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Letters | Singapore’s prime minister underestimated India’s achievements under Narendra Modi
- Readers react to the Singaporean leader’s comments on the state of Indian democracy, and point to a flaw in the West’s characterisation of the country
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I am writing in response to “Why Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong’s Nehru comments hit a raw nerve in India” (February 18).
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would do well to keep his focus on his own country. India is a strong and vibrant democracy, unlike Singapore which has been led by virtually one party since 1959 with a very small opposition.
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While I appreciate the Post reporting the Singaporean prime minister’s comments, I did not appreciate the report’s assertion that “hating Nehru and everything he stood for is a [ Bharatiya Janata Party] hobby”. Nobody, except the Congress party elite, cares where India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was educated.
In fact, one could argue that his elitist education alienated him from India’s masses. The adulation that he once enjoyed has diminished as more Indians have become aware that his economic policies did not enhance India’s standing on the global stage.
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Nehru is not alone in his view that minorities are an integral part of India and that communalism in any form is deplorable. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan is “Sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas” (Together with everyone, development for all, the trust of all).
During his tenure, Modi has largely achieved a high annual economic growth rate, invested in infrastructure and made efforts to stamp out corruption.
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