The land now known as India has witnessed rulers, kings and tyrants attempting to take away its heterogeneity, but failing. On the other hand, whoever accepted its diversities made himself a part of the civilisation (“Dadri temple priest detained; Centre seeks report from U.P.,” Oct.2). Being a Muslim, incidents like the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq do instil a sense of fear in me but the occasion of October 2 also reminds me of the words of a great leader of humanity, a Mahatma, who said: “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won,” and then I find my fear subsiding.
Farhan Qaisar,
Gaya, Bihar
India is called the largest secular democracy and we can see people from different religions living in harmony. However, incidents such as the lynching of Akhlaq pose a grave danger to the syncretism inherent in our culture. As M.K. Gandhi said: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members”.
Pratap Vasamalla,
Bengaluru
I do not want to blame any party or any group in particular for this shameful and heinous act. Instead, I want to ask those involved: is a preference for beef as food more unethical or more immoral than an urge on the part of a person to kill another human being?
Visha R. Singh,
Deoria, Uttar Pradesh
