Even after 62 years of independence, we have not built and strengthened the institutions that are required to ensure that the fruits of democracy are enjoyed by our citizens (‘By the people?’, IE, November 5). We are still in the planning and building phase. This requires capable people with scruples and the moral authority to guide these institutions into a beacon of hope for the masses. We need the right people in the right places during this building phase. The article may be more appropriate for a country like the US where institutions are already well developed.

— Jayadev Nair

Pune

Picking causes

Your editorial ‘Looking backward’ (November 2) rightly upbraids BJP President Rajnath Singh for unnecessarily raising the bogey of religious conversions. It is really pathetic to see a party with nationalist pretensions wandering helplessly like a headless chicken, clutching at any straw to stay relevant in the national political discourse.

Management experiments show that successful behaviour tends to get repeated, whence the tendency on part of BJP leadership to keep reverting to sensitive issues related to religion. What they fail to realise is that lot of water has flown down the Ganges since the heady days of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and now there are diminishing returns. While Rajnath and others in the Sangh Parivar try hard to shut entry points for “scheming proselytisers”, they leave the front door of the house open for them by not speaking out for the Dalits who were denied entry to Ekambareshwarar Temple in Tamil Nadu. There must be many temples all over India where this apartheid is still being practiced.

... contd.