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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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'The way Bhagwat was treated and dismissed is highly deplorable'
Date sent: Sat, 09 Jan 1999 08:56:11 PST
I think I should agree with most of Nayar's observations. Nobody is sure if Admiral Bhagwat's actions endangered India's security, but the way he was treated and dismissed is highly deplorable. But then, one cannot expect any better from ministers like George Fernandes. Remember what he did during the Janata regime and under V P Singh? KN
Date sent: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 07:43:15 +0530
It is important that people know that the government has made a mess of the whole episode. It is likely to have adverse effects on probably the only disciplined lot of people left in the country. Why was Ajit Kumar not sacked? Is it because an IAS officer like any trade union member would go to CAT and get a stay order? Or that all the IAS lot would get together like any other trade union member and hold the govt to ransom? Where are we going? What next? Nisar Siddiqui
Date sent: Sat, 9 Jan 1999 16:46:43 -0500
With due respect, an esteemed journalist like you also seems to have caught the nasty flu of bashing the BJP government with all the might of your pen. You just couldn't hide your prejudice, could you? Save us your ludicrous indictments of the BJP government. Even if some of the assertions against the admiral might be untrue or a bit exaggerated, as you claim, most are not. So, why not cut the weighty one-sided judgment of yours and tell us -- do you, or do you not want all high officials of the armed forces to be obedient to the government? Let's assume for a minute that the admiral was unfairly branded as having been unpatriotic. But, there are plenty of patriotic but power-hungry military men roosting in the banana republics, from Pakistan to Columbia. Political indiscretion notwithstanding, India should not turn into a military-run banana nation. Top military men are routinely dispatched, rightly or wrongly, over disagreements by the political authorities in all civilised democracies. Only in India -- thanks to the Congresswallahs and the journalistic bandwagon obsessively driven to find faults with and dig a grave for the BJP that we hear such cacophony. I expected better from you. Tarun Seam
Date sent: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 02:24:37 +0530
It was indeed surprising to read such a one-sided defence of Admiral Bhagwat from a seasoned political commentator like Kuldip Nayar. It was almost as if the article had been ghost written by Admiral Bhagwat himself. Nayar's defence is flimsy and is based solely on Admiral Bhagwat's account (i e the threat to courtmartial Admiral Sushil Kumar is a 'total lie'). It paints a completely one-sided picture. The central facts of this case indicate that: Admiral Bhagwat had serious differences of opinion with the civilian authority and was disinclined to fall in line despite several attempts to make him see reason. Nayar is satisfied by the mere utterance of Admiral Bhagwat that he 'has never once stated that the directions of ACC will not be implemented'. His actual actions however tell a different story altogether. He refused to implement the ACC direction on the appointment of Vice-Admiral Harinder Singh on the grounds that the ACC was not 'suitably advised'. If that was not defiance, then perhaps it was compliance in Nayar's opinion. In a democratic set-up it is all right for the defence personnel to lay out their case for or against certain issues. Ultimately, however, it is for the civilian authority to make a judgment, and the military needs to fall in line. Admiral Bhagwat was definitely not on the best of terms with some of his senior colleagues including Admiral Sushil Kumar. Despite his denial of having threatened to court-martial Admiral Kumar, he has proffered no plausible reason for not acceding to his request for an operational command. As for the charges of 'jeopardising national security' levelled by the government against Admiral Bhagwat, it needs to be stated that a lot of unsubstantiated charges have been traded on both sides. Especially relevant to his charges of 'political interference' are the comments of former CNS Admiral J G Nadkarni who says that Admiral Bhagwat's own elevation to vice-admiral was at the 'instance' of then defence minister Sharad Pawar. In summary, it seems that the blame for this unsavoury episode lies on both sides, more so on Admiral Bhagwat's side than on the government side.
Date sent: Sat, 09 Jan 1999 15:49:23 -0500
Politicians have just gone too far. They are acting as an inexperienced lot against the thoroughly professional body (our defence apparatus).
Date sent: Sat, 09 Jan 1999 12:35:01 -0800
I am not sure if Nayyar ever reads what he writes! A sample of his writings on Admiral Bhagwat's defence goes thus: "Let us take up charge by charge. The first, that of endangering national security, is the most grievous one. A top officer found tampering with security eight months before retirement is, indeed, disturbing. If it is true, he deserved to be court-martialled, not just dismissed. The government has given no evidence to prove how Admiral Bhagwat acted against India's security. Official statement says his 'series of actions' threatened 'national security' but does not tell how. Defence Minister George Fernandes refrains from elaborating in his television interview. All that he says is that he cannot talk about it 'as it concerns national security. ' What????!??? Does he expect the government to give details that may be vital to the national security? For his and "the country's" sake?? Since when did we start expecting that the government to reveal national security matters? Which country ever does that? It is one thing to differ with the government's actions, but to go overboard and start demanding that the govt should reveal all information, even if it pertains to national security, is outrageous. Just because Nayar has gained some "fame", he thinks he has the god-given right to criticise and demand anything he wants.
