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COMMENTARY
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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 18:10:11 -0500 (EST) Thank you for the informative and well-written articles about the Jain Commission report and its fallout. I am an American with friends and interests in both India and Sri Lanka, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about the history and the ongoing developments of the political situation regarding Tamil aspirations, and their effects upon both countries. It was especially interesting to read the excerpts from Mr J N Dixit's book 'Assignment Colombo.' I am a new reader of Rediff and I shall return for more. Thanks again. Anthony Hyatt
Date sent: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 15:45:18 -0600 Thank you very much for the detailed and latest updates about the current political developments. I don't think there is any other source on the Internet who has done this as you guys did. Your work is greatly appreciated. Thangathamizhnithi
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 12:00:19 -0600 What hogwash. He appears to have forgotten it was a larger national interest to help Sri Lanka attain stability. An unstable Sri Lanka with a host of naval powers could hold the ground. This would make India go for it, which is its historic weakness for more then 500 years. Does he think it should be India's policy to support a highly violent struggle, and make a non-threatened frontier automatically threatened? It is clear that someone else with naval strength was also interfering , and was not happy with what the Rajiv policy was trying to achieve -- give Tamils a rightful voice by non violent means and keep Sri Lanka stable.
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 13:23:23 +0530 I think there has been a strongly biased attitude on the part of Justice Jain in the interim report on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. While action should be taken against the DMK for its alleged patronage of the LTTE, I wonder why Justice Jain has remained mute on the support and patronage of the LTTE by M G Ramachandran, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Targeting one party by the Jain Commission raises doubts about the authenticity of the report. I strongly feel that the country, instead of overreacting to this report, should strongly consider an extensive investigation into the missing links in the report. As regards the present political situation, I stand by the DMK and the UF in their stand against the call by the Congress for the dismissal of the DMK ministers from the Cabinet. Anand Babu
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 14:39:52 +0400 DMK and Tamilians are still supporting the LTTE for a separate homeland in Sri Lanka. Nobody supported the LTTE for killing Rajiv. Even Rajiv and Indira everybody supported LTTE. Hence, our real intention was to get a free homeland for people who are suffering lot due to the Sri Lankan militants. Nobody should take this opportunity to sack either DMK or UF government. This is not fair. Instead, we can punish the real person involved in this killing. At the same time, lot of commission reports are pending such as Bofors, hawala, etc. Why is the Congress not talking about this? This is my personal opinion. Don't make this into an issue.
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 10:12:24 PST The author seems to be carried away by the elusive power of the LTTE. What does he mean by saying that Rajiv Gandhi, the then prime minister, sealed his fate by signing the accord. Are we to be afraid of the LTTE before taking decisions? You don't need to do anything to get killed by the LTTE killing machine. I agree that the implementation of the accord was botched a bit, but there is no truth that Rajiv Gandhi signed this accord just by following his mother's strategy. He had done that in the evolving political context of the South Asian region with the US cavorting with Sri Lanka to set up a listening station there, with Lanka almost blackmailing India that it will take the help of Israel in fighting militancy. Rajiv Gandhi did the right thing, but his implementation was full of errors. He relied on incompetent officers who misled him on various counts. He was giving the right image to India evolving out of its docile servant image to a regional superpower. Obviously, many powerful players didn't like this, in the context of the Maldives operation, and Operation Brass Tacks. Also, the author seems to forget that Prabhakaran had changed his track so many times as was his usual habit, that it was impossible to get his consistent argument throughout the accord. Helping others when the country as a whole is with you is different, and helping them when the country's armed forces are fighting them is different. In later case, it amounts to treason. How is it different than the Assam government prosecuting Tata Tea for helping ULFA when the army is fighting it? Most importantly, even trying to be favourable to DMK, the amount of support LTTE got in Tamil Nadu in their regime is qualitatively far more than any other regime, even Indira-Ramachandran at the Centre and state. They were virtually everywhere on the streets with guns, harassing girls, killing people, and causing law-order problems. So, even the author hasn't read the Jain Commission report when he says that the DMK is not indicted but given adverse remarks. Hope he knows the legal status of the interim reports. The report has clearly indicted the DMK of supporting the LTTE in that period. What more can someone say to differentiate between a so-called adverse remark and an indictment, when the language is expressed in such strong words. I'm pretty sure that Karunanidhi, then and even now, harbours ambitions of being the head of Tamils all over the world. If these ambitions come against national interest, then he