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June 16, 1998
SPECIALS
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How Readers responded to Pritish Nandy's recent columns
Date sent: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 11:00:45 -0700 You are absolutely right, but who is going to convince the masses??? I feel Indians are ready to stay deprived if you throw them carrots of swadeshi or any such gimmick that tickles their sentiments. The BJP should try to understand that you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Uday Bhalla
Date sent: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 01:12:19 -0400 It's a good article. It's true to some extent that MNCs need to be allowed in India, but the govenrment should also play some role in providing a level playing field to Indian industries. Indian industries traditionally lack the technology that MNCs have and are very susceptible to collapse under heavy competition. It's true that the quality of goods produced won't improve unless there is heavy competition, but don't you think the collapse of Indian industries will have an adverse impact on the economy? At least, in core sector industries, the government should play an important role in technology transfer. Narayanan
Date sent: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 22:50:22 -0700 An excellent, well thought-out discussion of the political football that is swadeshi. As the Economist magazine puts it, swadeshi translates into "you continue to stay poor!" Makes you wonder where India is heading under this new government.
Date sent: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 10:55:07 +0400 Mr Nandy, Don't forget the present sanctions may not affect the general citizen of India. It might affect those who want Sony TV, Nike T-shirts, sport shoes, cold drinks... Do you want to become so much dependent on other countries? We Indians always make mistakes. Extreme swadeshi may be a mistake. But we should be more open to hi-tech industries, not to Coke. The strength lies there. We won't progress by drinking Coke after Coke. If you think that we will, it is sad. The government won't be wrong if it doesn't welcome Coke but will certainly be at fault if it doesn't invite a machine tool manufacturer, car manufacturer, telephone/mobile manufacturer etc. So just don't blindly blame swadeshi. Ajit
Date sent: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 17:30:27 -0700 Dear Mr Nandy, The basic difference between the thinking of supporters of Nuke tests and intellectuals like you lies in: The former accepts Clinton or the USA as a cop of the world, but the latter don't. Ajay Gupta
Date sent: Tue, 12 May 1998 10:47:01 +1000 I can't believe what I am reading -- that a pinko and green person like you can talk some sense! Have you finally seen the light or is this another of your schemes to drive a wedge between the BJP and SS? Nevertheless, I have to say that for once I agree with most of what you say. Except for one thing: there is a big difference between what the Bajrang Dal did and the fatwa issued by Khomeini. The Dal's activists did not threaten to kill someone unlike Mulayam's cousin from Iran. Madhu Gurnani
Date sent: Mon, 11 May 1998 18:23:03 -0700 Pritish, You completely overlook the point here. To condemn whatever has happened in the name of secularism is politics. But it definitely deserve condemnation because the way it was done was wrong. Your feelings are hurt, you want to express your anger... but at what cost? By hurting others? The process will go on and on. What you missed is the norms of a civilised society. If Khomeinis and Thackerays are given a free hand to act upon their whims and fancy, then why do we need to spend millions on law and order? Why make rules? Somebody hurts your feeling, you hurts theirs, somebody hurts you physically you do unto him and so on and on. But you cannot kill somebody just because he abhors your faith. If Mr Anupam Kher -- and for that matter you as well -- really sympathise with the sufferings of our friends in Kashmir, then why don't you go there with your pretty suits and face those terrorists instead of taking sides in a battle off the field? Go there, raise your voice against those people supporting the terrorists, sit on dharnas and make your presence felt. Terrorism is spreading because there are some people who give in and there are some people who make their bread by selling the anger of the sufferers. People like you who take sides instead of telling the truth are more dangerous than those with guns. If I buy your argument and your article hurts my feeling, you deserve the same treatment as Rushdie, Husain, Ghulam ali etc. Saif Arif
Date sent: Mon, 11 May 1998 12:46:13 -0500 Pritish, You speak my language man! Long live India!
Date sent: Mon, 11 May 1998 13:12:29 -0400 I can't believe that it is Pritish who has written this article. I am glad that he is beginning to see "both sides of the story!" Ajay
Date sent: Mon, 11 May 1998 01:08:44 -0400 These days I find it hard not to get angry with journalists and intellectuals. Yesterday I read your article. I agree with nearly all you have written and yet, by the end of the article, I was angry. Angry, because again, the article has ended with not even a hint as to how we can begin to solve these problems. Yes, we all know that these problems are not simple, some are parts of other larger issues, some are merely symptoms of other larger concerns. And yes, we would like to come up with a masterplan on how to cure India of all her ills at one stroke. And since none of us is quite that brilliant we wait... we wait for that magician to arrive, to wave his magic wand. In the meantime, we do nothing. No. That is not true. We have been busy complaining. Very busy. Look around, read any magazine worth its salt, it is sure to have at least one article condemning politicians, the lack of education, the lack of population control and so on and so forth. We seem to spend fantastically large amounts of our time discussing problems, but never spend any time looking for ways out. We need to get out of that mode. I cannot believe that there is no way out. I am angry at journalists and writers because I believe that they are not doing their jobs. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword. I would like to see more space devoted to discussions of solutions, solutions that may not be perfect, solutions that do not have the capacity to take care of all the issues at hand. Anything, even remotely positive should be discussed. Out of thousand such discussions, we will implement one, out of thousand implementations, we will find one that works. Even this one will not be perfect, but it will be a step forward. The role of a journalist is a powerful one. Used positively, his writings can have a far more profound impact than the articles that we see today. The journalists can take the lead by writing articles that look into the future instead of taking the easy way out by elaborating daily about the problems we are facing, and that we have faced in the past. I do hope that you see my tirade in a positive light. I know that we have a great number of intellectuals in our country and it causes me great anguish and frustration to see us frittering away our future simply because we are not looking ahead. I would like to see this change. Like the others, I do not know of the one perfect answer, but I will try to come up with one anyways!
