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COMMENTARY
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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 23:05:56 EST Dr Mitra's article is a quick review of the last many months of utter chaos that has come to be in the country. That this has an obvious pessimistic tone to it is therefore hardly surprising; it should be and has been well illustrated by the the umpteen examples related by the author in the article. Let's see now, can we say that in the last some months also, while all of what the author has related in his article has occurred in the country we have had some positive accomplishments as well? The people of India launched various satellites; the people of India produced more food than the years before; the people of India produced examples of astonishing achievements like the lady from Haryana who was performing space walks; the people of India also manufactured world quality engineering products and so on and so forth. India did go on despite the best efforts of our politicians!! The point is that while we have a lot to crib about we also have a lot to be proud of. In our frustration with the "political leaders" of the day we spend far, far too much time covering, reporting and hoping (against hope) that something will come out of the pockets of these "leaders." The question for Dr Mitra is why doesn't our media (newspapers and others) focus on achievements and prefer to report on personalities and politicians. Let achievements be the gold standards for the readers of newspapers and movie goers or radio listeners. We just do not have the luxury to look towards our leaders any more for guidance as the current crop are far too misguided and malignant. It will be interesting to see what Dr Mitra has to say to this.
Date sent: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 11:08:26 -0600 I do not agree with Ashok Mitra's assessment. The Indian polity was never perfect. The fair question is has it become better or worse? If he was intellectually honest, he would have acknowledged that things have become much much better. All the problems that he states pale into insignificance compared to say the Punjab crisis or the Naxal movement. These crisis threatened the integrity of the nation. Veerappan does not. Nor does the Kashmir problem. The Kashmir problem is bad for the Kashmiris (and luckily a lot worse for the foreign mercenaries), but the effect is fairly localised. Ditto for the Ranvir Sena and the other terrorist outfits. The only problem, that is semi-serious is the North-East. But, even there the issue is not secession. A big problem that has to be addressed is the influx of Bangladeshis. In short, the problems are a lot more manageable now than before. He has also ignored the positive news about the economy. After three years of 7% growth (unprecedented in Indian history), the economy will grow 6% this year. But, on the positive side, inflation has come down dramatically and the national savings rate is up. His concerns about the BJP are totally unfounded. It is by and large the most competent and honest party. It is not perfect, but still the best we have. More power to the BJP. Devadatta Mukutmoni
Date sent: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 09:33:09 -0800 As always your news reports are informative and revealing. I believe the gap between the rich and the poor is only widening in the Third World nations. This is particularly an acute problem in India owing to its huge population. Politicians and bureaucrats have their own agendas, or at the very least policies have so far had no significant impact on eradication of poverty and upliftment of the masses. Ignoring the situation and pretending as it does not exist may aggravate the situation leading to disenchantment among the masses. Elitist policies have to go and give way to more realistic and progress-oriented plans. Action from all concerned bodies of government, judiciary and executive branches is required urgently before the gap between the haves and have nots makes any true claims of democracy become unsustainable. Pat Oburai
Date sent: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 13:50:51 -0500 Mr Nandy, I saw your column saying that people want just fun in politics that's why the Gujral government seems to be going. After making certain cut throats MPs, what else can the people of India do? Does each and every MP go to his own people and consults about what he should do? No! So how do you think the people will have anything to do with this chaotic situation. So the people of India are not responsible for whatever is going on. We are really facing the biggest loophole in our democracy by allowing too many parties to contest the election. I don't know how this can be handled, but I am sure that people are not responsible for that.
Date sent: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 23:17:24 PST Actually you are wrong, with secularism India has not thrived. To your point that Hindu majority areas are as separatist as Muslim areas then why don't you mention the fact that we have pseudo-secularists propagating false myths like the Aryan invasion theory, which is in the process of being dismissed? Also there are Christian missionaries in the North-East and in other parts, converting people by giving them money and tricking many tribals, even making them commit acts of treason against their country Bharat. In the North-East we have illegal Muslim immigrants coming to the North-East, Bihar and West Bengal and concentrating in Muslim majority areas. I don't expect that the pseudo-secular elite will ever face reality. These people are too caught up in their own elitist lives that is very out of touch with Indian, or as I call it more importantly the Hindu masses of India. Face the facts the, Hinduism is much more than a religion, it is a duty, culture and way of life. Only a strong Hinduism and/or Hindu nationalism can keep India together. Not secularism. Bhima Patel Montreal, Canada
Date sent: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 14:48:46 PST It is really sick the Pataudis and a state minister mindlessly killed more than 100 migratory birds. I am shocked and disturbed at the behaviour of our VIPs. Unless they are criminally prosecuted, I won't have any belief in our system of justice.