is surely to be blamed for treason. Why was there not even one single DMK minister, or representative when the IPKF returned from Sri Lanka? They were supporting the LTTE when our own valiant, innocent soldiers were getting murdered. Besides complaining of waste of exchequer, the author should note that even Sri Lankans agree that had the IPKF stayed for six more months. The devolution of power would have been completed, the ethnic problem solved, and possibly the LTTE problem also resolved. Even now there is a wistful longing for the IPKF there. You have to pay a price to become a regional superpower. Every operation can't be a Maldives coup without costing anything. As it is we have the least budget for our forces after 1962, and there is nothing that is going waste there. The author should concentrate on more areas in our domestic political arena where there is heavy waste of public funds. Does the author support the argument that India should not have gone into war with Pakistan in 1971 just because war is costly and face the onslaught of refugees? How is running costly training camps on our soil less costly than an armed operation, except that no loss of Indian life is involved? Also no visible gain is perceived. If the forces were given a free hand, they would have finished the job well, though with losses accumulated while learning the terrain. But there they were told to ask and shoot, which is too late in a jungle terrain, whereas the opponents with best weapons never asked before shooting. I sincerely hope that the law should take its own course and doesn't get sidetracked by stupid political designs. Kindly don't denigrate the lives lost. Supporting a party like the DMK is the highest disrespect to martyrs who blindly obeyed their orders and were caught in crossfire. Can the author see same justice in the Assam government TATA Tea-ULFA matter? I wish to see his article on this topic. One of 980 million Indians.
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 22:02:09 -0500 In an English writing class, his silly columns can be used to illustrate how not to write. But why the hell are you publishing it in your online news magazine?
Date sent: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 13:44:51 -0600 The Congress party is trying to get back to power or at least in the news by blaming the DMK for Rajiv's murder. The DMK was supporting the LTTE even when LTTE was fighting the IPKF. That was wrong. But to put the entire blame on them is also wrong. The issue is who murdered Rajiv Gandhi? Was the DMK involved in the plot? Jain seems to have glossed over it and has indulged in investigating who supported LTTE. V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar and Chidambaram are being blamed for security lapses. Rajiv Gandhi was an ex-PM. Is his security the only issue/concern for the PM? What about Rajiv Gandhi himself? He was a PM before. His mother was assassinated. Shouldn't he have taken more care? Why didn't he ask for more security? All politicians consider it a fashion to mingle closely with people ignoring the security problems. On that fateful day, if he had just given a talk and stayed away from the people he would be living today. Why did he mingle with the people? Because he thought no one would kill him. No one knew the concept of a belt bomb. He, as a PM, was responsible for the Indo-Sri Lanka accord. He had a lot of talks with the LTTE. If anyone understood the LTTE, it should have been him. He should have been more responsible. But then who thought the LTTE would kill Rajiv. No one! The LTTE could have killed Rajiv even if the DMK hadn't supported it earlier. Look at how they killed Premadasa. Jain blames Chidambaram for not modifying the law to continue special security for Rajiv even if he was not a PM. Why didn't Rajiv or the other Congress leaders (who are now clamoring to show their closeness to Sonia) think about it? Even if Rajiv had had special security, he would have still gone close to Dhanu. Is it possible to check every person in a huge meeting (our leaders like large numbers)? The leader has to obey the security guidelines and not break them. I am surprised that not even a single politician or newspaper has tried to discuss the lapses on Rajiv's part. I challenge Rediff to do that. Jagan
Date sent: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 15:09:46 -0500 The Congress is supporting a report which states "Every Tamilian was a supporter of LTTE.'' He is blaming the entire population of Tamil Nadu. Is this not shameful! The Congress literally massacred Sikhs after Indira Gandhi's assassination. I think Jain has done a big big mistake by writing this particular piece. The Tamilians are again going to harbour doubts about Delhi's capability of accepting other people's viewpoints. They are going to feel let down by Delhi and vote overwhelmingly for the DMK if there is a election. I think this statement is a big insult to all Tamilians and their culture. I think Tamilians have had enough about their nationalistic moorings. If successive governments keep on doubting their nationalistic credentials, I think India is going to break soon. Subbu
Date sent: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 11:04:55 +0530 1. Why does Mitra find it so convenient to refer to the "lady" and her daughter in such convoluted terms? Is he afraid of being charged with slander or worse -- aren't the references themselves too pointed to allow misinterpretation? 2. Do you feel that such writing is actually read by the populace who is being presumably exhorted to rise up in protest? Why not take up the issue in plainer prose in those mass-media vehicles that allow it to be seen, understood, debated and acted upon by the general public -- an apathetic lot of sufferers in a nation usurped by boors, charlatans, and criminals? 3. In light of all this, do you really feel that this nation can survive as a civilisation? Any thoughts?
