India on razor’s edge: Gopalkrishna Gandhi
The Hindu
The former West Bengal Governor says intolerance was the most important problem
The former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Friday remarked that the country was on a razor’s edge on many issues.
Delivering the first Dr. V. Shanta Memorial Oration at the Cancer Institute (WIA) , Adyar, titled “The Razor’s Edge - a reflection on our times,” he said that the reference of “razor’s edge” was a translation of the Sanskrit phrase kshurasya dhara found in a Kathopanishad verse, which likened the path to salvation to a razor’s edge.
Mr. Gandhi listed key issues the country and the society faced, which in his views were the razor’s edge. These included global warming and the melting of Himalayan glaciers in particular, the possibility of threat from China and Pakistan in the light of the recent war in Ukraine, and the inability of the people to do self-evaluation.
He said the “razor’s edge of all razor’s edges” for India at present was intolerance and counter intolerance. Highlighting that majorities and minorities had always lived together and shared resources in India, he said the Partition led to the presence of people and outfits that polarised society.
While terrorism was an active form of war that ought to be fought by the State with swift action, intolerance was a passive form of civil war that had to be countered by the State and society.
“Wars are started by the protagonists unwillingly, played out by the duty-bound soldiers gallantly, and paid for by the lives and security of innocents tragically. Civil wars are manipulated by the clever cunningly, played out by the naive gullibly and paid for by the lives and security of the guiltless calamitously. Wars are wicked, civil wars are a sin,” he said.

As one progresses towards the extremeties of Old Mahabalipuram Road, expanses that tie urbania and peri-urbania in a neat package heave into sight. Barely would one have locked the gates of urbania and turned around to set foot in peri-urbania than a green bee eater would flit by, displaying its skill to hunt on the wing. There are skulkers among birds, and birdwatchers need to be on their reluctant tail to have a clear view of them. It drains time and energy. In contrast, the green bee eater would seem to be on the birdwatcher’s tail. Ranging over peri-urban patches, green bee eaters are at ease being watched. The young among the skulkers might be a tad bold till they are young no more. The young among the green bee eaters are spunkier, staying a tad closer to human eyes than their seniors. At Sholinganallur, in a space that has a touch of the peri-urban, a gaggle of juvenile bee eaters has been congregating, and they seem quite venturesome, hunting for bees on the wing, close to human presence. These birds have a chin with a distinctly yellowish-green tint that are a dead giveaway that they have considerably more days ahead of them than behind them. Juvenile green bee eaters at Sholinganallur on July 3, 2025.