP, is on his own.
If the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and the Bahujan Samaj Party had allied, it would have been tough for Yogi to return.
Vikas Trivedi,
Delhi.
There are strong undercurrents against the BJP in general and Yogi in particular. Akhilesh Yadav is going to make a comeback for sure. Yogi could be a tough ruler, but there is an impression among a considerable section of voters that he does not listen to anyone. Caste continues to be king in UP, and no political party can be fully confident of winning the election in the state.
Suraj Nambiar,
On email.
The single achievement of Yogi was establishing rule of law in UP, as many criminals have surrendered to the police. With Asaduddin Owaisi in the fray, the path of the Samajwadi Party has become thorny.
Considering the political situation in the state, there is a good chance that the BJP, under Yogi, will come back to power.
Surinder Sharma,
On email.
Cheer for hockey
While Virat Kohli’s achievements are no doubt laudable and are known to the present generation, they should also know that our hockey team won the gold at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. I agree with Sudhakar Nair’s suggestion (‘Letters’, February 27).
K.S. Medappa,
On email.
Savarkar, the icon
Notwithstanding what so-called liberals or intellectuals mention about Veer Savarkar, a large section of Indian society reveres him like the demi-god of the freedom struggle (‘The real Savarkar’, February 27). It is heart-wrenching to see that people living luxurious lives are trying to discredit Savarkar of his trials and tribulations, which he faced in Cellular Jail.
Today, the people of India are awakened to recognise real icons, who were earlier pushed to the margins.
Devendra Awasthi,
Lucknow.
The article on Savarkar made for splendid reading. The author invalidates the narrative that Savarkar was a British stooge. His petition for amnesty from the Cellular Jail speaks for itself.
All said Savarkar’s alleged involvement in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination conspiracy was curiously intriguing.
Savarkar fortuitously escaped being named as a conspirator. Historical events are stark facts, but certain assumptions from available data put together are truer beyond fiction. The choice is with the reader.
Sanath Kumar T.S.,
On email.
‘The real Savarkar’ was an impartial, timely article on the Indian freedom struggle, and covered all details. It is time to rewrite history. Kudos to the historical evidence presented by Dr Vikram Sampath.
I congratulate THE WEEK’s efforts in publishing an honest article.
Nagesh S. Adiga,
On email.
Let me thank THE WEEK for publishing Sampath’s details on Savarkar. Though in our school days, we heard about Savarkar in bits and pieces, specific details of the reasons leading to his days in jail remain mostly unknown.
Sometime in early 1963, I got a chance to meet Savarkar at his residence in Mumbai, with my friend, who was his neighbour. I was shocked to meet the frail form of a person who was a threat to the colonialists. It was Savarkar’s strong willpower and commitment to the cause of freedom that toughened him to survive the odds in solitary confinement.
It was quite satisfying to read about Savarkar in THE WEEK.
Narendran Vettiyattil,
On email.
What about Ramanathan Krishnan?
Among other things, Sania Mirza, in your interview (February 27), mentioned that only two men from India (Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan) have achieved a better (singles) ranking than her.
How can Sania forget the achievements of Ramanathan Krishnan who reached the Wimbledon singles semi-finals twice in two successive years, on both occasions losing to the eventual winner? He was given fourth seeding in Wimbledon the following year and was ranked No 3 at his peak.
Krishnan played the game when giants of the game like Rod Laver and Roy Emerson played. He had beaten all the top players of his time.
Ananth M. Iyer,
On email.
Prasannan and Shakespeare
The PMO Beat on the Ukraine war and our pakora worries (February 27) was yet another piece of advice from R. Prasannan on how to resolve the shortage of edible oil on a long-term basis. Prasannan has a Shakespearian style of presentation—’Brevity is the soul of wit’.
P.M. Gopalan,
Mumbai.