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ELECTIONS '98
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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 12:38:17 -0700 The report of Madhuri Krishnan on Ananth Kumar's web site, the first ever of its kind in India really makes we, Indians far away in the US, very proud. The report is very intellectually compiled and unbiased which made me feel that India still has good politicians who can advance our future towards the 21st century with technology. Seema Killedar
Date sent: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 22:38:08 -0500 It is perfectly all right that Jayalalitha has not been given permission to do her bit of electioneering. The prime minister has to be given the utmost security possible. Tamil Nadu has already been a place where Rajiv was brutally massacred and so it is very wise of the police department not to allow any law and order problem when Gujral arrives in Madras. Besides, it seems that Jaya cancelled her trip to New Delhi just to create a law and order problem or the BJP did not like her coming over. In order to cover that fact she had to recourse to an electioneering tactic in Madras on that day, as she is full of such tactics. I wonder why things like these are published only about Jayalalitha and not about others. Would you have given the same kind of attention if it were to be somebody else other than Jayalalitha? Sekar
Date sent: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 18:16:17 EST Sonia is apologising for everything, I wonder why hasn't she apologised for the plight of Kashmiri Pandits? I wonder if she even knows who the Kashmiri Pandits are? Vinod Kumar
Date sent: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 20:39:44 -0800 How dare Ramesh Manvati and other Kashmiri Pandits complain about their situation? Does he not know that in secular India 'massacre' is a word only used when non-Hindus die? He should be grateful to Islamic terrorists to have released his brethren from the painful existence they were eking out. Has not the Government of India allowed them a life great saints only dream about...sleeping under the open sky, having no material possessions. Bah...if he wants some respect he should have converted to Islam and shot a few Hindus himself. And what is this about the BJP not helping them... rest assured that when the BJP comes to power they will expand his shanty town. For every Pandit killed the BJP will provide a free jhopdi to his family, his kids will be provided free training on how to beg on the streets of Delhi. And were not the militants humanitarian enough to have killed all Pandits belonging to one family...if they had not killed everybody who would have taken care of the ones that were alive? In fact, it was very unsporting of the lone survivor to have survived. Think about how bad the militant leader who organised this must be feeling now, because of this surviving idiot his promotion in the ranks of militancy has been held back. So yeah a temple was razed too, but that was a Hindu temple. Hindus better start apologising for building temples just like they apologise for breaking them. Don't these people know that when a Hindu dies he always belongs to "one particular community" which was killed by members of the "other community," but when a Muslim dies in a road accident it is always "a secular Muslim" killed by a "murdering Hindu fanatic driver representing the communalism of his majority community." National Human Rights Commission? Excuse me all you Pandits...you read the part which says "human" in there, did you not? Who allowed you guys to consider yourself "humans," you are just animals...fodder for terrorists..so naive of you guys to hope for some help from there.
Date sent: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 17:58:45 -0800 Can the so-called great party (Congress) invite Rabri Devi to lead the nation at this present critical time? If they do so, I would definitely vote for them because Rabri Devi did not have friendship with a national villain like Quattrocchi. I can believe she would think in the interest of the nation, our nation, (not Italy) the Great India.
