The Emergency

The article, “ >Mastering the drill of democracy ” (June 25), was a fine psychoanalysis of the traits and ambitions of a political leviathan, Tsar Nicholas I and Indira Gandhi being the popular examples. “Ambitions should be made of sterner stuff,” wrote Shakespeare in his Julius Caesar . In line with this Shakespearean dictum, to fulfil his or her ambitions, every political supremo embarks on a long drawn, sternly imposed and intellectually suppressing strategy, casting aside the opinions of millions of people whom his/her strategies affect ultimately. The magnitude of the yoga drill at Rajpath, with its thrust on health care will only go a long way in transforming India.

Syed Sami Ullah,

Tripoli, Libya

Making any future declaration of Emergency may be an impossibility, but the culture of intolerance that was prevalent those days is making a slow comeback. The manner in which NGOs are being treated and the action against a student body at IIT-Madras are prominent examples of the attempt to suppress voices of dissent. Of the many parallels being drawn between Emergency and India today, one can think of Narendra Modi’s recent comment on foreign soil of how ashamed Indians were before he came to power, almost akin to Indira Gandhi’s exploits that led sycophants to coin the “Indira is India” slogan.

There is also the attitude of general public and the media. While most in India have accepted high-end rhetoric and rising dictatorial tendencies, the way in which the media complied with the government’s directive on Yoga day, makes one recall what Mr. Advani once said to the media in the 1970s: “you were asked to bend, but you crawled”.

Bipin Thaivalappil,

Kannur

There is only one legacy of the Emergency of 1975 that most of us remember — the transformation of a Constitution raj into an authoritative Indira raj. Comparing Indira raj with the recently held yoga event is irrational as the first case distorted principles laid out in the Constitution while the second one only promoted health and promoted overall harmony.

Nitin Sharma,

Chandigarh

The parallels drawn by Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi between Yoga Day Celebrations and the mindset that led to Emergency and Tsar Nicholas I are strange. Perhaps, he is reading too much into it. After the United Nations decided to celebrate June 21 as International Yoga Day every year, it was important for the country, where yoga originated, to lead the celebrations. The fact that the nation came together as one to practise yoga, not for political symbolism, but to embrace this ancient science which continues to serve humanity, sent out this message to the world.

Kunal Dua,

Hoshiarpur, Punjab