MyVoice: Views of our readers 24th April 2022

Marxism has damaged Indian heritage badly

With reference to the article, Lenin lives on in Kolkata by Jayanta Roy Chowdhury (THI 23rd April 2022), it is worthwhile to consider how Marxist-Communist ideology in our academia and politics has been most detrimental to the cause of India and Hindus since decades. Other political parties are not paragons of virtue but this specific one has been the most damaging. Marx thought that Hinduism was the ideology of the oppressive and he thought British colonial rule was correct for India as our primitive country was incapable of handling itself.

In the 1942 Quit India movement, they betrayed the nationalists by acting as informers to the British agencies. During the Second World War, this transition happened because Germany attacked Russia and Britain was an ally of Russia. Later, the Communists were second only to the Muslim League in creating Pakistan by supplying many intellectual arguments for a separate country. They sided with China during the 1961-62 war period acting against the interests in India. It is amazing that they had no problems in taking orders from foreign masters (Russia, China) to take their stances related to Indian matters. It is equally amazing how they distort the narratives later on to present a different picture. It helps when academia is on your side.

They claim to have fought the Razakars and the Nizams but they were equally brutal in inflicting violence on the hapless people of Telangana and Andhra. Their joining the Congress and fighting the Nizams had a larger and complex dimension emanating from Russia to make Andhra-Nizam area into a separate Communist nation within India. For a few years after the integration of Hyderabad, the Communists were still fighting the Indian state and it was only in 1951 (again from Russian orders) that they stopped it. The final straw has to be the Ayodhya controversy where the Muslim party was almost convinced for a peaceful resolution when the Marxist intellectuals stepped in to supply a set of ill-formed and deficient arguments to prolong the issue for a great length of time.

At a political level, the damage which the Communists did to Bengal and Kerala is too massive to even imagine. Their academic hegemony for decades also ensured a free run of Marxist ideology in a whitewashing of uncomfortable history along with pushing the glories of Hindu history into the footnotes. The only paradigm for them to view Hinduism became an exploitative hierarchical society in their binaries of exploited and the exploiter. Their ideas have only perpetuated a colonial view, despite being a 'critique'. Today, in the declining political presence, our Universities are indulging in cultural Marxism which inexorably fragments society and culture. By employing various terms, there is no end to the discovery of fresher victims and an endless atomization of our country. They have caused an immense intellectual and physical damage to our traditions and heritage which stays at par with all the colonial invaders.

Dr Pingali Gopal, Hanamkonda

More research can make India excel in alternative medicine

The Covid-19 pandemic has witnessed quite a buzz around alternative systems of medicine in India, with all sorts of 'immunity boosters' being advertised, sold and consumed over the past two years. These concoctions have lacked uniformity in terms of quality and efficacy, leaving the field wide open for quacks and charlatans to make a quick buck.

In a major initiative to promote and regulate the country's traditional medicine industry, the Centre has decided to develop a mechanism to authenticate quality products manufactured by this sector. On the lines of the ISI mark for the standardisation of industrial goods, there will be a seal of quality for medicinal preparations falling under the umbrella of Ayush (ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy).

Months after coming to power in 2014, the BJP-led NDA had established a dedicated ministry with the vision of 'reviving the profound knowledge of our ancient systems of medicine and ensuring optimal development and propagation of the Ayush systems of healthcare'. It also registered an impressive growth in the past eight years.

The 'Ayush mark', announced by PM Modi in the presence of WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus at the recently held Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gujarat, can help in weeding out unqualified and unscrupulous practitioners of traditional healthcare. Ensuring conformity with the prescribed standards is a must for an industry that often finds itself under fire over misleading claims about treatment and prevention of diseases. Strict enforcement of the Drugs and Magic Remedies is needed to crack the whip on erring individuals and companies.

