|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | DEAR REDIFF | |||
|
ASSEMBLY POLL '98
|
|
|
'I am sick and tired of cowards like Thackeray'
Date: Friday, January 22, 1999 3:30 AM No other word to describe this article on Thackeray or maybe I have run out of adjectives. This is surely the most hard-hitting fact anybody among the columnists on Rediff may have given. Jonnalagadda, Srinivas
Date: Friday, January 22, 1999 9:31 AM I absolutely agree with your report. We as a nation needs to stand together and teach Bal Thackeray a good lesson. If he really wants to serve and help the nation, why is he not telling his party people to go to the border and fight for the country? Good luck to the Indian cricket team. Ketan
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 6:38 AM Well put! And a courageous stand taken! Rahul B Deokar
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 7:41 PM Just to say that the article attacking Thackeray and his agenda is the first piece of journalism in India that I have seen written with some guts. You have written strongly and well. Great job! Srinadh
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 2:10 AM Although I'm a great fan of your writing and commentary during matches, this is the first time I'm writing in after having read an article (in fact this is officially my first letter to the editor). I couldn't agree more with the sentiments that you expressed in your article. It is time the people of India reclaimed the governance of India from politicians and so-called, self-appointed guardians of people's interest. I am sure I'm not the first when I say that I am sick and tired of cowards like Thackeray taking the law into their own hands and showing blatant disregard for the laws and Constitution of the country. Thackeray repeats again and again that if the Muslims of India don't like it, they should leave. I think it is high time that the people of India tell Thackeray, in no uncertain terms, that if he does not like what he sees in India (a democratic country which guarantees freedom of speech, expression and religion to its citizens), then he should leave. And take his fascist goons with him. What can we do to tell Thackeray, the Government of India, the rest of the world and most importantly the people of India that this behaviour is unacceptable? Criminal disregard for the rights of others will not be tolerated. People who break the law must and will be punished. It is important that those who break the law, and it has been repeatedly shown (even by his own admission) that the motivating force behind all the incidents (whether it be the trashing of Husain's studio, or of the cinema screening Fire or of the BCCI office) is Bal Thackeray and he must be brought to book. You have my fullest support in the sentiments you expressed in your article. Please tell me if there is some initiative I can be involved in in order to spread this message. Shashank Singh
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 7:38 AM I read an article 'Gentleman, Play!' on the Internet by Prem Panicker). I congratulate you and have sent the article to many for them to view. Congrats Prem!! It was one of the best articles I have read in recent times. Nowadays, I only see trivial news and news which sometimes makes those anti-nationals hungry to be in news. I think other writers should get a lesson from this article and understand that they have with them a power which can itself be enough to teach the Thackerays a lesson and show them that they belong to the country and the country doesn't belong to them. These goons need a platform to carry out their illegal activities and now they have used sports. What was Thackeray doing when Pakistan was playing in Bangalore in 1997? Was he in Pakistan at that time or did Pakistan bring their own soil to play here? The 'Tiger(?)'has asked the prime minister to provide sophisticated arms for them to go and fight at the border. Bal Thackeray thinks he is bringing some sophistication in our weapons by digging up cricket pitches! The 'highly educated' Thackeray has also told the PM to use detergents to wash the black spots caused upon the attack on the World Cup -- the nation's pride. The signs of Indian glory. That's his education. We still cherish the smiling face of Kapil Dev carrying that trophy aloft. Today it's unfortunate that the government has no power to take action. What is the use of making nuclear bombs and trying to put up a strong face in front of the world when the world laughs at us and asks us if the sportsmen of the country have to land at an undisclosed place. It's a shame. It's a big shame that the cricketers who have been away from home (India in NZ) for national service have to return under a cover of security. It's a national shame. And still the so-called government is unable to put people like the Thackerays in check and treat it like we do when a stray animal strikes terror. We, the Indians don't have the time to waste on these trivial people, we have more important tasks to achieve, and know how to love our brethren and respect each other and do not want these selfish rowdy sheeters to tell us what and how to do. I request the media to give more importance to the scientists, the army, the Nobel laureates etc, who are the achievers and stop portraying the losers as one of them! It's sad that today everybody surely knows who Bal Thackeray is and very few know who Amartya Sen is. This needs to be changed and the media is the best method to achieve this change, so that each of us can breath fresh air and the umpires can say "C'mon Gentlemen, Let's Play."
M Suhail H
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 2:18 AM This article is just GREAT. The way you analysed the events and the conclusions you have arrived, certainly deserves a high level of appreciation. Keep up the good work and continue. Venkat Ramachandrula
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 9:44 AM Well said Prem. Very well said. It is time somebody disturbed the slumber of decided opinion. Here is this man, behaving like a thug, who has hijacked the freedom of our cities and is now holding a sporting contest to ransom. Why does he think he can get away with it and why does he think that it will pay political dividends? Because dear Phaedrus, he can get away with it and it will pay political dividends. Bal Thackeray, after all represents the worst in us. Our apathy that we mistake for tolerance, our xenophobia that passes for patriotism and the complete absence of even a shred of courage in the upper middle class to stand up for something that they believe in, which we call pacifism. Bal Thackeray is but a symbol of the decay that is India today. If there is somebody, who lives within the reach of Mr Thackeray's hooligans, who is susceptible to the flag waving thuggery that his minions practice and will nevertheless speak out against the Fuherer, there is surely more than a silver lining, it is mother lode of silver in the cloud.
