Sir — This refers to the article, “Giving legitimacy to battle of the fringes” (October 16) by Shobori Ganguli. It is obvious that the protesting writers are not academics, but have a political agenda to embarrass a Government which is not to their liking. To that extent, they are claiming a political space in the country which is not theirs to begin with.
Did these same people protest when Salman Rushdie could not appear on television in India, or when an innocuous movie like Vishwaroopam could not be screened because a particular Chief Minister said that she could not police all the film-theatres in the country, or when a Bengali writer could not find a room to put her foot down in the entire country because she had written a book which these so-called intellectuals did not likeIJ It is obvious where their sympathies belong.