Another key area where much work has to be done is the pharmacology of Ayush drugs. Cutting-edge research is required to gain in-depth knowledge of the sources, chemical properties, biological effects and therapeutic uses of these drugs. A solid bedrock of scientific evidence and a robust regulatory framework can go a long way in making India's alternative systems of medicine gain widespread recognition both within the country and abroad.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

Power tussle that is damaging Telangana

The cold war between the Telangana Government and the Governor has reached its boiling point with the Governor asking for reports from the State Government on various sensational happenings in the State. Incidents like the suicide of a mother and her lone son, the suicide of a BJP worker, the rape of a minor girl and the blocking of medical PG seats put the KCR Government in a tight spot as some TRS leaders are said to have involved in some of these issues.

For some time now, the confrontation between KCR and the Governor has come out into the open. It is true that in our political system it is not uncommon to see a CM and his/her Governor locking horns. But going by the reasons and circumstances given for the growing gap between the Pragati Bhavan and the Raj Bhavan, it is clear that most of them are in fact avoidable and not expected of them for the august offices they are holding.

Things like not inviting for and not attending to officials programmes and functions by both of them as per the protocol could have been avoided. What held the State Government back from providing a chopper to the Governor for taking the dead body of her mother to her native place? Why KCR couldn't convey at least his condolences to her? People know that the same CM had called on ex-Governor Narasimhan when his mother passed away here and he even provided a chopper to him for carrying out the last rites of her. KCR is a kind hearted person and on many occasions he went out of his way and showed his magnanimity for people in pain and plight. What happened to that bonhomie in the case of bereaved Tamilisai?

Again things like district officials not attending on her during her official visits could be viewed as serious lapses on the part of the Government. We all know that Telangana is infested with some radical groups and if anything happens to the Governor during her outings by road, who should be held accountable? All these unsavoury incidents compelled the Governor to rush to Delhi and shop KCR to the PM and the Home Minister.

The Governor is fully aware that she can do little to trouble the present state Government, which is very popular, dynamic and strong in numbers, and right now it is not facing any Constitutional crisis. At the same time the Government also knows that it has little power or scope to remove or recall the Governor except trying to iron out the differences. At the most the State government, like the Kerala and other State Governments can ask the Centre to amend Articles 155 and 156, allowing State Governments to have a say in the appointment and removal of a Governor.

When elections in the State are round the corner, it doesn't augur well for KCR to have such avoidable tussles with the Governor. It is time, both the CM and the Governor patched up the differences and decided to be on the same page.

M Somasekhar Prasad, Hyderabad

II

When Tamilisai took over as Governor of Telangana over a period of few months, she could win the hearts of the people as she was absolutely apolitical and supportive of the government in spite of her past political leanings. However, things took a different turn in the recent past and her admirers now smell politics from the repeated statements that she is giving through media directly against every act of government.

The bureaucrats get sandwiched between the powers of the two constitutional bodies and are put to embarrassing situation. They don't deserve that. In fact there will be fissures in the bureaucratic set up affecting the implementation of people friendly policies. They may be intelligent enough to wriggle out of difficult situation but not before vitiating the atmosphere between the two constitutional arms. The earlier the Governor and the government call truce, the better it is for the people of Telangana. It is only a matter of few votes at stake and they are worth discarding in the over all interest of the State.

D Nagarjuna, Hyderabad

Celebrate pluralism

Competitive religiosity is a real threat to communal harmony. Hence, imposing restrictions on religious processions and loudspeakers at places of worship is a right step to curb competitive religiosity. Conflicts and clashes among people belonging to different religions during festival season are common in some states in the country.

