Head I Win, Tail You Lose, isn’t it?
There is no doubt that Indira, Rajiv, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi attained posts of prime minister or party president because they were privileged enough to take birth in or marry into the Nehru family. But the fact also remains that Indira and Rajiv won elections not through brute force, but by winning the hearts or votes of the Indian electorate through a free and fair democratic process.
Be it 2004 or 2009, it is the common people who had voted the Sonia-led Congress to power in New Delhi. Still if the Gandhis are constantly attacked for fostering a dynastic culture, it is the free will of the Indian voter that gets maligned and abused. The Gandhis did not elect themselves, rather people voted them to power. The BJP should not forget that it is the people who threw out the saffron regime of “India Shining” to bring in the “family” in 2004.
If BJP wins, it is the “blessings of people”; but if the Congress wins, it is the “dictatorship of dynasty”. Head I Win, Tail You Lose, isn’t it? If the Congress is dynastic, what do the Dhumals, Mahajans, Mundes, Khandus and Chowhans represent?
What about the progeny of Raman Singh, Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh, Maneka Gandhi, Yashwant Sinha and Vasundhara Raje?
Why has the “anti-dynasty” force gleefully brought the likes of Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasad into their fold? Why did BJP join hands with the dynastic PDP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena? Why has BJP aligned with the “dynastic” Jannayak Janta Party in Haryana ?
Kajal Chatterjee
Sodepur, North 24 Parganas
West Bengal
An Eye-Opener
Amidst so many accusations and misleading information regarding women’s status in Islam, concocted by the anti-Islamic section of our Indian society, two articles, one under the caption, “The Greatest Women’s Emancipator in History” and the other titled “Hijab: Dignity is My Choice”, written by Rahmathunnissa A and Dr. (Mrs) Saba Taj respectively, appeared in the special issue of Radiance Viewsweekly dated 26 February, 2022, are an eye-opener for one who wants to see how women’s rights to freedom, equality and safety are guaranteed in the divine teachings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Both the articles throw light on the real views about women’s dignity in Islam.
Dr. Saba’s article has a point which is not clearly elaborated. She merely objected to the idea that Hijab hides beauty. But from the Islamic point of view woman’s beauty is, of course, not a thing to be demonstrated in public. All her beauty is reserved for her husband. Women are not allowed to manifest their appealing attraction in congregations and public places.
Mohammed Salim
Kolkata, West Bengal
I would Like to be an Animal!
It is a sheer tragedy that human beings were struggling for survival threatened by a tiny organism-novel coronavirus – until recently. The same human beings are presently struggling for survival threatened by fellow beings. Specifically, this refers to the crisis Ukrainians are currently facing. This may set the precedent for other countries to attack neighbouring countries at the cost of lives and unspeakable human sufferings.
The world witnessed two World Wars within a gap of barely 30 years. Appeals were made and anti-war campaigns were organised highlighting the devastating and widespread ramifications of the war. It was thought that human beings would never indulge in war. But that was not to be.
When a common man commits a crime, it is taken seriously and the culprit is sentenced by the judiciary. But when a leader of the country commits war-like crimes by destroying the lives of millions and damaging property, nobody is there to punish. So called modern civilised men are more barbaric than primitive uncivilised men.
I would like to be an animal in my next birth, if rebirth is the truth. Animals are better than humans.
Samares Kumar Das
Jalukie, Peren, Nagaland