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E-mail from readers the world over
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 12:51:41 -0800 Yes, India is indeed the laughing stock of the world -- but the prescribed remedy is even more laughable. Has everyone forgotten British colonialism? What about British India's literacy? When the British left Indiaa, it was 11%. Even less than the literacy rate of princely India. And what about all the capital that was taken from colonised India to develop and advance England for almost 200 years? England was the laughing stock of the world when the agents of the East India Company arrived in the 1600s. We were ripped off subsequently -- and now these Brown Sahibs want us ripped off some more. Yes -- India is truly the laughing stock of the world -- and more so if we buy the remedies of these British "Lords" even if they be of brown skin. Shishir
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 12:02:09 -0500 (EST) Your site is a great source of information. The layout is good. It is a very good and appealing site. Keep it up.
Date sent: Sat, 11 Oct 1997 21:15:58 +0800 It was really heartening to have some insight into Veerappan and his adversary. My sincere appreciation to Mr Walter Dawaram for his initiative against Veerappan. Your interviewing people like him is an excellent Idea. Keep it up !!! Sanjeev
Date sent: Sat, 18 Oct 97 12:55:00 0500 This hard-hitting article makes sane and sincere people ponder over the situation in Bombay. If what has been written is true, then how can we expect common people to raise their voice. Forget about the politician-criminal nexus, land sharks and other major issues -- about simple problems affecting their lives against the government. I have always felt that the day the common man finds enough confidence in the law of this land to raise his/her voice against petty crime that day will be the beginning of a new dawn for Independent India. With the conditions in Bombay as it is, I find that day being extended into far oblivion. Thank you for your articles on varied topics which forms the first part of my afternoon newsgathering session. But may I suggest that you popularise the NGOs who can take up battle against politicians, and in general any wrong-doer on behalf on the common man. This I am sure will bring forward many people who are hesitant to go ahead and face their leaders, since they are not aware of the laws that protect them and the support that they can receive. Manoj Panicker
Date sent: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 14:40:02 -0700 "Unemployment as a reason? Forget it, says Tirandaz. ""Unemployment was there even earlier. The real problem is that society has changed, values have changed, today people respect the gangsters more than they do the politicians." Well the person is right about one thing... people do respect gangsters more than politicians. That is because most (not all) of the politicians put on a 'happy' face while 'preaching' to the public. However, behind the scenes, they show their true colours. Gangsters on the other hand, do all this in the open. But while doing these 'bad things', they also show some admirable qualities like respect, brotherhood and honour. So if one is comparing the two characters, I would definitely go with gangsters. And another thing... values have not changed. But the present economic and social conditions force people to make the choice; the choice between survival and ethics. So instead of preaching and blaming the public, the so-called politicians should try and work to bring economic opportunities to India. For one thing they should privatise main sectors like electricity and transport. Let the market decide what it wants.
Date sent: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 09:52:34 +1200 I must confess that in my last 20 years of following the media in our country, this has been one of the rare occasions when the views of the Right, which also seem to be the right views, have been aired without any cosmetics. I have always been a strong critic of the policy of the Leftists, and Socialist friends in the media, which perpetrates a regime of falsehood in the name of political correctness and protection of minorities and secularism. To see it put so bluntly, as Bhosle has done, is to see the truth. Bravo Rediff!! Although I would love to see a Communist also becoming a regular columnist of yours, so that we can see some real debates (not just scoring points). Whether we like it or not, the RSS/ BJP are saying what the majority of this country has always wanted, but forgot in the onslaught of the Nehru-brand of secularism. It is high time there was an intelligent debate with people of opposite camps. Madhup
Date: Monday, October 27, 1997 1:02 AM I had a comment on the review you gave Virasat's music. The original music was scored by Ilayaraja for the original Tamil movie Thevar Magan. Anu Malik just rehashed it for the Hindi remake. It would be nice if you could point out this error. Apurv Madison
Date sent: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 14:30:06 -0500 If my memory serves me correctly this is the first death sentence given by our Indian courts in this case. I personally feel while tormenting few more families this judgment will to some extent lead to some kind of closure to one of our country's shameful pasts, but the question is what about the ones who instigated the riots? It's an open secret, and let me not name them. Samarvir S Minhas
Date sent: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 11:41:38 -0800 D'Souza's is an enjoyable and apparently well informed column, with an amusing perspective on things. I have been away from India for some years now, and I have Rediff delivered to my Netscape mailbox as an invaluable resource to bring me back in touch with the happenings in India. Toward that end, D'Souza's commentaries are fun and informative. At the moment I'm still having a bit of trouble keeping up with all the players on the political scene, and it's likely this will pass with more exposure, but can you recommend a source which lists the cast of political characters with their titles and (perhaps) pictures? Among those of us who subscribe to you to keep in touch, many of us are already out of touch! And this would be of great service. Mr Raney: Thank you for the suggestion. Watch this space!
