The contrast between the article on the Ground Zero page and an advertisement in one of the supplements published by The Hindu could not have been starker. The first story showed a woman, abandoned after many years of abuse, eking out a living in a portion of a decrepit hovel while the advertisement nudged rich buyers to “take the luxury upgrade”. In his historic midnight address, Jawaharlal Nehru called upon the nation to try to fulfil Gandhi’s wish “to wipe every tear from every eye”. Between the 1960s and 1970s, engineers and architects were sent abroad to study low cost housing. But post-1991, the country’s policies have taken an irretrievable turn —luxury and ostentation have become respectable. It is ironic that some in the political class claim Swami Vivekananda to be a hero. Do they recall his ethos?
S.S. Kaimal,
Thiruvananthapuram
