Twice burnt

Sir ? The Centre?s intervention in the affairs of Gujarat by obtaining a stay order on the high court ruling to demolish all shrines encroaching on public land, smacks of double standards (?Delhi defuses Gujarat bomb?, May 5). It seems to be a blatant case of preferential treatment of the Muslim community. Why wasn?t a similar stay given to the demolition order in the residential and market areas of Delhi where hundreds of shops encroaching on the road were pulled down recently? Perhaps because most of those affected in Delhi were Hindus, the Supreme Court could not be bothered to grant them a remission.

Yours faithfully,
Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur

Sir ? The demolition drive undertaken by the government of Gujarat was a progressive step aimed at bringing order to the disorderly roads of Vadodara. The Union government?s meddling in the state?s affairs in the name of protecting the ?secular fabric of the nation?, will now prolong people?s suffering in the chaotic streets.

Yours faithfully,
Raghvendra Singh, Vadodara

Sir ? Till the Centre intervened, Vadodara seemed to be going the Godhra way. The chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, did not do much to stop the mayhem, though he had the power to do so. Modi has proved himself to be an incompetent chief minister who cannot maintain law and order in his state. The only thing he has successfully done is to divide Gujarat along communal lines.

Yours faithfully,
Pranav Sachdeva, New Delhi

Sir ? The editorial, ?Brute force? (May 4), condemns Narendra Modi for the recent violence in Vadodara. But one should remember that 20 temples were also razed during the demolition drive without any backlash from the Hindus. Again, when a church was demolished in the E.M. Bypass area of Calcutta to make way for a road a few months back, the Christians did not react violently. It is the Muslim community that seems to have a knack of turning hostile on petty religious issues, be it a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed or the levelling of a dargah. Perhaps psychologists can study what makes Muslims so touchy about their faith.

Yours faithfully,
Asoke C. Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir ? The riots in Vadodara over the demolition of a dargah is disturbing (?Dargah razed, lives lost?, May 2). The fact that this is happening in Gujarat, the state which is yet to recover from the memory of the 2002 carnage, adds to the fear. Instead of allowing this conflagration to spread, the issue of the relocation of the dargah needs to be discussed immediately with the leaders of the Muslim community. Relocation of mosques and other religious structures take place regularly in the West Asian Islamic countries. Instead of getting excited at the slightest provocation, Muslims should be more accommodative in handling such issues. In fact, a certain amount of tolerance must be exercised by everybody for everyone to live in peace.

Yours faithfully,
Kalyan Ghosh, Calcutta

Sir ? It is surprising that in secular India, the onus of making accommodations for development projects seems to always rest with the Hindus. Hundreds of ancient Hindu temples have been submerged in the process of building dams over rivers, and yet, it does not raise much hue and cry. Secular parties like the Congress would rather keep development on the backseat if that would help placate the Muslims, who do not mind being backward themselves, especially since it provides them with so many privileges.

Yours faithfully,
Udita Agrawal, New Delhi

Sir ? The Centre has stated that the administration should have exercised ?caution? in dealing with religious sentiments in Vadodara. Does this mean that when it comes to Muslims, every demand will be honoured, even if it is illegal? Even in the case of the recent massacre of the Hindus in Doda, the Centre has merely termed it as an act of terrorism. Hindus are killed in Kashmir at regular intervals, but the Centre has hardly taken any concrete steps to protect them. Perhaps it is better to have a few Hindus dead than anger the minority community.

Yours faithfully,
Harischandra Parasuram, Mumbai

Sir ? The forcible demolition of a religious structure without the consent of its caretaker is sure to spark unrest. Vadodara being in the country which saw the demolition of the Babri Masjid just over a decade ago and in the state where Muslims were massacred only four years back, the authorities ought to have anticipated trouble when they brought down the 300-year-old dargah? A dargah is a monument built over the grave of a Muslim holy man. Because the grave cannot change place, a dargah cannot be shifted as a mosque can be, if necessary. If a road is built where a dargah had been, then believers are sure to be hurt to see vehicles plying over the grave. No civic law allows the killing of people for the purpose of beautification. The people killed and maimed in Vadodara were not criminals or terrorists. Had the civic authority made proper arrangements, the bloodshed could have been prevented. Narendra Modi can talk as much as he wants of development, but he will lose the trust of the people if he fails repeatedly to keep communal tensions in check.

Yours faithfully,
Touseef Ahmed Khan, Calcutta