This refers to the editorial “The state of intolerance” (Sept. 8). That the Gujarat government is contemplating the idea of issuing a second ban notification on Jaswant Singh’s book on Mohammad Ali Jinnah after the High Court struck down the earlier notification is unfortunate.
The freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution allows everyone to express his or her views in any form. No one wanting to read Mr. Singh’s book can be denied the right to do so.
S. Lakshmi Narayanan,
Cuddalore
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The Gujarat government’s ban on Jaswant Singh’s book on Jinnah certainly smacked of intolerance. The act appeared to be an attempt at one-upmanship on the part of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
K.D. Viswanaathan,
Coimbatore
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The Modi government has claimed that it banned the book because it contained some objectionable remarks about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This has disturbing implications for the citizens’ right to freedom of expression. But this has, unfortunately, been the trend in the country in recent times. Any deviation from the norm in representation or analysis of facts is treated as blasphemy. Authors, playwrights, actors, artists, poets and musicians are regularly targeted by self-appointed guardians of culture. One victim of such targeting is M.F. Husain. You may or may not agree with Jaswant Singh, but in a democracy all citizens have the right to express their opinions without fear.
A.K. Shahinsha,
Dharapuram
