Page 7 - 15MAY2019E

/tehelka @tehelka

oratorical appeals, but judge why aren’t they equally fervent such demands, suggesting that
him and his party on the basis of about sharing power with their such an apology would give the
performance. women counterparts? British state an opportunity to
D Sethuraman Another major election claim that such incidents were
seems to be passing without standalone atrocities inconsist-
It is almost as if the armed forces adequate representation for ent with the benevolent ethos
are also contesting the elections. women in proportion to their that otherwise informed the
Is this not a blatant violation of population. India’s gender parity British colonial project.
the model code of conduct? in the political arena is abysmal. A chunk of the British citizen-
Not only is our leader at- We need strong women lead- ry still believes the empire was
tempting to politicise the armed ers who can dictate decision- a thing to be proud of, improv-
forces but he is also looking at making which will also em- ing the lives of those colonised.
them as a part of goods and ser- power women of this country Thus, an apology will allow
vices being offered by his party. in the true sense of the word. Britain the chance to elide the
Prime Ministers will come and All our political parties, big and history of systemic violence and
go but the armed forces will go small, must encourage women exploitation that underpinned
on forever. leaders to take up more mean- British colonialism and thereby
abDul aziz ingful roles. absolve the British state of any
Y meena culpability.
Poll panel deserves This would be counterpro-
some credit for action Repeatedly asking UK to ductive. As Indian-origin British
With reference to the report “Parties in UP try apologise is inappropriate MP Preet Kaur Gill has said, it is
hard to woo voters after low turnout in Phase 1” With reference to the report “Jallianwala mas- far more important for Britain to
by Mudit Mathur (April 30) sacre a shameful scar on British Indian history:
While it is ironic that the Su- British PM” by Tehelka Bureau (April 30) reckon with its unsavoury past
preme Court has had to step in The Jallianwala Bagh mas- and to bring about a change in
and advise the Election Com- sacre was indeed a horrific act the way the history of empire is
mission of India to exercise its which can neither be forgotten taught to British students.
powers, what is heartening is nor be forgiven. But one has S. Dutta
that the EC has finally made to move on. Today, retaliation
some attempt to act. as a method to settle scores is More discoveries such as
All four politicians have neither desirable nor possible. seeing black hole needed
shocked us with their state- The Indian response has to be With reference to the report “Black hole is no
more unseeable” by Tehelka Bureau (April 30)
ments, but more so Maneka dignified. Repeatedly asking the From the time Albert Einstein
Gandhi. British government to tender an proposed his general theory of
Despite its admission before apology is also not appropriate. relativity and existence of black
the top court that it is largely It should not appear as if we are holes, an unseeable frontier has
a toothless tiger, the Election ‘begging’ for an apology. captivated the human mind.
Commission deserves some The English language is Now that there is photographic
credit for its action. heavily nuanced and with a bit evidence, it makes it all the more
CV araVinD of deliberation, we can construe real and fascinating.
British Prime Minister Theresa The achievement is a new
The banning of the individu- May’s ‘deep regret’ as an apology. jewel to add to our crown of
als concerned for 72 hours is It could help heal and bring human achievements. I look for-
hardly a penalty. While other peace to all. ward to more such discoveries.
speeches deal with impropriety anChit mathur Gowri baburaJ nair
or indecency, the threat made by
Maneka Gandhi is real and will It is evident that the more stri-
not be nullified by stopping her dent we are in our demand for Another step towards getting
from campaigning for 72 hours. an apology from the British, the to know the universe better
It should be addressed on high less amenable they seem to be to has finally been engraved in
priority. the idea. the sands of time. The latest
J Prabhakar In his new book, Jallianwala scientific development marks
Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the yet another milestone achieved
Politicians seem to be leaving Making of the Amritsar Massa- by collaborative efforts and
no stone unturned in trying cre, historian Kim Wagner has directed human potential.
to impress women voters. But questioned the wisdom behind aDiti Pote

Tehelka / 15 may 2019 7 www.Tehelka.com