PICTURE SPEAK

"The Truth About Jinnah", June 27

"M.A. Jinnah was a flawed visionary. He failed to understand the basic character of Indian culture which allows contradictory elements to co-exist in peace."

Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad

Divided Views

M.A. Jinnah has been misjudged by the people for whom he fought ("The Truth About Jinnah", June 27). Indians deny him the right place and blame him for Partition while Pakistanis have forgotten the essence of the Quaid-i-Azam's dream for Pakistan. Jinnah only divided India into two parts. Our leaders have divided it into thousands of small groups on the basis of region, religion and caste for electoral gain.

Nishant Kumar, on e-mail

Impartially viewed, Jinnah seems just as accountable for India's partition and its attendant problems as the other two lead players of the time, the Congress Party and the British.

Wing commander (retd) S.C. Kapoor, Noida

The cover story reminds me of John Dryden's lines: "Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong/ Was everything by starts, and nothing long." With Jinnah, the ghosts of yesteryears have come to life again.

Dhirendra Mishra, Allahabad

Why blame Jinnah alone for the Partition? It was Mahatma Gandhi's bias towards Hindus and Jawaharlal Nehru that ultimately led to Partition. The current debate on Jinnah's secularism might prove to be a serious roadblock in the peace process between India and Pakistan.

Abhishek Bansal, Panchkula

Even history suggests that no one was either secular or communal by choice, only compulsion or greed for power drove them to be one.

Sandeep M. Mourya, Amravati

Jinnah's greatness as a leader of the minorities may not be debatable. But it is an undisputable fact that he was the architect of the first Islamic republic in South Asia. Now, because of the current controversy he has come back to haunt the minds of Indians.

J. Devasahayam, Chennai

Jinnah sowed the poison of communal hatred just to attain personal supremacy. The persistent enmity between Pakistan and India is the fruit borne out of the poison he sowed. People like Advani may try to rewrite history to appease the present rulers of Pakistan. But, the victims of the divided country cannot excuse the people who agreed to such a division.

K.C. Subhash Chandra, Bangalore

What is relevant today is not whether Jinnah was secular or not. This should be left for historians and academics to explore. What is relevant today is whether the current administration of Pakistan is secular or not. The Islamic face of Pakistan became more visible during the recent trip of the APHC leaders to Islamabad and the statements they made. Somehow, this was eclipsed by Advani's utterances.

N. Raghupathy, on e-mail

Advani had made a blunder by calling Jinnah a secular leader. His statement has made a mockery of the people who lost their lives in the violence after Partition. If Jinnah was indeed secular, why is Pakistan an Islamic state today? Who hijacked Jinnah's secular state right after Partition?

Rahul Dutta, Indore

Advani says that Jinnah was a secular person. He ought to remember that he and his family had to leave his hometown and come to India because of Jinnah's "secularism".

Rujuta Parikh, on e-mail

The photographs of Jinnah and other moments of Indian history make the issue a collector's item.

Neha Minocha, on e-mail

Talking Up a Storm

M.A. Jinnah's role in Partition is no longer relevant after 58 years ("The Lost Leader", June 27). However, it is upsetting to see a leader of L.K. Advani's stature harassed by his party colleagues because he called Jinnah secular. Are we living in a democracy where even the leader of India's largest opposition party cannot speak his mind?

Debgiri Bhowmick, on e-mail

It is ironic that while a series of yatras took Advani to new heights in Indian politics, his yatra to Pakistan is driving him into the political wilderness.

Nagaraj Shenoy, Bangalore

Advani used his Pakistan visit as a political theatre to transform his image into a secularist to keep the NDA united and cash in on the minority vote bank. But no one in the Sangh Parivar was in a mood to forgive Advani who was isolated in his own party.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

Advani would have enhanced his prestige and standing in public had he not withdrawn his resignation, since none of the party leaders, except Atal Bihari Vajpayee, stood by him in his hour of crisis.

D. Manikyala Rao, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh

Disappointed by the BJP's loss of power and the intra-party bickering, Advani seems to have been in resignation mode for quite some time. Perhaps he was looking for an apt opportunity to strike, which he did in Pakistan.

P.K. Srivastava, on e-mail

A real debate on the issues raised by Advani's praise for Jinnah would have revealed how similar Jinnah's politics was to Advani's own. However belated, Advani must have finally realised that in a secular state there is no place for intolerance and hatred in the name of religion.

G.S. Rao, Kolhapur

GETTING INTO THE ACT

It is more difficult to make people laugh than cry ("The Laugh Doctors", June 27). Actors like Boman Irani, Paresh Rawal and Arshad Warsi are doing it very well. They provide us some moments of relief in the otherwise run-of-the-mill Bollywood movies Bal Govind, Bareilly The new breed of comic actors is like a breath of fresh air after an overdose of Johnny Lever. It is good that directors are willing to take a chance with them. Asha Gawri, on e-mail The rise of the comic actors is an indication that Bollywood has evolved beyond the star system. K.N. Sharma, Delhi

Disturbing the Peace

Though the Buddha project aims to set up a world peace centre as well as a heritage centre, the question is whether it should be done despite opposition from eco-activists and local villagers ("A Rock and a Hard Place", June 27). The Bamiyan Buddhas were built on a barren area where the natural habitat was not affected. Considering the controversy, Karnataka is hardly an ideal location for a peace centre.

Narayanan R., Chennai

Building the tallest Buddha stone statue in Karnataka is senseless when there are so many infrastructure projects lying incomplete.

Shiv Shanker Almal, Kolkata

Hollow Claim

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi's claim that he was implicated in the black buck shooting case sounds hollow ("Seeking an Escape Route", June 27). If the charges are true, "an old and ailing man" like him should have known better than to shoot a defenceless animal merely for the pleasure of hunting.

Shiban K. Kachru, Hyderabad

In a State of Disarray

The BJP has failed to present a united front ("The Right in Denial", June 6). For the BJP, a clear-cut ideology and a single powerful voice is the need of the hour. Its absence during key debates in Parliament is a clear pointer to the party's lack of conviction and political ineptitude.

V. Bharath Kumar, Mumbai

Correction

The Jama Masjid was built between 1650 and 1656 and not 1550 and 1556 as mentioned in the review ("Divine Domes", June 27). It is 350, not 450, years old. Besides, the cost of building this monument was Rs 10 lakh and not Rs 1 crore. The errors are regretted.

-editor

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