MyVoice: Views of our readers 2nd February 2020

Stop this brazen spread of hatred and communalism

As a citizen of India first, I strongly condemned the shameful statement which was given by the BJP member of parliament Anurag Thakur in an election speech during his party campaigning. It didn't suit an MP who are sitting in top positions to give such statements.

It is like the BJP party is giving complete freedom to their party leaders during the elections to give the hate speeches and controversial statements against a particular section of a society. And the result of his speech came in the form of firing on a student of Jamia university.

I just wonder to whom he was talking about in his speech and to whom he was shouting the word "gaddar". It is shocking to see these days the BJP party leaders are not following our Indian constitution and even not bothering about the democratic principles of our country.

The BJP must stop the spreading of hatred first among the different sections of the society. They need to focus on the core issues and should resolve them from which our country is facing right now. There are certain weak sections in our nation which needs their concentration and they need to uplift first.

Our nations need good economy and our youth needs good employment opportunities, good educational facilities and health care facilities too. They don't need hatred and communalism among them and our elders also are now very much bothered about our future generation.

Mohammad Ahmed Ali, Hyderabad

The current political ecosystem is the culprit

While the spectacle of a government minister exhorting his party's supporters to shoot their fellow citizens no longer seems as shocking as it once did, we have not yet become inured to the spectacle of a young man firing a gun into a crowd of peaceful protestors.

The assailant shouted, indicating that in his mind, those protesting the government's move are somehow traitors wanting to secede from India. Such is the climate of hatred that has built up in the last few years.

The young man's action is a logical step forward in a sequence of mob lynchings, the unprovoked beating of students by storm troopers, heavy-handed police action against peaceful protestors and the like.

There may be many – scores, if not hundreds – of such radicals, all indoctrinated by the unending lies spread by the pro-government Hindutva-oriented ecosystem, which consists of politicians, social media and also a large section of mainstream media.

Election speeches are meant to rouse the voters, so some exaggeration, and fiery sloganeering, is understandable. But the sight of a minister, who is sworn to the Constitution, pumping up his audience to scream about gunning down peaceful protestors is shocking and cause and effect is quite obvious such speeches act as encouragement to those who are already charged up, burning with fanaticism and hatred.

Hate speech, especially during elections, shatters the comforting idea of various Indian identities cohabiting harmoniously. That political parties choose their candidates based on religion and caste is secular India's dirty little open secret.

The irony of Indian democracy is that politicians want to govern a nation that they do their best to divide during elections. Bigotry has now become a currency and this will not end well.

As long as he continues to seek electoral dividends by exploiting anti-minority sentiments – and his latest speech indicates there is to be no let up – Amit Shah's promise of action against the gunman carries no conviction.

Javvadi Lakshmana Rao, Visakhapatnam

BJP needs to look beyond religion

The writer's opinion that India is badly in need of legislations like CAA as the country , after Independence, was immensely harmed by the disruptive policies of Congress for several decades is a matter of contention and to be debated thoroughly to come to a valid conclusion.

(India and Congress' divisive doctrine - THI, February 1). It is emphasised in the article about the need to establish uniformity in the country by effectively coining the powerful words like" Composite National Values" and " National Value Framework ."

It is true that the rule of Congress for decades together is responsible in many ways for India being ranked dismally in crucial Global indices such as education, healthcare, press freedom, gender equality, per capita income and corruption. But it is fallacious to state that the performance of the current ruling dispensation led by BJP is remarkable and praiseworthy.

Particularly after being awarded huge mandate in 2019, the BJP is accommodating larger space to the ideology of its mentor RSS and is on an aggressive mood to pursue the issues pertaining to Nationalism and Hindutva beyond the limit that too by being inattentive to the serious issues connected with common man and economy such as unemployment , price rise, inflation, agrarian distress, student unrest and corruption.

At a time when the flailing economy needs expert management, without doing anything on economic front , the BJP has been investing much of its political capital on the gambit of communal polarisation of voters for electoral gains letting economy to worsen further.

