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July 17, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
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How Readers reacted to Pritish Nandy's recent columns
Date sent: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 09:47:11 +0530 Is this your way of repaying the BJP for your Rajya Sabha seat?
Date sent: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 14:13:47 EDT I think Pritish Nandy should no longer pretend to be a journalist who has an independent view of Indian politics. He has mastered the art of giving us simplistic views about the history of modern Indian politics by highlighting parts of truth and conveniently disregarding other parts which do not help him forward his current opinion. He has become a mercenary for hire by any political masters who will reward him with a Rajya Sabha membership. I am sure he is equally capable of turning and praising the Congress and Nehru-Gandhi dynasty if he is offered a Rajya Sabha membership next time by Sonia Gandhi. I cannot consider any of his opinions credible. Sameer Totey
Date sent: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 15:38:36 -0700 I think it would be wise to ask Mr Nandy if he is also being controlled (remotely of course!) by his master. Did he have his master's permission to write this article? Once you associate with a Fascist like Thackeray, who has advocated goondaism in his state, your credibility goes down the drain.
Date sent: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 02:30:14 EDT Mr Nandy wasted so many words without saying anything of value. In case he missed it, our PM had offered 'no first strike' pact to Pakistan, which rejected it. Pakistan's PM said, "Unless the Kashmir problem is resolved such pacts are meaningless". How does Mr Nandy propose to solve the Kashmir problem? By giving it to the neighbour? That's what the neighbour wants. The nuclear weapons are not meant for Pakistan. They are really meant for China and the Western empire. Without nuclear weapons we would become a chattel state of the western empire and its Asian agent China. Instead of opposing the nuclear tests, the people should be talking about the need of becoming a world military super power. Let us get rid of this mentality of servitude acquired through thousand of years of slavery and build a bold new vision for the nation -- a world military super power. Nuclear weapons are imperative for realising this vision. Amulya Tyagi
Date sent: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 15:30:39 +0100 Always a pleasure to read Nandy, but surely it was Bob Dylan who talked about knocking on heaven's door, not Morrison? Just wondered.
Date sent: Tue, 9 Jun 1998 15:19:56 -0700 When one of our Congress ministers falls sick the first place he looks for treatment is in the West. Even if a desi doctor treats him in America he believes in him more than he would a desi doctor in India. Most ministers have children studying abroad or have studied abroad -- then why do these swadeshi mongers make all that noise?
Date sent: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 14:51:22 -0700 A good article, but I wonder if it goes all the way. Perhaps we will need more such articles from Mr Nandy and others, that completely spell out the advantages of globalisation, especially to the common man on the streets of India. The comparisons should not stop at Pepsi/Coke vs Thums Up and Ferraris vs the Amby's. I worry that the bulk of India -- the rural and the non-metropolitan India, that is -- will get left out of all the benefits of globalisation. So this discussion needs to go deep down into very basic issues such as: Public services So that we have friendly and efficient service from such people as postal and bank clerks, an easy time making rail reservations, renewing our driving licenses and registration etc. Infrastructure For high quality but cheap and efficient electricity, telecom (a phone being no longer treated as a luxury but as a necessity, as also television), roads and public transportation. Food Such as sugar, grains, vegetable, meats and milk. Consumer goods Radios, televisions, FM (at least) the smaller electronic goods. The discussion needs to take place not only amongst metropolitan and NR Indians -- in English and over the Internet -- but also in the rest of India -- in local languages, thru local leaders/media. The discussion needs to be done by the bureaucrats and the politicians -- and they need to show some understanding of the need for the urgency of the action in these areas. If all of this is to happen, then EACH of us who already see the need for it must talk to our fellow-constituents and our leaders/public figures and try and influence the nation to move forward. In that respect, I would urge all NRIs, who have had the opportunity of seeing different -- and mostly far superior -- public systems and processes and infrastructure to take a lead in this activity: write to your local MLAs, MPs and district magistrates, talk about lessons learnt and suggest how within the Indian context things could be changed/ improved. We should take time out, the next time we visit India, to meet these people to educate as also to learn how we may be of help. Unless that happens, all we shall have will be lone (and sounding extremely sanctimonious!) voices in the rabble. Mahesh Singh
Date sent: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 15:27:12 PDT Swadeshi is definitely about displaying your love for India. Swadeshi is illustrated when someone chooses to drink Thums Up instead of Coke or Pepsi, not because they find the beverage to be more refreshing but because of patriotic reasons. Swadeshi is illustrated when someone chooses to buy an Ambassador or a Maruti despite the fact that he can afford a foreign car. I completely agree with you that the open-market would improve product quality. In some superficial ways we have even caught up with the 20th century. After all, it is very important for every country to sell fancy cars, to have Coke and Pepsi selling at the local stores or to have access to channels like MTV. We no longer remain the "laughing stock"! At the same time, Swadeshi has got nothing to do with that. Swadeshi is a mental state which directs us to make certain choices to help support Indian products. I agree with you, most people are selfish when shelling out money. Very few people are willing to buy something just because it is "Made In India". Attraction toward foreign goods persists even today because traditionally, foreign goods offered superior quality. When an individual selflessly thinks of the nation first and spends even two rupees for a domestic item instead of giving it to some outsider, swadeshi is demonstrated. That individual is making a contribution, however small it might seem, to a much bigger cause. And that is the biggest problem I had with your article. You assume every human, especially the middle class has no sense of patriotism. Every citizen is selfish to the intolerable point. Every citizen is just caught up about getting "every rupee's" worth. Most importantly, no citizen has so much love, pride and concern for the nation that the person will do whatever it takes to show support for Indian products. I hope you don't believe that we are "inviting" foreign companies so that they wipe out our domestic ones! We have to make sure that the open market does us more good than harm. You mentioned several benefits in having an open-market, and I couldn't agree with you more, but we have to make sure that our local products and services survive. And that is why, Mr Nandy, you have to think like a swadeshi.
Date sent: Tue, 9 Jun 1998 10:39:50 -0000 One thing about Nandy being made the Sena candidate for RS: That was the shock of my life... Ancient scripts always associated Shiv with Nandy... But in the modern day Shiv-Nandy looked more like an oxymoron... Nandy never accepted to shoulder Shiv... And then then came this bombshell!!! How come there be such a sea-change in a person who showed utter incompetence in fathoming whatever the 'Hindutvawadis' said & did!!? Is it a part of a Leftist conspiracy to hijack an organisation that stood by our great religion??!!! Just can't believe it!!!!! Well let's take it! Hope he won't 'suddenly' forget his idealistic views about 'correcting' the present political situation by weeding off the saffron factor!!! And for all those readers who seem like worshipping him, better look out for other shops where they sell venom to poison the saffron brigade, this shop is closed for now. (not for good, though!!) Good luck to Nandy!! But I caution the Sena!! There is something phoney about this!! Beware!!! Raviraj Rao |
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