II

The Indian voter is quite discreet in exercising his right to vote but the problem is that he does not have much choice. Candidates in the field by and large are chips of the same block. The intelligentsia is disgusted and does not care to exercise the right to vote. Although voting day is always declared a public holiday, not more than 50 per cent voters turn up to cast their votes. Now, there would be more than four crore voters who would be exercising their right of vote for the first time. This sizeable chunk of young voters is likely to be swayed by considerations of their bleak prospects of employment. They may be carried away by some clever vote-catching slogans.

If we want a good government, we must exercise our right to vote. We should not forget what Plato had said,: “The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

V S CHAUDHRI, Karnal

 III

You have very rightly remarked that the present situation requires leaders with vision, honesty, integrity and capability. But it may not be possible for the voters to easily come across leaders with such qualities. The problem is further compounded when about half the electorate of the country does not take the trouble of casting their votes.

Such people usually belong to the middle and the upper middle class and are by and large educated. They must wake up and realise the harm they are doing by their passive stance of not voting. Jago re, voters of my beloved motherland.

PROF V R. SETHI (retd), Shimla

Bapu’s legacy

The editorial, “Pride at stake” (March 7), has inspired me to express my views. The James Otis’ collection, at last bought for India by Mr Vijay Mallya has brought relief to the government of India and Mr Tushar Gandhi. Amidst the euphoria, we have overlooked the shame brought upon an international personality.

Had the Mahatma been alive, Mr Mallaya would have been deprived of this aggrandisement. For the money he used to buy Bapu’s legacy came from a business which the Mahatma strongly disapproved of.

The articles, as rightly opined in the editorial, will be put in museums which some of us visit on October 2. The Mahatma does not need any showcasing. The money could have been better spent on distributing replicas of the Mahatma’s chappals and the bowl, to the very people he identified himself with.          

 T S SANGHA, Jalandhar

II

Jai Ho! After all, the late Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy has been saved through the money of a liquor baron, Mr Vijay Mallya. Our government is claiming all the credit for it while Mr Mallya has denied having anything to do with the Centre. 

It would have been more appropriate if the Union Government had persuaded organisations like the BCCI to part with a little money to bid for the required items. Frankly speaking, it has been a good bargain for Mr Mallya, as he got enormous publicity through the successful bid.

MADHU AGRAWAL, New Delhi

III

Mr Vijay Mallya winning the auction for Mahatma Gandhi’s personal belongings for a whopping $1.8 million in New York is highly commendable. He has done India proud and for the second time. Not long ago, Mr Mallya had bought Tipu Sultan’s sword in an auction at London.

However, what is discouraging is that those who swear by the sacrifices of our freedom fighters pay only lip service to the treasures of our rich cultural past. Neither the political leaders nor other business tycoons care about our legacy. It is one thing to gift millions to one’s kith and kin on their birthdays and quite another to respect the priceless symbols of our rich past.