The article, “The un-Gandhian cane” (Editorial page, January 8), glows like a red beam in gathering clouds on the horizon in the form of the Reservation Quota and Citizenship Bills. The menacing symbol of the lathi, being wielded in the name of the people, evokes the image of not only a cowering community of artists and liberals but also of the coercive arm of the law over institutions. Sane voices are being outshouted in the mass hysteria being produced in the name of nation and identity while democratic processes are being subverted by divisive politics. Equality before the law, economic justice and secularism are being whittled down one by one. What a tragic turn to the tryst with destiny that the nation had once dreamt about.
A. Kurien
Kozhikode, Kerala
