ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

How readers responded to Vir Sanghvi's last column

'It is disgusting to see journalists and Congress politicians licking Mrs Gandhi's shoes'

Date sent: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 17:30:55 GMT
From: "ashwin vaidya" <ashora@hotmail.com>
Subject: Vir Sanghvi (Neither Gentlemen....)

"The problem is not that they are communalists, It is that they are amateurs".

The wise man has so proclaimed and we all have to believe his every word, isn't it?

How does Mr Sanghvi know that the "Congress wasn't even informed" about the decision to sack the Rabri government? Does he wait at Sonia Gandhi's table?

Yashwant did this, Yashwant did that. No "Mr Sinha" here. It's very boorish of Vir. I can see his contempt for all BJP ministers.

It is disgusting to see journalists and Congress politicians licking Mrs Gandhi's shoes. God knows what will happen if she really becomes the PM. Doesn't it bother them that barely after 50 years of independence, the nation is ready to hand over the reins to a European, after 400 years of slavery under people of the same group?

And what are Gandhi's qualifications -- the surname, a white skin and the ability to use silence effectively and to indulge in manipulation?

Vir Sanghvi sucks -- big time! Please kick him out of Rediff.

Ashwin Vaidya

Date sent: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:06:10 -0600
From: vu2ash <vu2ash@hotmail.com>
Subject: Vir Sanghvi's latest column

Stop barking !!! You have already proved yourself to be the top dog on the Italian's leash. If your aim in writing all these articles was to prove this point, well, you have achieved it.

Now stop it!

Date sent: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:53:30 -0700
From: "Kanaskar, Ravi" <Ravi_Kanaskar@jdedwards.com>
Subject: Vir Sanghvi's column, Neither Gentlemen nor Players

The last line in your recent column says: "The problem is not that these people are communalists. It is that they are amateurs".

Of course, the present government is full of amateurs at governing. They never got a chance in the last 50 years. And this is just their first year of their first time ever in office.

Remember all the screw-ups you did in your first year as a rookie professional journalist? You are too quick to pass judgement. You would rather have a party experienced in governing -- and in hiding facts, corruption and inaction -- than give someone else a chance for one decent term and check out their work objectively.

And what about all the blunders that earlier governments committed on a regular basis?

The sad part is that in the 50 years of Congress rule, it has become cool for analysts, intellectuals and self-appointed thinkers of modern India not to have an ideology, creed or belief. Moreover, it is a sacrilege to have patriotic feelings. Anybody who thinks that way is a fundamentalist for you.

Mr Sanghvi, you are just another one of those armchair analysts who are educated in the elite institutions of the country, who go about their jobs with precise professionalism and do a great job of endlessly dissecting the Indian polity. But sadly, one thing the likes of you lack is creed. You have none.

Ravi Kanaskar

Date sent: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 21:24:52 -0600
From: Rajeev Kaula <rak549f@mail.smsu.edu>
Subject: Vir Sanghvi's comment

Well, Mr Sanghvi has made a correct statement that applies to him more than the material in the article at the end -- "The problem is not that these people are communalists. It is that they are amateurs."

A government that has lasted one full year (and going strong) cannot be an amateur government. An amateur government cannot last long in India. But amateur journalists can remain forever.

Every issue has two sides. Unfortunately, Mr Sanghvi has chosen to reflect his bias, rather than objectively addressing the issues. I was expecting a thoughtful analysis, but was deeply disappointed.

For some reason, whatever the Congress does is considered clever and professional. If the Congress was so professional we would not have had the mess that we are in.

What has over 50 years of cleverness and professional governance done to the country? Vajpayee's coalition government is more complex than any before. It is to his credit that he has managed to survive, even had the guts to stand up to the bullies of the world. Of course, the coalition is not perfect, but so is every government or party.

In fact, during the Bihar crisis Vajpayee thought of resigning at one point and letting the Congress run the government. But, the professional Congress did not have the guts to stand up. I can see who is amateur.

I think this is the last column by Mr Sanghvi that I will read.

Rajeev

Vir Sanghvi