1. There is no point in trying to fix all problems, pick a sub-set and
work hard at fixing it.
For my part, I intend to do some work to increase the inflow of funds to social organisations in India. I believe that NRIs can and should play a significantly larger role in India's well being than what they are doing right now. I will attempt to do so, by providing them with all the information and tools that they need to contribute financially to causes in India. I will not question if there is a better way, doubtless, there must be, but I will not wait twiddling my thumbs until I find "the solution". So I am putting together a database on the Internet of all social organisations in India that would benefit from some financial input from abroad. The attempt is to make it hard for a computer-savvy NRI to NOT contribute. I will do so by providing all the possible information that he may want to look at before making a decision. If you think that I could be of any further use, please let me know. Rajesh Barman
Date sent: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 10:06:30 PDT A timely column indeed. With friends like Jayalalita, Vajpayee doesn't need any enemies at all. Everybody expected that the BJP would have problems with Samata, Mamata and Jayalalita. While the first two have chosen to keep quiet, Jaya has started showing off her colours right from day one. I would not be surprised if she switches over to the Congress one fine day. I have only one thing to say to her: SHAME!!
Kiran Pillarisetty
Date sent: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 11:11:26 -0800 I totally agree with your views. As our businessmen and their products mostly do not warrant a consumer, they need to have protection and hence they buy these politicians. What they must do, is to start looking for new technology and use them to their benefit. There was a bright start in the 90s with the thought that the global market is in India. But the swadeshi slogan has set it back. I fear for the MNCs -- it might take sometime for them to swallow the thought of the BJP and regroup their energies. Let's hope so.
Ananth
Date sent: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:05:04-0800 Namaste Rediff, Pritish Nandy, who worships at the altar of free market economy, should try to understand how Japan, China, S Korea and Singapore became economic power houses. They became so not by singing praises to the free market but protecting their industry till it suited them to sing the song of global economy. Anand
From: Kush Khatri <free_voice@yahoo.com> Pritish Nandy provides an inane analysis of a grave crisis that India faces today. Because Mr Nandy's "analysis" is way-off, he ends up hurling not a "Hobsonian" but a wrong choice at the people of India. Nandy is so intent upon making the Congress the scapegoat for India's ills that he fails to raise key questions about India's polity which the present crisis evokes. He is right in saying that the Congress of today is defunct. However, the root cause of this crisis of uncertainty is embedded not in the unscrupulous politicking of Kesri but in the short-sightedness of the "founding fathers" who framed the ambivalent Indian Constitution and the bad precedents that have followed. India's Constitution -- with nearly 86 or more "amendments" in less than 50 years -- is a disaster. Therefore, merely having a re-election, as Mr Nandy suggests, is foolhardy. Elections simply cannot repair the foundational flaws in India's polity. It is foolish to keep flogging a dead horse in the hope that eventually it will come back to life! India doesn't need such "dead horse" gimmicks. What the people need are constitutional reforms. Who has the courage and resources to take on this monumental undertaking is the "hobsonian" question. But even before such an undertaking is at all possible, the thinking people of India need to see today's crisis as a structural (system) Failure -- a failure which is foundational -- not something that emanates from the petty party politics of today, as Mr Nandy inanely suggests.
Kush Khatri
Date sent: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 00:05:00 -0800 That was an appallingly cynical report. Nandy's concern is well appreciated. However, why is Nandy so resigned in the face of this? Does he lack influence or voice? Is it not possible for him (or anyone who is a public figure) to organise a campaign asking people to send letters to the Congress and UF leaders advising them to sit it out in the Opposition? A few Congressmen have already suggested this, and perhaps a concerted effort at advising them to do so maybe more useful than resigned cynicism. The issue is not whether such a campaign will work, but how active a role Indians are going to play in day-to-day politics. I am sick to death of hearing how wise Indians are at the polls. Bugger the wisdom shown during elections, let us have more sustained and active political thinking in between elections as well. Write letters, send emails and faxes, put up posters... DO SOMETHING. Yours revolted but idealistic, Ratnam |
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