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COMMENTARY
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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 00:56:35 -0500 I think Mr Nayar is being a trifle unfair in laying the blame solely on Inder Gujral's door. This is not to deny that the prime minister lacks imagination and verve. But India's marginalisation in global politics stems from its lack of structural clout within the international system. Even a dynamic personality could do little to reverse the trend in the short term. Gaurav K
Date sent: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 01:09:51 -0500 Great in depth piece of journalism. Look forward to more Happy Diwali.
Date sent: Tue, 07 Oct 1997 13:40:31 -0400 When more than three fourths of the developed globe can race ahead of the times, thanks to the IT revolution... are they not surviving? The whole system of administration in these countries is computerised, and they are today in a position to help give their people a position of bargain in leading a decent life. And in this scenario where we do we stand, trying to find in which scam and by how much did public money get drained from those bureaucratic files. Will we in India ever ever give up the hypocrisy we have of late begun to surround us? Let me explain why I say so: 1. When the IT industry (mostly in the private sector) is doing so very well, the press and the nation wakes up in applauding the efforts and un-understandably stops there. 2. At the same time when one chief minister in the whole country has taken an initiative to bring about a system of efficiency, accountability, which when utilised could even reduce our exponentially peaking corruption scandals, the press and the nation wakes up again to disown the few steps towards a better administration by an "intellectually absurd" leader. What do we eventually want to be, a country where scoundrels will rule to suffice their otherwise unemployable skills, or a country which will be known for the corrupt administration, to keep forming committees time and again in finding out "how far are we in the tech age." Please, at least the press has got to play a significant role in this directionless political environment. And when you guys too, start sounding monotonous and unassuming in wavering with every mile here and there, then certainly we are headed to a doom. What got me sick about the whole stuff was the attitude Rediff took while projecting this article. Instead I would have appreciated if you guys had come open to write "will we stop blaming poor computers for an otherwise poor situation?" Do not mistake me for a Naidu supporter. I am out here in the USA doing my masters. Zaki Anwer
Date sent: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 11:33:08 +0800 Great !!!! Words are not just enough to praise the outstanding performance of Nadigar Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan. The Indian movieworld has yet to see an actor of his calibre who has given life to the various characters he portrayed in a manner unparalleled. Long live Sivaji Ganesan Ramchandran
Date sent: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 10:35:00 -0400 Not getting a job is just one reason why people enter the extortion business. I think the youth of today are not ready to enter into the same old grind of working 8 hours a day to earn a living where they do not get paid much. They have seen their parents do it. They may not have had a lifestyle according to their expectations then; and they are sure they do not want to repeat the same mistakes. Extortion on the other hand is "cool business." You are considered a don at least in your local area and if society does not even respect you, it at least knows that you have some contacts in the places where they don't. You also have the whole day to yourself and can choose your own schedule. You are your own boss even though the business is in a partnership. Society wants you to know them and help them in times of their need and hence you have their respect at least on your face. You have job security and don't have to worry about the future. If you do get caught, you go to jail only for say 5 years. Rahul
Date sent: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 15:01:34 -0500 Wonderful article! I wish most Indians would read this article! Nagendra
Date: Saturday, October 25, 1997 2:03 AM Varsha's article as usual is like a beacon of light amidst a sea of pseudo-secularist misinformation. Varsha's intense and honest commentary represents our hope amidst the pseduo-secularists and Leftists. Varsha for PM!!! Raja
Date sent: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 11:54:33 +0700 I'm Shiva Rubini, an Indian from Malaysia. I've done a few work papers on Gandhi. I feel Gandhi has done more than all the other Nobel Prize recipients so far. Most of them have followed Gandhi's footsteps in peace keeping. I believe as the guru of all these recipients, Gandhi should be given greater recognition for his hard work throughout his life. I think the Government of India should play a vital role in helping you out through the whole process. As far as I know, Gandhi dedicated his life for Indians worldwide. I salute Gandhi for his success in Punjab and his satyagrahas. I hope and pray that Gandhi will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Thank you. Shiva Rubini Tambirajoo
Date sent: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 13:19:39 -0500 A really good article, articulate and subtle. Talking about all monotheistic religions, there are several glaring gaps in them. One, according to Christianity a man goes to heaven and hell based on his actions. Can it explain where a newborn child who dies immediately goes? Kamala Das has hit the bull's eye when she says about animals. I think the West is looking towards the East for religion nowadays. Buddhism is becoming very popular. The degree of tolerance shown by Hinduism and Buddhism is attracting several people. I think people should try to be what they are and introspect on the beliefs and try to follow a truthful life. I do not think monothiesitc religions are the panacea for all the ills as the missionaries tout day in and day out. Subbu
Date sent: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 09:06:21 -0700 I think it is excellent news, as devotees who live far away from the Lord's temple would have instant access to information about the sevas and other useful information about pilgrimage. R Ramachandran Canada
Date sent: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 15:07:26 -0700 The writer must not have visited any other place in India. I lived in Bangalore for more than 20 years. The people of Karnataka are very soft spoken and treat all languages equally. I have seen all kinds of government/private forms. There is an English version on the other side of the form. If you visit Madras, you will not see English/Hindi. It is only Tamil. Life becomes terrible for those who do not know the local language.
