The Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, using his lucid three-point reasoning, has perfectly encapsulated the perilous nature of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Editorial page, “Time to defend India’s secularism”, December 18). The tenets of our Constitution cannot and should not be ripped apart by the incumbent government in order to fulfil its Hindutva agenda.
Taking a leaf out of Kerala’s book — the State has been a melting pot of diverse religions from an early era — the Central government can perhaps learn a lesson or two from the ‘Kerala Model’ of religious syncretism. That said, it is high time all concerned in this nation stand up to oppose this subversion of our democracy.
Adrian David,
Chennai
The propagation of Hindutva has never been so palpable as it is under Modi 2.0, especially with the current Home Minister at the helm. The Bharatiya Janata Party is resorting to pushing issues that do not even remotely connect to the development of the country, thereby diverting — and successfully — attention from the real problems: unemployment, economic distress and the agrarian crisis, to name a few. The secular fabric of this country is in grave danger of being torn apart and divisive forces are trying to drive a wedge among communities. As suggested by the Chief Minister of Kerala, it is time that these divisive forces are shown their place.
G.B. Sivanandam,
Coimbatore
