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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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'Signing the CTBT would amount to a reckless and suicidal act'
E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 22:53:44 -0600 Apparently Fernandes hasn't looked into any of the information available about weapon effectiveness during the Gulf War. While some of the press reports were inflated on certain more notable systems (the Patriot especially), the facts are that the allied weaponry consistently outperformed the Iraqi Russian-sourced technology. Abrams tanks had high percentage kills from beyond the range of the Iraqi tanks. The Apaches further devastated Iraqi armour. Allied night-vision equipment provided an immense advantage. And the list goes on and on. Perhaps most critically, Fernandes should reflect on how the former Soviet Union was pushed to bankruptcy trying to force an underperforming industrial base to maintain a true world-class military machine. The break up of the USSR should serve as a sober notice to military ministers that global status is a high stakes game which almost no country can afford.
Date sent: Thu, 5 Nov 1998 02:27:36 +0500 (GMT+0500) The statements of Mr Vanaik (to put it diplomatically) are not that of a "peacenik," but that of a quisling. First, his doubts the Indian technical capabilities. Admittedly, India can do a lot better in the safety record of its civilian nuclear programme, but the rest of his analysis is misleading (and if I may add, deliberately so). Furthermore, the Indian nuclear establishment does have more than its share of difficulties (much of it derived from the general state of affairs in the nation), which need not be dwelt upon herein. However, Mr Vanaik should known that horror stories abound on the safety of nuclear plants even in the so-called advanced nations like Japan, the UK, the US, and the CIS. There are adequate reasons to believe (based on purely scientific analysis) that the Indian claims on Pokhran II are correct, and fine tuning and design modification is indeed possible at a laboratory level. Furthermore, there is also adequate proof adhered by foreign sources (though not publicly stated) that the Indian blasts did have a credible thermonuclear content! Signing the CTBT for India (which fortunately seems to be an almost certainly uncertain event) would amount to a reckless and suicidal act. As Charles de Gaulle remarked when asked on the rationale for the French Force-de-Frappe. "The congregation of world powers is like a meeting of thieves, and one should partake in such a meeting only if one is armed." Furthermore, Mr Vanaik and his ilk seem to have been somewhat silent on the acquisition by Pakistan of its nuclear weapons and missiles, the Chinese role in it, and the deliberate encouragement of the US! Mr Vanaik appears to be a prototypical Indian pseudo-intellectual who is the logical product of a nation which obtained its Independence as a free gift, and which was managed by nitwits, imbeciles, and pseudo-intellectuals in the formative years followed by criminals in the latter periods. This led to a natural degeneration over the years whereby India acquired the stigma of being a "soft state." Furthermore, Mr Vanaik's suggestions that India unilaterally sign the CTBT would not result in the rest of the world following suit. It would rid the P-5 of a technically credible "gate crasher," and it would be business as usual. Strength comes from having the deterrent, and being prudent in the extreme in its use. Strength does not come from self-castration on the behest of persons of dubious intent and credibility (such as Mr Vanaik and his ilk) who spout their morsels of "wisdom" on the hope of a "Green Card" and a visiting fellowship at a foreign establishment. I personally am not a spokesman for the Indian authorities or any political party, but base my analysis on pure fact and logic! Furthermore, if I may be permitted to say, it would be better for Mr Vanaik and his ilk to concentrate their efforts on the issues of corruption. The arguments raised by persons (who thankfully constitute a small minority) that a nuclear deterrent and the accompanying C^3/C^4I systems is costly is wrong! They would be advised to compare the costs of a nuclear deterrent with the personal fortunes of their Indian accomplices, and ascertain the difference for themselves. The tragedy of the situation is that while Mr Vanaik and his ilk constitute a miniscule minority, they have a somewhat high profile access to spout their debilitating and treasonous opinions. Ravi Venkatesan