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 15:08:03 -0600 Like many right-thinking people, I am torn between welcoming liberalisation (as seemingly the only way to break the stranglehold of that last bastion of colonial exploitation -- the bureaucracy), and revulsion at liberalisation's pro-big business and pro-urban slant. After reading Dilip Thakore's article, I find my anti-liberalisation tendencies strengthening. Who is Thakore citing? Sharad Pawar, Charan Singh! If ever there were spokesmen for the big farmer lobby in India, it is they and their ilk, including the illustrious Mahendra Singh Tikait with his gang of pampered, rioting kulaks. Perhaps, Dilip Thakore's heart bleeds for their plight. Mine does not. And then he goes on to cite the South East Asian tigers as worthy examples to emulate. Really! Does Dilip Thakore not even read the journals of his own persuasion? Like The Economist? Or maybe he thinks that nobody does, so that he can get away with whatever contradictory, illogical examples he chooses to inflict on his readers. S Roy Chowdhury
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 19:20:52 -0600 Oh sure, why not? Let's all celebrate incompetence as it seems to be the thing to do in Kerala. Come to think of it, this has been the case all along. Why should it be any different now? 100% literacy, if this is the way things are done in Kerala, I don't see any hope for them. One need not look any further to see why Kerala is way behind when it comes to per capita income and many other things. From the looks of it, there is no hope for even the next generation of Keralites as they are as doomed to work for others in far and wide places as their predecessors. As someone from there, it sure doesn't make me proud! Mohan Marette Texas, USA
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 09:55:20 +0100 Thank you very much for the brilliant article with the evaluation of Lord Desai's eloquent speech. What surprises me almost always invariably, is the rhetoric dealt out by members of the Indian community outside India. I have yet to come to know about any serious organisation or body which can in any way be defined as an Indian interest group. I have lived outside India for 15 years. I have only come to know about chai & samosa diplomacy. I have still to meet an interest group which is truly committed to improving India's image in the rest of the world, all you get to know is about groups divided regionally or by language or by religion. The world in the meantime is getting to know only that side of the story which is reported by individual reporters of the international press and believe me they are doing a 'stupendous' job, stupendous, from the point of view of crippling the few efforts that are made by individual Indians abroad to promote India. Stupendous, from the point of view of carrying on the stereotypes for the next generation of people who shall be laughing at India in the future, not that I think that these reporters are a bunch of liars, I think they can never understand India or its culture in an objective way. The reason being that they themselves are weighed down in their thinking. Let's face it, it is not only true what Lord Desai has said about the elite in India, let's also face it that the very same criticism is valid for the elite abroad. Thank you once again. Vivek Vardhan Krishnatray Berlin
Date sent: Sat, 06 Sep 1997 16:01:45 -0600 Every country has its own problems. It is naive to believe that only India has its problems and all the other countries are great. We have problems with caste and religion. So tell me isn't the whole Ireland problem related to fight between Catholics and Protestants? How many in India actually know of all the black and minority churches that were burnt in the US? And the Western countries showed the demolition of Babri Masjid live. How many actually know about the blatant obvious racist feelings in the US which emerges at times? It is supposed to be the dream of many Indians right? I have gone through the phase that our country is all shit and the other countries are great. Ironically, all that impression changed only after I came to the US. If you look at US history, till 30 years back, black people were oppressed. Even now, there are so many cases of racism. For example, charges of racial discrimination in Texaco; NYPD officers beating up a Haitian as recently as two weeks back; don't forget the famous Rodney King case of Los Angeles. I personally have had experiences of racial discrimination here. Only thing is that they do it in a very sophisticated manner compared to the crude manner in which it (caste-related) is done in India. It is time to wake up to the reality, that what we are experiencing now has been experienced by other countries in one fashion or another 40 - 60 years back. We have missed that time because we were fighting for our Independence or fighting among ourselves. Ramesh Shankar
