Rowan Moore in his article the new Indian Parliament, ‘A fresh era for India or a ham-fisted ego trip’ (Sunday Observer 26 March) indulges in a pretty offensive India and Modi bashing. Quoting the opponents of Modi he questions the need to remake the old parliament which is a legacy of British architecture. The new Parliament according to Rowan is, ‘Modi, in the style of populist authoritarian leaders worldwide, presents himself as a disrupter of this old order, even as he imposes his own hierarchies’. Calling someone who has won two general elections in the world’s biggest democracy authoritarian is an abuse of the English language. Rowan further quotes a opposition MP Jawahar Sircar saying that the heritage of past rulers should be respected. Rowan prefers not to look at the full facts behind the building of a new Parliament. The present parliament is no longer fit for purpose. The project has got the go-ahead after careful scrutiny and approval by the High Court. The Indian people want a parliament that does justice to the world’s largest democracy and an emerging superpower. Regarding respecting the heritage of past rulers Indians very well remember the 200 years of British Raj which was of unprecedented brutality, pillage and a dystopian annihilation of a people.
Nitin Mehta
29 March 2023.
29 March 2023.
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