Date sent: Thursday, January 07, 1999 4:37 PM
It is clear that Niloufer Bhagwat, the formidable better half of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, was extremely attentive during her final year at law college and learnt her lessons very well. I particularly refer to the lecture when the professor explains "court tactics" in a very lucid manner: "If you have the facts on your side, hammer them into the jury. If you have the law on your side, hammer it into the judge. And if you have neither the facts nor the law, then hammer on the table!" Bhagwat is doing exactly that -- she is hammering on the table to score a few debating points over the present ruling dispensation for which she has utter contempt. Had the facts been on the side of Admiral Bhagwat, his wife would have rushed off to the court to seek redressal. Had she been convinced that the law was on his side, she would have knocked at the door of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India even at 2 in the morning to seek an ad interim injunction to stay the President of India (the Supreme Commander of the armed forces) from dismissing a serving chief of naval staff. However, it is clear that she is convinced she has neither facts nor the law on her side; hence, recalling what the good professor said, she is hammering on the table, thanks to a rather confused media which hasn't really covered itself with glory in its handling an event of such magnitude.
Anmol Sajjan Purohit
Date sent: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 23:45:26 +0530
I have read the articles written by Admiral Nadkarni and feel very sorry for him. I am reminded of my school days when children tried to complain to teachers on petty issues. Our respected Admiral Nadkarni either did not have anything to say against Bhagwat while he was the chief or had no moral courage to stand up to what he felt was right when he was at the helm of affairs. I think Admiral Nadkarni has finally got an opportunity for which he has been waiting for a very long time to throw a stone at Admiral Bhagwat. It is not too late if he realises at least now that this is not the time to settle personal scores but to look for justice and truth and the interests of the services and the nation as a whole.
Date sent: Friday, January 08, 1999 4:48 AM
There is no point in blaming the batting skills... What let us down was bowling ... no good spinner. I remember reading sometime back that when Kumble was dropped from the Indian team... a selector had said, "Even Chanderpaul was able to spin the ball better than Kumble". This is what has happened now. Kumble in Tests is terrible. There is an extreme need for a spinner who can "spin". Kumble is good only in ODIs. Unfortunately our pace attack wasn't up to the mark ... or we were unlucky. Another important reason was the utter failure of the openers. I really can't understand why Jadeja is in the Test team. Need to give chances to people like Gagan Khoda/Gandhi/Ramesh. In my opinion Indian batsmen did pretty well. Ravi
Date sent: Friday, January 08, 1999 10:10 PM
Can you imagine an Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan player who has admitted to taking money from these people who are betting, getting appointed as captain/ vice- captain?? Look what happened to Salim Malik! Isn't there anything that the Asians can do to prevent that? What is the ICC doing? Do you think the Western media would have kept quiet had this happened in either of the above-mentioned countries? Why isn't anyone saying/protesting against this? I don't think I will ever watch any more cricket played by the Australians! It's a question of ethics. And whether the reasons for their taking money were big or small, it just wasn't right. The whole thing is disgusting and it stinks!
Date sent: Saturday, January 09, 1999 4:17 AM
I agree with most of the analysis about the cause of India's failure to win Test matches abroad. Here are my views about the failure of the Indian team to reach its potential. I believe Azhar is currently a close contender for the worst cricket captain in the world. Look at captains of other reputed teams: Cronje, Waugh, Ranatunga, even Lara, I believe, is better than Azhar. Azhar is too conservative a captain. While that might have kept the team from losing in the yesteryears, in today's world of result-oriented cricket that is bound to end up causing more loses than draws or wins. India deserved to lose even the second Test match. But for Dravid's resilience in the first innings, we would have lost the series 2-0. Azhar should be fired as the captain and from the team if India hopes to make it past the semis this World Cup. The only candidate for captaincy that comes to mind is Ganguly. Sachin cannot be a captain because his expectations from players are bound to be sky high so that rules him out. Jadeja in my opinion should move into modelling or something like that. He is quite a substandard performer when India is chasing or when the conditions get tough for batting. Sidhu should realise that his painful looking cut shots and edges over slip are not going to cut it anymore so he should retire from the international side and play Duleep tropy. Here's my 14 for the World Cup: Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Paranjpe, Kanitkar, Kambli, Robin Singh, Mongia, Srinath, Agarkar, Kumble, Harbhajan, Mohanti, B K V Prasad. From the look of it you might say that there is an inherent Bombay bias in this team, but that was not my intention while picking the squad. Though I am from Bombay, I am not proud of being from the place that gave birth to several fanatics.
Date sent: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 10:00:32 +0530
It is good, but give us a critical view.
Date sent: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 16:50:44 +0530
It is time we Indians get real about issues like casteism... it exists and horribly so!! The act that the film deals with this goes beyond simple inhumanity... it is simply evil. Hope the great Indian Censor Board doesn't have a problem with this one... A really angry Indian
Date sent: 18 Dec 98 11:50:33 EST
Essentially a rags-to-riches story. I must say that this feature says a lot about how Johnny Lever is successfully managing/balancing his real life and reel life (with a little bit of tension though). This feature should serve as encouragement to the multitude who are yet to discover that their talents could become their careers or that their talents could lead them to their careers. James Silas
Date sent: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 10:31:40 -0600
Good! How Readers reacted to Varsha Bhosle's recent columns
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