Ravi Aron
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 10:28 PM That was a very good article about Bal Thackeray. He needs to banished from the face of earth. Monica Pradhan
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 10:53 PM Since I read news of the manhandling of the 1983 World Cup, I was expecting this kind of blood burning article, which you have come with today. Good work. There were excellent points in your writing. Do keep writing such good stuff. Parankush
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 1:05 PM Fantastic article! Thanks for putting my thoughts in words!!
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 11:01 PM You have written a great article about Thackeray and I take my hat off to you on this one. If only this message could reach out clear to everyone out there, and that man could be ousted from power, then our Bombay could be a better place to live in. I don't call Bombay 'Mumbai' because that reminds me of this dictator and his acts. Bombay will always remain Bombay to me. The heaven I grew up in not this hell that I keep hearing about in the news out here. We need more journalists like you to take the power of the pen and make a change in Bombay.
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 9:03 PM Your article today was one of the best I've read for many years. It articulated my feelings (and doubtless those of many others) perfectly. The sheer inaction of the BJP government in the face of this man's brazen actions is galling. As you say, the best way of teaching him and his goons a lesson is to ensure the tour happens without any problems. Nagarjun
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 12:43 PM The pen is mightier than the sword. Why can't the government arrest him? I am frustrated with this guy day and night. I can't sleep thinking that a guy like this exists and he calls himself Indian. I am ashamed of him.
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 12:52 AM Great! Fantastic! You have put into words what I had in mind. It's high time he was removed from office. Keep writing such good articles. I hope Thackeray gets to read this. Ramesh
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 4:30 AM Finally!! Someone in the media who lives in Bombay has shown the courage to stand up against (I will not even mention his name because mentioning his name makes me feel shameful). Bravo! Prem Bravo! Excellent article (though I do not agree with any of your initial reasons for not having this tour). Now it is time for the sane people in Bombay to stand up and show the Shiv Sainiks that their cowardly acts of violence will not be tolerated. There are two ways to do this -- the non-violent (Gandhian) route or the violent (SC Bose) route. Given the lack of human decency of these Shiv Sainiks (abusing women to get their point across -- the ultimate in cowardice and indecency), they need to be taught a lesson through violence. Laaton ke bhoot baton sey nahi manten. Time has come for people in Bombay to organise vigilante squads against these guys. I like the Akali Dal approach in Delhi of counter-acting violence with vigilantism. Go Akali Dal. What other choice as a people do we have? The government of Maharashtra -- the people who took the oath to uphold the law of the state -- is doing nothing. It is helpless against the forces of goondaism. This is a really shameful state of affairs. How can we call ourselves proud Indians living in the world's largest functioning democracy today -- when we allow the barbaric laws of the jungle to prevail, when people working in their workplaces are allowed to be assaulted by government-sponsored hooligans? This whole episode makes me very sick in my stomach. Why did the people of Bombay elect this goon? Is it safe to say "they asked for it and now they are getting it" and just ignore this episode? In my view, democracy is the best system of government available. It does have its flaws and these become very evident when 70 to 75 per cent of the people are illiterate. Perhaps, it is time for us as a nation to think of our system of government and wonder if the current set of politicians/parties are appropriate people to carry the nation forward in the 21st century. It is unfortunate that visionaries like Chandrababu Naidu are rare, but thank goodness at least they are there. Prem, keep up the good work and hopefully you can start a discussion forum on this topic. Abhay
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 11:51 PM Well written Prem. You have lucidly stated what every clear minded Indian feels. Bal Thackeray and his cohorts are the very dregs of our society. One which has been a vibrant shining playground of heterogeneity. And these people in their hunger for power don't care a damn for this ethos. They don't have an iota of patriotism. I full endorse this outburst from you. Aravind
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 11:42 PM Bravo, and a big round of applause for the hard hitting article of yours. It is a shame to see our elected representatives, who swear by our Constitution, break the same but get immunity because of their status. Samuel Beera
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 10:32 PM Thanks for writing such a bold article! You have restored my faith in factual and courageous journalism yet again. Arvind
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 10:41 PM I read your cricket articles with great interest. Occasionally, I don't agree with your views. However, I was very impressed by your latest article. I think you are absolutely right that one person should not be allowed to tarnish the image of India.
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 12:11 AM Your article is very clear and thoughtful. But we have to understand that there will always be people like Bal Thackeray and there will be parties like VHP and Bajrang Dal who use militant politics to reach prominence. They know they can't do any good to impress the masses, so they use violence and hooliganism to keep them afloat. And many opportunistic criminals and goondas join those folks and parties to take political shelter, and take advantage of the situation for their own gain. But it is all up to us as Indian citizens to follow and accept those anti-social politicians or reject them. And we fail to recognise them as bad elements. It is our social system that lets us behave this way. We need to turn our social system up side down to bring change. Cultural evils are not confined to just any religion or caste, we are all bad as a society. Once we get over it, folks like Thackeray, Singhal and ........will fade away for lack of support from the police, administration and masses. How Readers responded to Arvind Lavakare's last column How Readers responded to Rajeev Srinivasan's last column
|
||
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT |
INFOTECH |
TRAVEL
SHOPPING HOME | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | HOTEL RESERVATIONS PERSONAL HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | FEEDBACK |
||