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 20:56:07 -0800 It is amazing to see how stupid our fellow countrymen are. Rajiv did not die simply because the LTTE wanted to kill him. As far as the SPG protection is concerned, Ashok Mitra is right in writing that this family is more equal than others. Few years back, I wrote to chancellor, Cambridge University asking if Sonia was ever enrolled and the academic status of Rajiv. The reply was not disappointing. Sonia was enrolled in a school in Cambridge, not affiliated to the famed University, to teach English to foreigners and Rajiv did not graduate from Cambridge simply because he did not pass the grades. I wrote to Harvard University to know more about Rahul Gandhi. The Americans have different laws so the chancellor wrote that he cannot divulge the information without Rahul's consent, but he advised me to contact the Alumni Association. I am not sure if it was a hint, but sure enough the Alumni Association wrote back that Rahul Gandhi is not on their list. Neither Gulzarilal Nanda, Lal Bahadur Shastri nor Morarji Desai's families needed the SPG, so what is so special about Sonia that the SPG had to block the roads in New Delhi for Priyanka's trips in the city. Isn't it time that the Government of India investigated the Bofors affair and seize all the funds in Swiss banks? Shri K N Rao wrote in his book, Nehru Gandhi Dynasty that Indira Gandhi retrieved the wrist watch from Sanjay Gandhi's body after the fatal crash to deprive his widow of the money (stashed in Swiss banks). Get the money that belongs to Indian tax payers back first before granting SPG. Prakash
Date sent: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 00:05:25 -0800 Could not agree with this hard hitting article more. It's clear that a particular party is behind this for the ultimate aim of returning to power -- by whatever means. There is little hope for the country if this continues unchecked.
Date sent: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 09:38:16 +0500 Good balanced article. Need lots more like this.
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 17:56:34 -0600 Ashok Mitra's questioning why Sonia should be accorded extra special privileges is really thoughtprovoking. As a matter of fact, some of us of Indian lineage here in Texas were talking about it among friends. Would someone tell these pathetic good-for- nothing bureaucrats, just being Italian and married to the Nehru family does not make a person more equal than the rest of the Indians. What a joke! Now we hear the Congresswallahs want her to be their leader. I guess they just can't shake the old habit of jumping up and saluting the 'European sahibs'. It is really sad. Mohan M Marette Fort Worth, Texas
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 23:35:48 -0000 Sonia ought not to have been allowed by Rediff to lurk deep in Mitra's wonderful article. I believe that beneath each features title there ought to be two or three bulleted extracts.
Date sent: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 12:41:42 -0800 Excellent article and I feel Ashok Mitra's statement is correct.
Date sent: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 23:25:13 -0800 I agree wholeheartedly with what Mr Mitra has to say on the VVVIP treatment to certain individuals whereas the rest of the nation toils in the sun for two meals. It is indeeed shameful and distasteful that people who are endowed with so much wealth and luxury choose to show disregard for whatsoever conscience they posses, if at all they do. I hate to say this but Marie Antoinette also did something similar two hundred years ago, and god forbid such fate befall on anybody. Venky
Date sent: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 10:12:22 +0800 It would be best if Gujral dissolves Parliament. Kesri and his team of "consultants" have made a mockery of the government. They should be made to come in front of the people and let the people decide. I think the days of the Congress is numbered -- with people like Kesri, busy with his own personal agenda and not the least bothered about the country's economy and well being. I, for one, (I am based out of India) feel very sorry that India is losing the race to economic wellbeing because of a set of powerhungry politicians who have no understanding of economics, and have no intention of leading India into the group of economic strongmen. This could have been the best hour for India with all the Asian countries in dire straits. When will these people realise that India has the opportunity/ the resources/ the drive to reach higher goals? But for these politicians (like Kesri).
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