A Hollywood movie with four Academy awards, Spartacus (1960), has an interesting and emotional portrayal of a scene where the rebellion slaves, who were caught by the Roman army, refused to identify their leader, Spartacus, though lured with freedom. This they did with all of them saying, “I am Spartacus.” As the result, they were all subjected to crucifixion as the identification failed. Such is the expression of unchallenged loyalty to the leader. Does the BJP’s “Main bhi chowkidar” (I too am watchman) plan resonate with such a movie scene? Movies have entertainment value and so do the tall promises that our political parties make. To this one can add the ‘tit-for-tat’ dramatics (“I turn abuse into ornaments: PM”, March 21).
Victor Frank A.,
Chennai
If the ruling party is relying on a catch-phrase to score a home run and if it also thinks that the mere addition of a word as a prefix to Twitter handles is all that it takes to win an election, then all is not right with that democracy. The tag may not resonate with the country’s impoverished multitudes. The BJP could have made a greater claim to being a chowkidar had it convincingly established that the Rafale deal was not dubious. It is not yet clear whether the BJP’s exertions to make the tag a ‘people’s movement’ will gain enough momentum to enable its re-election.
G. David Milton.
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