Date sent: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 03:27:50 PST The interview with Krishnaswamy revealed the abysmal situation of Dravidian politics. Perhaps when Brahminisation of Dalits take place then Krishnaswamy will be replaced with a Muslim leader! He is using the same language that E V Ramaswamy used in the forties and the fifties. Except replace the word Brahmin with backward caste. Ramaswamy's platform was hijacked by Annadurai in the sixties to create a middle caste vote bank, and this was further hijacked by Karunanidhi to create a lower middle caste vote bank. All of this created a fascinating social cohesion among broader caste groups. For instance some twenty years before there was no Thevar identity. There were at least twenty or so subgroups of Thevars (called Muk-kulathors consisting of three major sub-castes). But now there is a concept of Thevar. The same thing is true for Vanniar and the Devendra Vellalar (one boarder group of Harijans). As one broader grouping takes place, it is perceived as a threat by the next group which starts to "protect" itself, of course violently. Larger the attempts to create a casteless society the greater the danger to Muslims and other religious minorities since casteless groups will identify with a bigger circle which will be Hindu identity. Krishnaswamy is shy to admit that the entire Dravidian movement in a sense helped in uniting broader groups like Vanniars, Thevars, Vellalars etc and the larger groups are moving to the Hindu bandwagon. As long as there are caste differences and caste quarrels, the social fabric will be "composite" and system secular. Once you start removing caste barriers then the Hindu identity will be dominant. Perhaps Krishnaswamy does not know that Veer Savarkar was also an atheist and wanted a casteless society. He also may not know that Advani is also not a temple going believer. Krishnaswamy may be surprised to know that the slogan of Annadurai namely "Ondre Kulam Oruvane Devan" (one community and one God) was very much the same as that of Golwalker except his group had middle caste Tamils with Muruga as the God and it was all Hindu castes with Ram (the Kshatriya as centre) for the other. All attempts of Krishnaswamy will give rise to militant anti-minority (religious) groupings after say ten or twenty years. Hence it is surprising that a group of Muslims support these type of anti-caste movements. This is what is called death wish by social analysts. Krishnaswamy need not be an atheist to express his resentment in the existing order. All the Hindu gods are middle castes (like Rama or Krishna) or tribes (in charge of Masana like Siva). Vaidyanathan R
Date sent: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 07:01:16 PST The outburst against Dr Joshi by George Iype is irrational. There is a social message behind Dr Joshi's message. And the message that the Hindu community is sending to all is clear, if only we choose to hear it. Since Independence, India has pampered various minority communities with privileges -- in one form or another. What has India received from them in return? Have the minority communities learnt to live in peace with the majority community? For instance, do people in the minority community see Hindus as fellow human beings, with ambitions and aspirations of their own? Or do they see Hindus as 'pagans', 'heathens', 'kafirs' and 'infidels?' Do minority community members see it as their right to deny equality to Hindus in institutions (especially educational) run by them? Or do they see themselves as 'a chosen people' who have a divine right to discriminate? What the Hindu community is trying to tell you, George is this: We are sad that you do not see us as people who have as much right to live on this planet as you do. We are unwilling to enact laws that would institutionalise discrimination. We are aware that such laws already exist in several Western countries -- as we have experienced them. But please, learn to live with us in peace. For fifty years, we have pampered you and put up with your tantrums. We now say, 'Enough is enough'. Are you listening, George? Krishna
Date sent: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 14:27:07 -0400 The sentiments thrown around the Naxalite leader's death shows a typical working class conscious Keralite sentiment to glorify a cause (like a classless society) and completely turn a blind eye towards the means used to achieve the cause. There is no sympathy as far as I am concerned for a person who took the sword and died by the sword. If there need be human rights for Varghese, what about human rights of all the people who have been butchered by Varghese? Once upon a time in Kerala, if you were in the rich class you were always right and if you were not, you were always wrong and there was no party or movement to back your cause. Today in Kerala if you are in the working class you are always right, if you are not you are always wrong and there is no party or movement to back your cause. These people are no better, only the roles have changed.
