MyVoice: Views of our readers 5th January 2022

No selective condemnation, please

There are no two opinions regarding the condemnation of hate speeches (Spewing hate &calling for genocide by Madabhushi Sridhar , The HansIndia, 4.1.22). However we should be aware of everyday hate speeches made by Christian clergy and the hate speeches blared every Friday from mosques are going on unchallenged. Selective condemnation of hate speeches will do no good. The 24x7 ridicule of idol worship of Hindus is as hateful as was the Haridwar speeches under reference. All religions and their followers should take a conscious decision not to poke at other's beliefs. Unless Indians confine religions to their houses and prayer halls and develop nation first attitude this hate speeches will spoil the society .

Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao,Vijayawada

The lukewarm response of the central government ,in the wake of genocide warning by the so called hate prophets in Dharam sansad at Haridwar is highly condemnable. (Spewing venom and calling genocide, Jan 4, The Hans India). As a responsible government, the honourable PM ,along with his minister for minority affairs are duty bound to organise a "parliament of all religions" ,immediately and give an assurance of protection and safety , to the people of all religions in India, mainly the targeted communities ,and ensure that confidence building measures are taken up by the administration at all levels ,in sensitive ,hyper sensitive and troublesome areas of states like UP, Karnataka, Haryana, Assam, MP etcetera. The honourable PM , being a religious man ,can even talk to those misguided sants using the fascist language of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This will certainly have desired communal peace, harmony and enhance the image of India as a secular ,Socialist and Democratic Republic .

P H Hema Sagar, Secunderabad

This has reference to the article by Madabhushi Sridhar "Spewing hate & calling for genocide'' in The Hans India dt.04-01-2022. In this article he rightly pointed out certain hate speeches of Prabhodhananda Giri, Sadhvi Annapurna and Swamy Ananad Swarup. Without any hesitation we have to condemn such hate speeches. But at the same time we should condemn speeches of leaders/preachers of other religions too. I am not able to understand why Mr. Sridhar ignored the recent hate speech of Asaduddin Owaisi and Zakir Naik. He should have mentioned those speeches too in his article. Wrong done by all should be condemned irrespective of their religion without any bias.

D V Seshasai, Narasaraopet

Apropos of ' Spewing hate and calling for genocide', the complete silence of the BJP leadership on the issue effectively means that it endorses such views. There is a growing concern among the citizens that the nation is taking a path from which there is no return. Eminent citizens have done well to voice their concerns to the highest constitutional authorities of the land but so far there seems to be no reaction. Electronic media channels cannot escape responsibility for fomenting a hatred of minorities. It has turned many devout Hindus into murderous fanatics ready to kill. Influential voices in the nation like Ramdev Baba or Sri Sri Ravishankar who are looked upon as custodians of Hindu welfare too are silent. I think it was George Barnard Shaw who said ' a man will do anything for his religion, kill for it or die for it, everything else but live it'. How true!

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Modi under attack from his own

Meghalaya Governor Satyapal Malik who steadfastly spoke up for the farmers revealed how Prime Minister Narendra Modi was arrogance personified when he met him to persuade him to see the rightness of the farmers' cause. Not all are overawed by Modi's larger than life character. There is no escaping the fact that the country gained nothing, but lost more than 700 lives as a result of the farm laws brought in by Modi to facilitate the takeover of the agriculture sector by the corporate behemoths.

'Self-righteousness' is a defining personality trait of Modi. The Modi government has not sacked the Governor for fear that the Jat community from which he hails may not take kindly to it when the Assembly election is round the corner in Uttar Pradesh. When it comes to garnering votes or more precisely fear of losing votes, even an open questioning of the Prime Minister's moral authority or comments that expose his true face is tolerated.

Meanwhile what Amit Shah divulged to the Governor – "some people ruined his thinking" – without identifying who they were could well become the subject of much speculation.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu