A.G. NOORANI writes in his article "Path to partition: A witness' account" (October 19): "Little did Jinnah realise that his arrogance and bad manners undermined his attractiveness as a partner in power sharing. Not that the Congress had any use for this idea. It sought a deal with the British over Jinnah's head, making the most of the threat of a Japanese invasion." In fact, the Congress suggested at the time that the British government should hand over the national government of India to Jinnah and the Muslim League. In a letter he wrote from jail in 1942 to Viceroy Linlithgow, Gandhi reiterated this offer. Jinnah's responses are on record. In conjunction with its Quit India campaign to pressurise the British into constitutional advance, the Congress had urged the British to hand over the national government of India to Jinnah and the Muslim League, but Jinnah refused to accept the Congress offer.

SADHANA GUPTA
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

IT was nice to see Bhagat Singh on the cover (Cover Story, November 2). At a time when we have many Hindi films (mis)interpreting Bhagat Singh, it is important to know that Bhagat Singh was not only a revolutionary but also an intellectual and a thinker.

Avadhoot N. Dongare
Pune

GANDHI may not have approved of Bhagat Singh’s methods, but he won admiration and respect in society as a revolutionary leader. Gandhi’s disapproval, springing from his distrust of violent ways of protest, was later construed as a betrayal by none other than Subhash Chandra Bose.

K.R. Srinivasan
Hyderabad

BHAGAT Singh predicted, correctly, that the non-violent struggle for freedom, with the Indian bourgeoisie at the helm, would replace one type of exploiters by another. That India has not yet resolved the issues arising out of landlordism and the rich-poor divide, even 60 years after Independence, vindicates Bhagat Singh’s position.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin
Kadapa, A.P.

SOME analysts have detected shades of anarchism in Bhagat Singh’s beliefs. I wish to point out that he was a rationalist who refused to be bogged down by religious and political prejudices. His inability to be part of the “herd” led to his marginalisation in the mainstream politics of his time. It is time the country started cherishing his memory as a “national hero”.

Arvind K. Pandey
Allahabad

BENAZIR Bhutto believes in democracy (“Law unto himself”, November 2). But even if she becomes Prime Minister, it will be extremely difficult for her to revive Pakistan’s economy. Fundamentalists in the country have wrongly defined Islam and Islamic law to suit their personal interests.

Mahesh Kumar
New Delhi

Weather forecast

IT is certainly not possible for meteorologists (“Cloud of mystery”, November 2) to make monsoon forecasts using India Meteorological Department’s statistical model without taking into account one of the most important factors determining changes in annual and seasonal rainfall, namely, geological processes below the earth’s surface. So it is not just the skies that one must watch to understand weather patterns but also what goes on inside the earth.

S. Prakash Mutharasanallur,
T.N.

Myanmar

IT was not an aspiration for democracy but resentment arising out of harsh economic conditions, with fuel prices climbing to dizzy heights, which led to the recent protests in Myanmar (“Monks vs military”, October 19).

The 88 Generation, which had a major hand in organising the protests in their initial phase, tried to channelise the people’s resentment. It did not succeed significantly, and that is why it incorporated the monks in the protests. India should not have been a silent onlooker.

P.S. Rajeev
Thiruvananthapuram

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