As India is a country of religious pluralism, people have freedom to celebrate religious festivals. However, people take advantage of this freedom and go beyond limits. Often religious freedom turns into chaos and it adversely affects the lives of ordinary people. Such celebrations cause noise and air pollution, traffic snarl, widespread disruption on the road and uncontrolled behaviour. People are deprived of their right to freedom of movement. In addition to that, it also causes damage to public and private property. People have freedom to practise and propagate religions. On the other hand, religious practices must not cause violation of human rights. As religious practices are for mental peace, they must be done in a quiet atmosphere. Then, what is the logic of using loudspeakers at mosques, temples and gurudwaras ? Further, people belonging to other religions need not listen to devotional songs and religious announcements of a particular religion. Law must be enacted to restrict all kinds of processions including those related to weddings and politics. Secularism is an essential characteristic of Indian culture. People have freedom to believe in different religions. On the other hand, religious practices must not badly affect the lives of people. Secularism must lead to religious harmony.

G S Venu, Kollam

Dashing Dhoni delivers

Over the years, MS Dhoni has devised an infallible yet simple formula of disparaging his critics, viz. "Focus and Perform". By finishing a nail-biter and a high pressure contest against Mumbai Indians, the former captain of the Chennai Super Kings has shown why he is among the top picks of the franchise even in the fifteenth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Kick starting this season with a scintillating half century, Dhoni has been seen in a golden touch so far. His slick-glove works behind the stumps and a shrewd reading of the game are going to play a decisive role in the CSK's road to playoffs.

Keeping things simple, repetition of the basics and a stern belief in the process have always been attributed by MS Dhoni as the three key mantras to success. This is evident from the four trophies which were lifted by the franchise under his talismanic captaincy. The newly appointed skipper needs to carry on this legacy.

Tushar Anand, Patna

Encroachments are everywhere

Illegal encroachments are not confined to Delhi alone but are found over almost every city in the nation. It is virtually impossible to raze all of them and that is where the problem lies. The civic authorities can decide which to raze and which to leave untouched. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that some monetary considerations play a major part in the decision to demolish any unauthorised structure.

The best way is not to allow them to come up in the first place. But the bureaucrat-politician-police-underworld nexus finds these constructions financially profitable. Those living in many illegal slums are a very important cog in the wheel of the economy of the city. They provide cheap labour which would have been otherwise unavailable. It is time the nation pays a little more attention to the problems of those living in illegal construction and how they got there!

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Keralites exploited at every step as govt looks helpless

The state of Kerala is steadily coming under the vice-like grip of trade unions about which the Left Democratic Front government is utterly helpless in taming them, but is waking up to this reality, albeit late. The people of the state have become helpless victims, and are unable to put up with ever increasing wages demanded by skilled workers in the state.

The change is markedly reflected in the new wage tariff being demanded by mason, carpenter, plumber, electrician, and blacksmith, barber groups who have their own unions, methodology and pattern in increasing remunerations and wages, with least care or concern about how the common man can cough up their demand.

The attitude of employees of KSEB and KSRTC in the state is no different, who are flexing their muscles under union monopoly, causing inconvenience to the general public, being viewed as a new existential threat to the LDF government.

The taxi and auto charges at present in the state, far in excess compared to fares prevailing in other states like TN and Karnataka. People wanting to travel to neighbouring states prefer to book taxis from those places, instead of engaging them locally. People generally do not talk about these subtle but vital issues, but the reality is glaringly apparent.

Another important thing is that tourist taxis from other states are efficiently adapting to new trends of fuel like CNG in the wake of increasing cost of petrol and diesel in the country. The taxies in Kerala do not seem to follow this new trend in cost cutting, to make the fare competitive as in the neighbouring states.

In this connection, the tourist channel in Malayalam called 'Sancharam' owned by globetotting Santosh George Kulangara, who tours every part of the world, records, recounts and shares his travel experiences to viewers, repeatedly laments on the several shortcoming prevailing in Kerala.

This sorry state is despite having an excellent scenic beauty, and God given environment and diverse cultures in the state; while other countries without any of such natural blessings have made their countries virtual havens of tourist destinations.

One wonders if this is a feigned slumber in Kerala, on part of the elected government to be oblivious to these grim realities and scope for improvement that can at least be copied, with an open eye, though not out of practical wisdom.

K V Raghuram, Wayanad