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can help show that the party has a flag
flying high in a southern state as well.
But then the CM seems to be outshining
the BJP in the campaign. If an array of
welfare schemes has been his highlight,
the proposal to grant the Lingayats mi­
nority status seems to be further work­
ing to his party’s benefit.
The Saint and His Symbols
Pune Anil S.: This ref­ers to Gandhi’s
Spectacles, your comment (April 23).
Gandhi was a master at practising the
politics of symbolism. Realising the po­
tential of the symbolic for influencing a
humongous mass of people ­entrapped
in different kinds of oppressions, the
Mahatma devised a symbol for each of
the nation’s problems. He had the
charkha for self sufficiency, the broom
for self-sanitation and an ora­nge juice
cure for Ambedkar’s ‘rebellion’. But, I
dare say, for all the Mahatma’s saintli­
ness, he was a shrewd politician.
Symbols can only get you so far. When
it comes to the problem of manual
scavenging and garbage disposal, sym­
bols have taken us nowhere. In fact,
inspired by the power of Gandhi’s suc­
cessful symbolism, Modi has taken
charge of the broom, cleaning dry
leaves and chips packets for photo ops.
The real shit ­always remains hidden. It
is not Gandhi we must turn to with re­
gard to the current problem—it is
Ambedkar’s rationalism and humanism
we must revisit. Symbols only give a
convenient illusion of solving prob­
lems; we need to be logical and rational
to achieve real results
Burning Secularism
Pune Sheikh Hyder Ali: Outlook’s
story on the recent communal clashes in
Bengal over the Ram Navami celebra­
tions (At The Fire Ceremonies, Apr 16)
highlights a dangerous situation. As
Indians, we don’t have time to lose,
knowing that in the past we have done a
shoddy job of stemming the rot of com­
munalism. Or is it that in today’s India
it’s tough to form the obvious consensus
on these matters? Queering the pitch
are the political parties who, oblivious of
the fact that it’s secularism that makes
India stand out amidst a fraught South
Asia, use such nefarious means to divide
the populace into convenient votebanks.
Unless we fight this with all our power,
suffering will be our handmaiden.
10 Outlook 7 May 2018
Matinee Real
ON E-MAIL Minati Pradhan: The
story The Funny Bone of Grey Matters
(April 23) about director Abhinay Deo
was a nice read. He really is a director
of witty realism. Some more pictures
and some bits on his personal life
would have added more value to the
story. But I think the picture of actor
Irrfan Khan in the top-right corner of
the issue’s cover was somewhat mis­
leading. It gave the impression that
there was a story of Irrfan in the maga­
zine. Irrfan is a big star and an actor par
excellence; a separate story on him
would be welcome.
Bengal Bananas
HYDERABAD J.S. Acharya: This
ref­ers to Just Pass the Wine, Comrades
(April 23), your story on poll violence
in Bengal. Elections are the bedrock of
dem­ocracy. Free and fair polls are nec­
essary for the formation of a truly rep­
resentative government. But in Bengal,
we see ruling party goons targeting op­
An Equal Share
On e-mail M.S. Khokhar: This is
about the story on Nepal prime minis­
ter Oli’s visit to New Delhi and the eff­
orts on both sides to ease the tensions
that had soured relations (Apr 16, The
Old Sport of Goodwill Hunting). It’s in
India’s interest to build a constructive
friendship with Nepal based on sover­
eign equality. Even if Oli is seen as pro-
China, his visit should be seen as an
opportunity. India’s security-driven
foreign policy forgets one thing—that
‘China card’ diplomacy by its neigh­
bours has its limits. Nepal, fearful of its
large southern neighbour’s long reach,
may want to keep India at arm’s length,
but would eventually come to see its
much larger northern neighbour’s
machinations as a greater threat. Thus
India has to be proactive too—if China
builds a hydroelectric project in Nepal,
India should be interested in buying
the power generated. If there are les­
sons from India’s engagement with
Nepal over the last four years, it is not
to make crude demands for loyalty
based on size, but to acknowledge the
agency of a sovereign nation and offer
friendship based on equality.
Fakesome Headline
Mysore J. Akshobhya: Outlook’s
VOTE MESS Poll clashes in Burdwan
position candidates in a bid to intimi­
date them. If this is not proof enough of
a breakdown of law and order, then
what is? Even journalists have not been
spared by the Trinamool Congress. And
the police are mere pawns in the hands
of the ruling party. One has heard of
farcical elections being organised in
banana republics and under dictatorial
regimes. What is happening in Bengal
today is not much different. It is quite
apparent that democracy is under
threat in the state. The conditions were
bad during the days of the Left Front as
well. I had expected the Trinamool to
behave differently in power, but it is
aping the ways of the Left. It is
anybody’s guess, then, how free and fair
the panchayat elections will be.
cover story on fake news being gener­
ated on social media platforms like
Twitter (Malice As News, Mar 26)
couldn’t have come at a better time.
When John Swinton, who had been
chief of staff of The New York Times in
the 1860s, was asked to give a toast on
‘free press’ at the New York Press Club,
he stated: “There is no such thing, at this
date in America, as an i ­ ndependent
press. You know it and I know it. There
is not one of you who dares to write your
honest opinions, and if you did, you
know beforehand that it would never
appear in print. I am paid weekly for
keeping my honest opinion out of the
paper I am connected with.” “The busi­
ness of journalists,” he continued in the
same scathing vein, “is to d
­ estroy truth;
to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to
fawn at the feet of Mammon, and to sell
his country and his race for his daily
bread.” Does this ring a bell in today’s
India? If it does, even partially, what’s
the point in castigating the c ­ ommon
man who vents on Twitter and insists
he’s not telling lies?