It is a matter of shame that a leader who backed nuclear testing, ushered in liberal reforms and played a pivotal role in a Look East Policy has not been given a place in history (“ >Narsimhanomics and the middle way ,” April 3). He was a visionary who had a clean image. The only blot on his prime ministership was the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which was not brought out by the writer.
Sunil Yadav,
Noida
The article was an incisive and objective piece of writing on the legacy of P.V. Narasimha Rao, the Prime Minister of India. But one of the most significant incidents that happened during his tenure was the demolition of the Babri Masjid and it is intriguing that the writer chose to ignore it. The country would like to know why he refused to take any action to protect the historical monument despite warnings by many leaders including, it was said, Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister of West Bengal, who had written to him cautioning about possible vandalism by karsevaks and urging him to send in the Army to save the structure.
V.M. Mohanraj,
Bengaluru
When P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister, I recollect K.K. Katyal writing that a ‘munshi’ of the Nehru-Gandhi household had become the PM. He was just that. The so-called reforms he started have been nothing else but a disaster which has resulted, among other things, in a record number of farmer suicides. If only Narasimha Rao had prevented the demolition of the Babri Masjid he could have become a historic leader worthy of not just a tablet or a tomb but the Bharat Ratna.
Baikadi Suryanarayana Rao,
Bengaluru
