Editor,
If any international organisation based in the US or the UK rates India poorly in the Press Freedom Index, Democracy Index, Corruption Perception Index, or Human Rights Index, the saffron brigade promptly discovers ‘international conspiracy against India out of envy, witnessing the country’s impeccable growth’, and pooh-poohs all such foreign criticism as ‘sanitary inspectors’ and various derogatory terms. But when any US-based organisation declares Narendra Modi ‘the most popular leader of the world’, it should necessarily be adjudged the gospel truth or the last word revolving around their supremo. None other than the word ‘hypocrisy’ would describe the antics and somersaults of the saffronites.
It is absolutely immaterial who says what, or which country the critics belong to; the point to ponder is whether India fares well in the scale of human rights. Instead of abusing the critics, the self-declared nationalists must indulge in a bit of introspection revolving around the regular assault upon innocents by the cow vigilantes, threats towards secular rationalists, ugly tirades against diet, attire and mode of prayer of particular communities, and behaviour towards ‘sickulars’ and ‘urban Naxals’ who dare to differ with the ‘mainstream’ and express their opinion through exercise of freedom of speech; not to speak of the continuing mayhem in Manipur without any end.
Kajal Chatterjee,
D-2/403,
Peerless Nagar, Kolkata