The unprecedented scale of protests being witnessed today speak volumes of divisive politics of BJP that promote hatred among various sections of people.

Some BJP leaders, while campaigning in the ensuing Delhi Assembly Elections were penalised by Election commission for their incendiary and irresponsible statements like " "Kejriwal is like a terrorist" .

This electoral contest is akin to a cricket match between India and Pakistan " Anti-CAA protesters are traitors and should be shot dead" and Shaheenbagh protesters are looters and rapists".

This type of remarks are provocative and reflective of intolerance and are not in tune with democratic norms which may lead to further disintegration of the country.

It is high time the BJP should think of its words and deeds in right perspective and go for course correction to deliver good governance with regard to providing better living standards to people rather than evaluating the damage done to the country during the rule of Congress.

The BJP is well advised to have a dialogue with all stakeholders including opposition parties while taking controversial decisions like CAA which was the norm and tradition of AB Vajpayee when he was PM of the country.

Indisputably, the livelihood issues of people are of paramount importance to any government and it is unpardonable on the part of BJP to deflect the people by engaging them with excess dose of emotive and discordant rhetoric.

It is hoped that BJP will understand the priorities of the Nation and aspirations of the people before it is too late.

Narne Raveendra Babu, Hyderabad

Kejriwal shows true national spirit

Kudos to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for slamming Pakistan Minister Fawad Hussain's bitter comments on India and on Prime Minister Narendra Modi (The Hans India,1/2).

Kejriwal has timely and rightly said that whatever happens in India like elections in Delhi is purely an internal matter of the country and no one tolerates interference from outside. Delhi CM has firmly said that Modi ji is the Prime Minister of the country as well as his PM and attack on Modi is not tolerable.

Whatever may be political and personal differences one has to respect the head of the country and no one likes any adverse comments on PM from outside the country.

The great gesture of Kejriwal with moral and human values respecting the head of the country is a great lesson to Mamatha Banerjee , other Chief Ministers and leaders of the country to give respect and honour to the PM Modi ji and differences can be discussed and debated within the country without any assistance from outside forces.

I salute Arvind Kejriwal ji for his gentleman ship with national spirit to respect the Prime Minister.

Jayaprakash Reddy, Nalgonda

We Indians should imbibe Bapu's ideals

When Mahatma Gandhi's ideals and doctrine of ahimsa or non-violence could come as an invigorating blast in a century fraught with violence is hailed the world over and holds a pride of place in the hearts of men and women of every country, it is a sad reminder that we remember him only two days in a year and forget rest part of the year knowing well that Gandhism, a synonym of truth and humanism still holds relevance and is a key to resolve all problems.

When Gandhi fought a clean battle without bloodshed and won freedom for India, one is at a loss to understand where the country is now heading as we violent protests becoming the order of the day. In fact, Gandhiji's endearing trait was to accept people as they were.

This could not only awaken millions of countrymen but made them to follow his steps willingly in the belief that every Indian irrespective of faith one professes shall be able to live in peace with implicit trust against each other.

At a time of moral decadence due to politics of polarisation indulged by petty politicians of every political party for success at the ballot box taking precedence over pressing issues and development, it has given way to needless violence which grew trudging the blood soaked path in every nook and corner of the country even as humanism lost its meaning and pales into insignificance.

While the climb down in seventy years in the land of 'Mahatma' is most distressing and disturbing, it only reveals that except for lip service, his legacy is forgotten and systematically destroyed by all those who claim his mantle.

What is worrying is a brutally violent political culture created by all parties shamelessly has shaken the conscience of all peace living Indians?

The fact that 150th birth anniversary of our beloved 'Bapu' celebrated to uphold his principles and thoughts which remain as essential now and in future as they were in his time with great reverence, it should serve as a lesson to all those who have been violating his values and principles with impunity.

At the same time, it is also a reminder to all Indians that violent and abusive vocabulary which is always a precursor to physical violence and hatred than providing solutions to the numerous problems faced by the Aam Aadmi in their day- to-day lives.