Date sent: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 08:59:51 PST Why should the Christians complain when a pastor is beaten up (Bible burning is a bad thing though)? Do they complain when missionaries go about with their 'milk powder' conversions? Do they complain when missionaries go about converting Hindus? Why should missionaries convert Hindus in the first place? It is well known that all that missionaries do is convert people (in India it is only Hindus they target). Why should they do it? Why should they convert people from the religion they were born in? I myself have been subject to this and I know how it feels. It all started when my brother fell very ill (cerebral palsy). We had to take him to a doctor when he started having fits and it happened that the nearest doctor was a Christian. We had to take him to hospital after that and so never went to the doctor again. As my brother's condition grew worse we were all depressed, especially my mother. Then it started... the usual "we will pray for you", "come to church, your son will get cured" stuff. We went to church once (for we never for once had doubts that Christ was God.. a very Hindu thing.. Hindus never doubt that god has many forms) and were immediately subject to conversion tactics. One lady went on "I prayed to Santoshi Ma, but she didn't save my son. So I converted". I asked her "Did your son come back to life after you converted?" and she shut up. There was no more of such stuff as these Christians stopped coming home (or so I thought). Then one day, I came back early from college to find the Christian doctor in my house playing cassettes to my mother -- cassettes that were degrading Hindu gods. If it were not for my mother, I would surely have thrashed him. It was then I found out that they were visiting my mother in our absence and were trying to convert her (She was physically and mentally weak after months at the hospital with my brother slipping away from us slowly). Why should they do things like this? Conversions are taking place all over the country with missionaries taking advantage of people when they are down mentally or monetarily. How would they feel if some Hindu mocked Christ ? Why is no one taking a stand against this? If unchecked, we Hindus will become a minority in our country. Raghu
Date sent: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 10:59:34 -0800 The unwillingness of the BJP to discipline one of its members for humiliating and insulting a Christian pastor makes me fear for the future of my fellow Christians under BJP rule. Hindutva advocates should be wary of creating a Hindu state in India. Pakistan is a very good example of the folly of creating a State based on religion. In Pakistan, the Muslims first persecuted the weakest religious minorities, the Christians and Hindus and then turned on each other -- Sunnis and Shias -- in unending strife. In India too I predict if a Hindu State is created the persecution will begin with the Christians and Muslims but will culminate with the various Hindu groups,Vaishnavite and Saivites, killing each other. Joachim Fernandes
Date sent: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 10:51:27 -0800 Mr Saisuresh Sivaswamy's column on Sonia's apology regarding the destruction of the Babri Masjid is timely and perceptive. He has listed more situations for which retroactive apologies may be appropriate. Why not go back more in time for serious and heinous crimes and human rights violations? 1. Will the Muslim leaders apologise for what Aurangzeb did -- the destruction of many temples and the forced conversions of thousands of Hindus to Islam? 2. Will the Christian leaders apologise for what the Portuguese did in Goa? Making Christianity the State religion and forcing all Hindus to convert to Christianity. Those Hindus who resisted had their property confiscated and were deported to British India. These were terrible State-supported crimes. Mr Swamy's list appears trivial besides these. Ashok Dharmendra
Date sent: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 10:21:51 -0800 The need for leadership is a myth that has been exploited all over the world for centuries. There is nothing new either in this or in the so-called free economy or the need-for-change slogans. On the other hand what is new is that : 1. For the first time in the last few centuries, people are boldly experimenting with democratic governments. This is still an experiment and needs deep thought and creativity. India has blossomed well under the democratic governments and is continuing on its path of self realisation 2. For the first time in history, women are realising their potential and this glorious phenomenon needs to be nurtured. 3. For the first time in history, trade union movements have created alternate forces to capital ownership and this great experiment has already contributed to the confidence of many people across the world. Let us realise that there is no institution, with a greater capacity to serve the common man than a duly elected democratic government. Neither large corporations nor powerful ideological governments can be expected to have sympathy for the common man who owns neither capital nor has any great talents that can be rewarded by the society. The big fallacy is to search for popular governments in a democracy. To elect popular governments one does not need democracy. Popular movements have always come about in this world on their own. Another big fallacy is to look for a strong government. A strong government by nature will weaken the subtle forces of the common man and will behave in some form or other as an ancient monarchy. There is no need to equate democracy with the wishes of the majority just as there is no need for a woman to behave like a man to derive the benefits of society. There is nothing creative in these ideas and the experiment that is democracy can gain nothing from this.
Date sent: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 20:14:58 -0600 It's not for me to say since this is a Sri Lankan 'affair' (pun intended), but if Sri Lankans have any spine and if the allegations are found true, they should deport Arthur C Clarke immediately, geo-stationary satellite or not. Also this should be considered as a shot across the bow and the authorities in India are well advised to keep a vigilant watch on the so-called 'tourists' that might show up on our shores pretending to be as such. Mohan Marette
Date sent: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 11:24:37 -0600 (CST) Regarding your report today on A C Clarke's alleged paedophilia, it is surprising, and quite improper, for you to carry it without reference to his denial. His reaction to the report has been on the wire services for over 24 hours. Your picking up the allegations over 3 days late without reference to subsequent reports from more respectable source is irresponsible. A reader
Date sent: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 19:17:31 -0500 We congratulate the US for pointing out serious human rights violations by India in J&K by "counter-militant" activity. India was doing the same kind of thing in Punjab by paying, and sponsoring goons to kill and loot innocent Sikhs who were resisting or protesting Indian governments actions against Sikhs. In Punjab the Indian government not only hired and let lose goons to kill Sikhs, they freely used police and security forces to engage in extra judicial killings through the so-called "encounter killings." Interestingly, all this was directed by the xentral government which was ruled by the Congress party headed by Sonia Gandhi's husband Rajiv Gandhi.
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