Date sent: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 16:41:10 -0800 Suddenly there are tears and sobbing going on all over India on BJP's manipulations in UP. Almost everywhere articles are appearing on the BJP's moral fall, large cabinet, criminal ministers etc. When the BJP was a principled party for most years till last month, how many media persons, editors, journalists praised the BJP? Did any of them support them? Did anybody shed tears when the BJP appealed to all sensible MPs in most parties to support the Vajpayee's government and did not have any good result? So please stop shedding tears on the BJP's fall. What else can be expected when the single largest party in the Lok Sabha who also happens to have better MPs, more clean people, is kept away from power by hook or crook, even by adopting unconstitutional means. Now suddenly, the Congress and others are finding fault in the anti-defection law and are ready for another blunder by making hasty amendments. The BJP has learnt realpolitik. Though recent events cause concern to every hardcore BJP supporter, I believe the BJP has got enough internal strength to get rid of the corrupt people at the right time when they will muster enough seats on their own. If the BJP gives tickets to more people with a criminal record, it will certainly be a major concern. But at present, if it needs defection from other parties, go ahead and do it.
Date sent: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 11:44:59 -0800 So true. I always knew that a pseudo-fascist party like the BJP will ultimately come out of their shells with teeth and claws open. They are nothing but just another set of hypocrites looking for every possible opportunity to retain power, to make money. Look at the hypocrisy from the so- called value preachers. Today's Indian leaders are mostly history sheeters. With an extremely little number of exceptions. On one hand it's right to say that they are elected to the state assembly by our own people. But at what choice? Everyone knows, in rural India even today after 50 years of our hardearned Independence, people don't give a shit about politics because they are busy figuring out the next meal. Even today they die of hunger (in Orissa and the district officials do their best to cover the incident from the press). The election is a farce today in most parts of our country. People have to make a choice from a robber, a thief or a murderer. Politician is a hated word. But I can't completely blame them. They rule on as we continue to sleep. It started from that event of Indian history, when a woman raped democracy for two very long years, encouraging her younger son to do it harder. She was the one who paved the way for murderers entering into politics. She was the one who set the fascinating trend of booth capturing (I still remember how my father came back home from the poll booth at 8 am on one 1977 morning, saying that they (local criminals) didn't let him enter as the election was supposedly over by then.) She was the one who created a Bhindranwale. She was the one who rigged the Kashmir election that they lost faith in the process completely. She was the one who nationalised everything at sight to make the official loot a lot easier. Want more? When she was gone, it was the holy responsibility of Morarji Desai, who raised the tax so high that he was able to convert a whole nation of tax payers to tax evaders. He was the person who rang the last bell by messing our economy and selling our gold. Then it was her again, she routinely imposed Article 356 on states all her life. There was no exception this time. She sacked the AP government till the President had them sworn in again. An angry Rama Rao marched his supporters in front of him. After her it was her son with no experience whatsoever, who was thrown into the arena. He was not a bad man. I kind of liked him. However, inexperience and a vicious circle of friends were the reason for his mistakes, and just when he was done learning the rules, he was sadly killed. Oh, I missed one history sheeter in between, Mr V P Singh. He was responsible for bringing up casteism successfully again and reserving 90% of everything for his perceived electoral strong hold. I personally hate reservation of any kind. I did not decide to be born in a particular family, race, religion or culture. I am not proud of being a brahmin, and neither I am ashamed of it. I think I should be judged by my achievements, thoughts, beliefs