Keeping all the differences aside, let every Indian imbibe and cherish Mahatma's ideals and principles because his thoughts and ideology are the ones needed most to resolve issues that ultimately benefits not only every community living in India but the whole country when it is on the threshold of becoming a super power in the near future.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

A touchstone of inclusiveness

It's heartening to know that the Indian word 'Samvidhaan' (Constitution) was chosen as the Oxford Hindi word of 2019 for the Oxford English Dictionary ('Samvidhaan' is Oxford Hindi word, THI, Jan 29) in view of its wide-spread attention and popularity in the year.

This word found its coveted place in OED because of its constant use by our Indian politicians ,especially the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Indian media, both print and electronic in recent times during the turbulent time of scrapping of special status for Jammu and Kashmir.

Of course, this is not just the only one Indian word( Hindi) that was added to the OED. OED has so far added 900 words from different languages of the world to its enormous house of words. Among such added new words, 70 words have been taken from Indian languages, mostly Hindi.

With huge number of words entering OED, the linguistic purists are upset, arguing that the purity of the English language is ruined. But the linguistic non-purists welcome the new words into OED.

In fact, English language, though limited in its vocabulary in its origin, borrowed and absorbed many words from languages like Latin, Greek and French. Unlike other languages English language, being a dynamic, most flexible, global language, is growing and expanding day by day with a large number of new words streaming into it from different world-languages and is getting enriched.

The works of poets, story-writers, novelists, media, print and electronic, and social media of various countries of the world are sources which contribute to the growth and enrichment of the English language.

As far as the Indian words that entered OED, our first generation of Indian-English novelists, R.K.Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao played a significant role through their fictional works, resulting in Indian-English.

In our times, our Indian novelist, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai and many others with their global prize-winning novels contributed significantly to the English language.

Apart from this source, new words flow into the English language from the fields of science and technology, sports and politics. To hunt for new words, find and sift the words and ultimately choose the new words on the basis of their being used constantly in oral and written forms and their popularity is really a challenging, herculean task for the language team of OED.

The Oxford Global Languages ( OGL) initiative began in Sept.2015 with an aim to build dictionaries and lexicographical resources for around 100 of the world's languages and to make them available on line.

This programme's objective is to transform the experience of people worldwide by making content in their languages available in digital form. Only after careful coining, deft clipping and blending, the new words from other languages are chosen and included into the OED.

It is indeed a matter of happiness and pride for all Indians that Oxford English language team has added our Indian words to OED.

Dr Venugopala Rao Kaki, Kakinada

New move on abortions welcome

The government's move to raise the permissible limit for abortion from 20 weeks' pregnancy to 24 weeks is welcome. The 20-week mark often passes fast leaving many women with unwanted pregnancy. The move gives women great autonomy over her body.

Legal and illegal abortions often cause confusion and moral problems. The main aim of the new amendment is to bring down misuse of abortion. It is commendable that the new amendment is applicable to differently abled people and rape victims. The privacy of the woman who undergoes abortion has also been included in the new amendment.

As per the new amendment, the details of the abortion shall be disclosed only to those who deserve it. The new amendment takes into account factors affecting women such as their treatment, delivery of healthy babies and women's rights.

The new changes are related to changing trends in individual autonomy. In our movement towards a modern society, this amendment is a crucial step.

Venu G S, Kollam

Budget is just a placebo effect

The budget presentation has lost its relevance these days as the exercise has become a mere formality of presenting a wish list. This time the finance minister hopes that the nominal GDP would be 10 percent, whereas it is in single digit number and at forty years low.

It's a wishful thinking to hope so without taking any substantial steps in budget. Another hope of her is to double the income of farmers, which is deemed to be belied, thanks to the deep crisis in agriculture sector, coupled with meagre support from the government.

The relief in tax to individuals had been given with one hand and taken away by other hand by forgoing deductions completely. The reduction in corporate tax may enthuse a few, but couldn't help much to many.

The budget may fail to put the derailed economy in right track, given its lack of right direction. A placebo for a serious disease!

Dr D V G Sankararao, Nellimarla