Sir — It is shameful that on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose, the chief minister of his home state was insulted by her own people at a programme organized by the Centre. First, it was not a political rally, but an official event organized by the government. Second, it was the birth anniversary of Bose, not a religious occasion. So the only motives to utter “Jai Shri Ram” could be to provoke the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, and to stop her from speaking. In doing so, the people also insulted Bose. It is disgraceful.

Shyamal Thakur,
Ramnagar, East Burdwan

Sir — The visit of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to West Bengal on the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is more a political stunt than paying respects to the freedom fighter. Modi was joined by the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, and the state governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The prime minister was greeted with chants of “Jai Shri Ram” instead of Bose’s famous slogan, “Jai Hind”. But in the case of Banerjee, the religious chant was uttered with the intention of not allowing her to speak. Banerjee rightly stood up for the state and reminded the audience that one should not insult one’s guests. She reminded the Modi government of a basic lesson in civility that most Indians are brought up with: “Atithi devo bhava”. People expected the prime minister to condemn the boorish behaviour of his supporters or at least apologize to Banerjee. But to our utter disappointment nothing of the kind happened. Even the governor, who makes a big hue and cry about propriety in the way dignitaries are treated, did not say a word. Instead, he encouraged the crowd when they greeted him with “Bharat mata ki jai”. In his speech, the prime minister gave the impression that Bose would have been proud of India’s achievements today. But Bose would have been disgusted with today’s India where communal hatred is rife and farmers are dying on the streets.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad

Sir — The commemoration of the 125th birth anniversary of our country’s pride, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, was celebrated magnificently in most places except at the Victoria Memorial Hall, where the rowdy crowd misbehaved with the chief minister of the state. This is an insult not just of Mamata Banerjee, but also of Bose.

As a result of this uncouth behaviour, Banerjee did not deliver her speech. Bose would have been embarrassed and utterly ashamed about being associated with such an event. The slogan, “Jai Shri Ram”, is a religious one connected with the majority community; it should not be used to gain political mileage. The Centre should have ensured that such an incident did not take place at an event organized by it. Banerjee did the right thing by not speaking.

If we want to see our nation attain the heights of success and glory, we should rise above the narrow divisions of caste, religion, race and language so that we, as one nation, can feel proud of ourselves.

Iftekhar Ahmed,
Calcutta

Sir — The stoic silence of the prime minister when a section of the audience raised slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” at the Victoria Memorial Hall to stop the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, from speaking has left us astonished. How did the prime minister or the cultural ministry allow such a thing to happen? The incident will no doubt mar the image of the Bharatiya Janata Party and be an eye opener for the people of Bengal, who will think twice before bringing such a party to power in the state.

Arun Gupta,
Calcutta

Sir — Even supporters of the BJP in Bengal are ashamed of the incident at Victoria Memorial Hall. But I am glad it happened. It is a glaring example of the difference in culture that Mamata Banerjee has spoken about time and again. In spite of her differences with the government, Banerjee attended the event to respect an invitation issued to her on behalf of her prime minister. The way she was treated is evidence of the sorry culture of hooliganism patronized by the BJP.

Moreover, the governor of the state — usually a stickler for treating holders of high office with great respect — stayed mum when the chief minister of his state was insulted. This proves his partisan nature. The prime minister, who never misses an opportunity to brag about ‘Bharatiya sanskriti’ sat by and watched one of his esteemed guests, a people’s representative, being insulted. Is this what Bharatiya sanskriti has taught him?

Arindam Bhaduri,
Calcutta

Spot the error

Sir — The owners of an upscale eatery in Pakistan have had to apologize for a video which shows them mocking their manager for poor English. This is a trait shared by many a people across the border in India too. Those who are privileged enough to have received English education in a country where there is widespread illiteracy, seem to enjoy mocking wrong spellings or grammatical errors on posters, hoardings, and so on. People also upload photographs of such slips on social media. One wonders how these same people would feel if asked to string together two correct sentences in any vernacular language.

Jharna Sanyal,
Bhagalpur, Bihar