Date sent: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 16:39:20 +0530 In parliamentary democracy, the elected MPs select their leader who becomes their leader and if in a majority, the PM. Why do that before the election?
Date sent: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 12:45:04 -0800 Very good observation and a great article. Prakash
Date sent: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 12:53:21 +0400 Congratulations and thanks for bring unsung heroes of India to light. Please keep coming with such positive news. We are proud of Dr Puri, Dr Abdul Kalam and a large number of known and unknown scientists. Sarfraz H Dairkee Dubai, UAE
Date sent: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 16:28:54 -0500 The report is good and to the point. But, personally I feel there is nothing much anyone can do about this fundamentalist upsurge that has been on the rise predominantly in Islamic countries, and noticeably among Hindus in India. I believe this is no cause for alarm either, because history has always shown that fundamentalism of any form will not be a strong controlling force for a long time. Just take the examples of Nazism and Communism of Russia (two of various fundamentalisms) that have threatened the world with their bloody arms but not for long. In both the cases, censorship of thoughts and expressions of individuals and curtailing of rights of individuals as per the dictates of their ideologies, were common. This is essential for the fundamentalist forces to retain their command over the mesmerised masses. The call for Jihad, hurling fatwas at the blasphemous, censorship of channels of information and entertainment, and various other acts of suppression to ensure longevity and global supremacy of Islam are sure signs of Islamic fundamentalism growing to the levels of the Nazism and Communism of Russia. This will only result in deterioration of Islam, the very thing they are trying to protect by resorting to fundamentalism. Let us sit and watch. But Islamic terrorism is a different issue as it affects subjects outside its influence (nonbelievers and adherents of other religions) and it has to be fought on the international level by all countries whose interests are affected by it. Dwarakanath Kannan Plymouth, MI
Date sent: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 14:52:04 -0600 Very good article. You are doing a good job. Please feature more articles on inter-religious and inter-caste relationships and marriages. This is the way to wipe out the discrimination and prejudice among our countrymen. My best wished to Shihan. Ravi
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 11:50:07 +0000 A marginal article by a very marginal economist who does not understand macro economics or global capital flows. This is a poor article to target NRIs with -- many of us who have chosen to leave our country of birth to pursue free enterprise. Kaushik Banerjee
Date sent: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 04:39:37 -0500 Though I live in Canada I broadcast Hindu, Muslim and Sikh religious programmes all over England on Asianet. This article gives me a feeling that the Victor Street area mentioned in this article has no white man living there for the last four to five years. As I visit most of the cities in England, the fight mentioned boggled my mind. By the way, my television programmes in England are called, Dhur Ki Bani -- a Sikh religious programme at 10:00 am on Sunday Islam in Focus -- a Muslim religious programme at 10:10 am on Sunday Ashirvad -- a Hindu religious programme at 11:00 am on Sunday For more details you can visit my site http://www.jafry.com S G P Jafry
Date sent: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 17:01:21 -0600 My hats off to a well written article. I hope there are more people like Vinod in this world that do good things like him, leave all his wealth to the world he came into. There should be more articles like this so that Indians everywhere can become more and more giving and not just be too greedy. Thanks. Narayan Hospeti
Date sent: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 11:52:57 -0500 Lord Desai is bold and forthright in expressing his convictions on India. I am in the US at present and enjoy writing and reading after having 35 years of a career in journalism, as a creative writer and have recently retired from a government job. As I have closely observed politicians in Gujarat, they are the actual suckers. Our democracy cannot survive with such a power, money, landgrabbers that the current politicians are. They rule to prosper at the expense of people's money and interests. They are illiterate too. For example, Chhabildas Mehta in Gujarat and Rabri Devi in Bihar. Avanti Dave
Date: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 22:57:33 -0500 Awesome.
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 00:07:55 -0500 Very nice article! Anything about a train journey touches a chord...
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 11:08:03 -0500 A map of the island would have been really nice. Interesting article otherwise.
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 1997 11:35 PM Nice article. I thoroughly enjoyed it because I now realise that Karisma has truly grown up. She speaks wisely. I like the way she mentions Madhuri in such a positive light. I think actresses like Madhuri are invaluable.
Date: Saturday, January 03, 1998 12:51 AM This article did justice to Mehmood. But the "best comedian India has ever produced???"...Good gosh, no! That was carrying things a bit too far. There have been great comedians in every part of the nation. I speak for the South Indian film industry and if you compare comedians like Nagesh to Mehmood then the comparison becomes pathetic. Comedians like Nagesh are a class by themselves and add to this list Thangavelu, Chandrababu and in the Malayalam film world, innocent Jagadhi etc.
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