Date sent: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 06:36:54 -0400 (EDT) Dilip D'Souza manages to confuse himself and tries to confuse others also over the demand for an apology from Queen Elizabeth. He is not able to separate simple things. At Jallianwala Bagh, unarmed people had gathered to peacefully protest the arrest of their leaders. There was no looting, rioting or destruction of public property by the gathering. General Dyer ordered firing and killed 379 people and injured nearly 1,250 people with 1,650 bullets. There were ZERO casualties on Dyer's regiments. General Dyer was NEVER court-martialled. The fault of Operation Blue Star lies with Indira Gandhi and the Congress party and not the people of India. It was Indira and Zail Singh who had propped up Bhindranwale to counter the Akali Dal's political might. But this Congress puppet went out of control. Bhindranwale unleashed terrorism. Killing of innocents (Nirankaris and Hindus) had escalated for at least 2 years BEFORE Operation Blue Star. Destruction of the sanctity of the Golden Temple was done by Bhindranwale's followers themselves when Deputy Inspector General Atwal was killed right in the Golden Temple many months BEFORE Blue Star. Also before June 6, 1984 the Golden Temple was converted into an armed fortress with munitions, rockets stock-piled and fortifications done under Major General Shahbeg Singh. This fortification was witnessed first hand by my close relative (an army colonel) in May 1984. So right or wrong, Operation Blue Star was launched to counter armed terrorists. So the Government of India should not apologise for the killing of armed terrorists in the Golden Temple. Yet the loss of over 300 soldiers and officers and the loss of lives of innocents must be grieved. Mr D'Souza compares the casualties on the army side for Jallianwala Bagh and Operation Blue Star. (Reference: Amritsar by Mark Tully, Rupa Publication.) Now to further pseudo demands for apology -- Should there be an apology for the police enforcing law and order and doing their duty? Mr D'Souza, do you consider rioting an inalienable fundamental right of every Indian, particularly a Muslim? If yes then only you can link Jallianwala Bagh to the killing of rioting Muslims after December 6, 1992. India should have only one rule, if you riot -- whether you are Muslim, Christian, Dalit or Shiv Sainik -- you die, period. So what that the disputed Babri structure, a nonfunctioning mosque was destroyed? Should that be reason enough for Muslims to riot all over the country? Perhaps one should remind Mr D'Souza that there were at least over 100 Hindu/Sikh temples destroyed in Kashmir before the Babri incident, and 91 more have been destroyed since then till 1995 (per government of India), 35 in 1995 alone in the Kashmir Valley. Mr. D'Souza, will you justify it if Hindus were to riot all over the country on the pretext that Hindu temples are destroyed in Kashmir valley? Why not? Why such double standards? Coming to oppression by caste system -- Mr D'Souza, why don't you worry about your own faith and political beliefs before shedding crocodile tears over Hindu inequality. The actions of Conquistadors and elimination Native American populations (also called Indians) in Mexico, South America, Caribbean islands, as well as others in the name of Christianity are well documented. It has taken the Pope over 300 years to mumble about 'wrong doings'. The inquisition by Portuguese in Goa and Vasai are also well documented ( see The Goa Inquisition written by R Priyolkar, Voice of India publication).
Date sent: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 17:58:53 -0800 At last Dilip has come out with one good article. The previous ones sound more like V P Singh's tone. Now this time he sounded good. The BJP did a wrong thing in inducting the defectors as ministers. Probably the right thing would be for the BJP to recommend fresh elections after it won the no-confidence motion and form a caretaker government. Even now the BJP can opt for that instead of suffering with the JUMBO ministry. G Ranganathan Victoria, Canada
Date sent: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 16:56:56 -0400 Considering the facts that temples can be demolished at the drop of a hat, I wonder what makes the Ayodhya mosque so "untouchable?" Maybe the millions of wimps that were quoted in the article on Kalyan Singh being unfit to be the CM ?
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