It is no startling revelation by Zoya Hasan that the BJP lacks freedom fighters whose achievements it could count as its own (“They were nowhere in the struggle”, May 7). It is obvious that the BJP, founded only in 1980, couldn’t have had any freedom fighter as part of its political script. There is nothing wrong on its part to adopt those forgotten leaders who have never been given due recognition by the Congress. Technically speaking, even the present day Congress (I) was formed after several splits and cannot be called as the true Indian National Congress which fought for freedom and was synonymous with the Independence struggle. As long as the BJP doesn’t snap its umbilical cord with the right-wing Hindu nationalist RSS, which played little or no role in the freedom struggle, every political and administrative move of the ruling party is bound to be viewed with suspicion by those who advocate secularism.
B. Harish,
Mangaluru
Any party of varying ideology or affiliation has the liberty and right to connect itself to our freedom fighters as long as it follows and upholds the basic idea of liberalism, secularism and egalitarianism — as these great men and women envisaged. The Congress, which has always tried to project itself as a party deeply associated with the Independence struggle, has jettisoned its basic doctrine. Nepotism is eating into its vitals. The great leaders who have been associated with the Congress would never have imagined that their legacy would be misused by the party to indulge in votebank politics. Any party belonging to any ideology or affiliation has the liberty and right to connect itself to freedom fighters as long as its leaders and cadre follow and uphold the basic idea of liberalism, secularism and egalitarianism, as envisaged by our founding fathers.
Gagan Pratap Singh,
Noida
The article was grossly biased. There is nothing wrong if the BJP attempts to resurrect the legacy of leaders who are both forgotten and popular. The Congress of today is a different shade of what it was during the freedom struggle.
S.V. Venkatakrishnan,
San Jose, U.S.
Had the BJP not observed the anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar it could have been accused of ignoring national ideals. But now it is accused of appropriating political figures, yet another instance where its detractors are levelling criticism for the sake of doing so. National icons like Subash Chandra Bose and Ambedkar do not belong to the Congress alone. They are the nation’s ideological mentors.
Suyash Keshari,
New Delhi
The writer’s bias against the RSS is very evident in her article. If there is a discussion today on whether Sardar Patel was neglected in order to show Pandit Nehru as a towering leader, it is because it’s the RSS that brought the issue to the fore. The Congress of the pre-Independence era was an entirely different organisation, but even then it wasn’t flawless. The political clout it had even after Independence allowed it to project history the way they wanted. Having read Bipin Chandra’s books, the dichotomy in the article is clear.
Sweety Kumari,
New Delhi