Date sent: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 15:22:05 -0600 It is refreshing to see David Frawley's article in Rediff. I have read most of his articles available on the web and they are very interesting. I hope Rediff will publish many more articles of his. The so-called "Aryan Invasion Theory," is the best example of western colonialism. Europeans could not comprehend the depth of knowledge the Vedic hymns had. Some of the Rigvedic hymns on the war between black clouds and light (symbolising the evil and the good) was misinterpreted as war between dark skinned Dravidians and the invading light skinned Aryans. The concept of the "Aryan Race" was a classic western invention. I cannot forget a question that I had to answer in my fourth grade history exam, "Where did the Aryans come from?" and the answer we were supposed to write was: "Aryans came to India from Central Asia at around 2000 BC." It is a shame that our outdated history books, even today teach the same. Who says, "We cannot change history?" Visit our history books, they already did.
Rajesh
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 11:38 -0600 (MDT) Your article about the car market in India is excellent and an eye opener. Having stayed in the US for over a year, I am able to see the glaring difference in the level of service and quality of automobiles between India and the US. One of the definitions of capitalism is "selfishness moderated by competition" (I don't remember who said this). This definition is correct, except that in India "Competition" is not competition in the real sense. "Competition" to car manufacturers is to outwit the others (usually by hook or crook and make the most money in the easiest way -- in the shortest time) and not to build great cars to compete. This is actively encouraged by our protectionist red tape soaked culture, that makes it hard for any new players to enter the market (Add to this, corruption at every level). In many developed countries, people buy cars like Mercedes-Benz and BMW (they are very costly) not just because of status and image. It is a well known fact that the quality of these cars is exemplary. The Germans are probably the best in the tools and precision engineering department, and labour costs are higher in Germany than other developed countries (again because of the high skills and work ethics and output of workers). The only way things can improve in India is when every customer (car buyer) thinks in terms of "value for money." This again is tough (to get a person to think in terms of value for money), because a person who can invest Rs 10 lakhs on a car is probably a "successful" businessman who doesn't earn his rupees, but makes it the easy way because of a system that doesn't encourage competition and is full of red-tape and corruption. There has to be a radical change in peoples thinking. They must be more idealistic and noble in all their thoughts and actions. If this happens every walk of life will see a tremendous improvement. Krishna Neelakanta
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 18:22:59 -0700 It was a great write-up, would appreciate a more thorough column on what exactly and also in rupee terms the improvement in AP investments since Naidu's rebirth.
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 1998 18:11:41 -0400 I am writing this to congratulate Rajeev Srinivasan for an excellent article. I hope the politicians in India will take note of this thought provoking article. Till very recently the economic policy of India was largely determined by Marxist economists. Thank God, the country seems to be waking up to the reality though at a great loss to the society. Already the country has lost work ethics especially in government jobs and the public sector undertakings are a great drag on the economy. The nationalisation of banks was a another blunder done to help some of the politicians of the Congress party gather votes under the slogan of "garibi hatao." It seems the BJP government is moving in the right direction by its emphasis on Swadeshi and doing everything possible despite the limitations of a coalition government. Hope the country will wake up to the needs of masses making India self reliant, prosperous and strong. Ravinder K Gupta
Date sent: Sat, 14 Nov 1998 14:51:16 -0500 It's complete nonsense. Wonder why he's picking on Rahul Dravid and not on the selectors. Besides Rahul Dravid did prove in one of the one day matches against South Africa that he has potential to play well even in a one day. By the same token (which the author applied to Rahul Dravid), I would suggest that V Gangadhar stop writing articles (his writing is much more worse than Rahul Dravid's batting -- hope you get the point). I would also like to suggest to Rediff to disallow such articles which might be harmful to a player's morale. Besides, the article is hardly rational and seems to be written by a bigot for like-minded people (no doubt the audience will be huge).
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 09:32:06 +0800 Very good, in-depth article. Keep it up guys.
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 23:13:43 +0530 Good review indeed. Keep it up!
Date sent: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 08:56:49 +0530 A good review. Seems like I would have to drop any plans about watching this movie. As for Zinta, I feel her skills are a bit too hyped, and even in Dil Se, she comes out with pretty average a performance. It's a typical case of the PYT driving the media crazy! And, as for Annu Malik, long live thy music! Pramod
Date sent: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 07:50:36 -0800 (PST) Great interview. Keep up the good work! Love most of your interviews actually.
Harold Soans
How Readers responded to Varsha Bhosle's recent columns
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