Dear Editor,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s star-like reception in Australia has been all over the media, and one of the recent inspirational slogans he echoed in Sydney was that he admired the Australian ethos of “dignity of labour”. When he returns to India, he must effectively implement the law against manual scavenging in India. Indeed, there is no dignity in such degrading slavery. Human Rights Watch has raised this issue in a 2014 report, and the BBC, among other western media outlets, has covered it. I also find it ironical that Modi gave this speech after unveiling Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Brisbane. A first step to bringing dignity to India’s exploited and demeaned citizens is the reappraisal of its past saints.
Rajiv Thind,
via-e-mail