Magic mantra
Sir — Absence, it is said, makes the heart grow fonder. Couples in Japan seem to have found the key to marital bliss in this saying, coming up with the concept of ‘weekend marriage’. It involves spouses living in separate homes and meeting a few times per week, allowing each partner to live as he or she wishes for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, as Indian metropolises struggle with inflation, overcrowding and high costs of living, affording two places of accommodation per family is beyond most people’s means. Indian couples may thus have to keep looking to find a more affordable mantra for marital bliss.
Suhashini Mitra,
Calcutta
Far from true
Sir — The recent comment by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, Mohan Bhagwat, about India attaining true independence on the day that the Ram temple in Ayodhya was consecrated negates his earlier call for communal harmony (“Bhagwat bids harmony bye”, Jan 15). The actress, Kangana Ranaut, had once similarly said that India achieved real independence after the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government in 2014. The RSS must refrain from making such disrespectful comments.
Aayman Anwar Ali,
Calcutta
Sir — Dismissing over seven decades of independence is not only a deliberate attempt to mutilate history but also an affront to the sacrifices made by countless freedom fighters. Unlike those brave martyrs, Hindutva leaders of the time had notoriously stayed away from the struggle for independence and instead pledged loyalty to the raj.
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
Sir — Mohan Bhagwat’s comment about Indian independence is not surprising given the RSS’s chequered relationship with the freedom struggle and the symbols of India’s sovereignty. After the first Republic Day in 1950, the RSS stuck to hoisting the Bhagwa Dhwaj on Republic Day and Independence Day till 2002 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. It had also refused to accept the Indian Constitution at first. Citizens of the country have thus responded with indignation to Bhagwat’s comment.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad
Sir — The RSS chief is correct in saying that the true spirit of the Constitution of India has not been realised, because if it had, Hindutva elements such as the RSS and the BJP would have been permanently banned for routinely stoking Islamophobia through comments such as the one recently made by Mohan Bhagwat. Instead, heinous acts such as the demolition of mosques and the lynching of citizens are allowed to go unpunished and even celebrated.
Kajal Chatterjee,
Calcutta
Sir — The sentiments of the RSS chief should not come as a surprise. Rather, his earlier call for harmony could never be taken seriously given the RSS’s silent complicity in atrocious crimes against Muslims, Dalits and other marginalised communities across the country.
A.G. Rajmohan,
Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh
Sir — The call for communal harmony by Mohan Bhagwat when he urged for an end to the temple-mosque disputes in various parts of India was strongly condemned by radical Hindu organisations. He thus made the outrageous comment dismissing the legitimacy of India’s independence to win back their favour. He should withdraw that statement and issue a public apology.
Bishwanath Yadav,
West Burdwan
Sir — India’s independence is a political concept. It has nothing to do with religion and bears no connection to the consecration of the Ram temple unlike what Mohan Bhagwat seems to think.
Fakhrul Alam,
Calcutta