and ideas. However, even if in a poor country like India, we have reservations, then it should be done on an individual's economic status. However, the point is that, you are not in politics, I am not in politics and if this continues, I definitely do not want my son or daughter to go into Indian politics either. The whole purpose is lost. There is no value left, none at all. Anyone with a little bit of sense left in them, is not in politics. So who is ? Our normal lives have been disrupted so many times and by so many people, that we feel corruption is a part of life. The right and wrong does not make any more sense to us. Once upon a time it was perfectly normal for us to burn a young widow with complete moral and social support, it was un-perceivable that something about it was dead wrong. It's the same thing here today. These political malpractices, corruption, deprivation of fundamental rights have become so common and frequent in India that we see no wrong in them. In other words, if you happen to get a job as an Income tax inspector, the general idea is "You are very rich ." The problem is that's pathetic for a nation. We have stopped bothering to even protest. I think it's high time that we went for a Presidential form of democracy,and pray, if someone with some ethics and values would be kind enough to help us get rid of these corrupt politicians. God save us. Amlan
Date sent: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 10:54:20 PST Excellent article. Up to the point and effective language. As a lover of India, I appreciate the author addressing the very need of the Hindus and the Indians in general. I think Rajeev has a great insight to the problems and needs of India, which I learn from his series of articles in the Rediff site. Thanks for encouraging such a great writer. Looking forward to more of these articles from Rajeev. Paddy Subbaraman Boston, MA
Date sent: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 09:38:12 -0500 Right on! But who will bell the cat? Gaurang G Vaishnav Florida, USA
Date sent: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 17:56:23 -0600 Let's face it, the whole country is dirty, not just Delhi. When majority of the people live below the poverty line, cleanliness usually takes a back seat. One can't blame the poor for being offenders in this matter as survival tend to take precedence over mundane issues like neatness, cleanliness and hygiene. It seems to me that we have two choices and one is to attack the symptoms and the other, to attack the root causes of the problem. I personally prefer the latter and one can achieve this end by: 1. Teaching youngsters about cleanliness and hygiene starting from the 1st grade and make it part of the curriculum. 2. Faster economic reform. We need to bring about a higher standard of living for all the people not just a few who have a degree in computer science. 3. Some responsibility should be taken by civic organisations and corporations to promote hygiene and cleanliness, especially in urban areas. Organisations such as Lions Club, Rotary Club etc. should be more than a club for drinking buddies. 4. We need to cultivate leaders with a vision in all levels, from the lowest to the highest and mediocrity should not be rewarded. Mohan Marette Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Date sent: Sat, 11 Oct 1997 20:55:07 -0400 (EDT) Awesome. Such news is better than the dumb political conflicts which exist for the rights of the people.
Date sent: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 13:52:03 +0200 First of let me thank Mr Ashwin Mahesh for his clear reply dispelling the dirt spread by some "motivated" people. However, by all means the money got from such peoples should be criticised. But my question is, suppose, some X sends some Y amount to her, is it her duty to check whether the money is legal or not? Second what are the norms? If only the Constitution has to be taken into confidence, can anybody assure that the flow of money to her will be the same. This does not mean only bad people contribute money. It should be understood that as long as it is used properly, it is ok. However, this does not legitimise such actions even though just because we know the person does not mean we should not accept it or just because it happens not before our eyes and we just receive through cheques, it is all pure and perfect. Douglas Antony Louis Piriyakumar
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