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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 23:52:54 PDT Perhaps one of the best shows in recent times is Rediff (Kanchan Gupta's) coverage from Durban on the NAM summit. I think his articles on Mandela's speech (or more appropriately Mandela's "blurting recitation") was not only emotionally charged but firm in contents and factually correct. It should go to the credit of Rediff that amongst all the newspapers, Rediff's coverage was the most appropriate from the journalistic point of view. I think every Indian who reads it would be proud that we have at Rediff what could be termed as a "journalistic patriotism" rather than merely "patriotic journalism". The highlight, of course, was the publication of the full text of PM's speech apart from the report. Gupta has also rightly brought out the issue of American pressure on Mandela, which no other newspaper dared focus on. Good. Keep it up. Shalini
Date sent: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 11:02:19 +0530 I am fully with Mr Karkera as he spent some time in captivity with the LTTE. I want to share my experience too. I was working in Bangalore for a company called Bluechip Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. As our company appointed a dealer in Colombo to market their financial accounting package I was sent to Colombo along with my colleague. As we reached Colombo we were briefed about the security situation. We had to carry our passports wherever and whenever we went out and not to speak in Tamil at any cost as we can be mistaken for the LTTE. But the place where I stayed -- Bambalapitiya and the adjoining area Wallawatta -- was full of Tamilians and they were living happily over there. My colleague returned to India within 20 days as his father passed away. I was all alone for around 6 months doing my job. Upon my request my parent company sent two more executives to help me, by then I had had enough. Living in Sri Lanka as a foreigner, as an Indian and particularly a South Indian means a lot. You can be stopped anywhere and asked to prove your identify, and that's not all, you will be questioned anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours. You can be detained by the army without quoting reasons and without trial. There would be several rings of security check before you enter an establishment. If it is not your day your vehicle can be checked 8 times. So I decided to put an end to this and asked my travel agent to book my tickets to Madras. I shelled out $ 55 for purchasing an air ticket from Madras to Bangalore as I wanted reach home as early as possible. Barely one week before my departure, on that fateful day I was taking my colleagues who had just arrived to various clients to get them accustomed. We were stooped by airforce gunmen and asked for our identity. We showed our passports, but alas, the other two did not have police reports. A police report has to be obtained from the local police where you reside as a proof that the police is aware of your residence in that area. But as my colleagues had just arrived, there was a delay in getting their police reports. The airforce people got suspicious and they started rapid file questions. As my friends were from Madras and Trichy they got even more suspicious. We were made to lean onto the wall Our bodies were checked thoroughly. I thought I was almost dead when I was trying to take out some papers from my waist pouch, they had kept their fingers ready on the triggers of their guns, thinking I might take out some weapon. Most important, I had a great difficulty explaining them as they did not know English (Yes most of the people in the Sri Lankan forces do not know English.) I left no stone unturned to convince them in the little Sinhalese I knew. I had to tell them who we were, where we were staying, what the things we were carrying were (computer floppies, they had not seen anything like that before). Finally, I was successful in convincing them and they let us go after warning us to get our police reports. You can be in great danger in Colombo if you are caught in a crossfire. Remember you can be detained without informing anybody. When Sri Lankan Opposition leader Sirisena Cooray was arrested by the army and the police was searching for him unaware of his detention HARISH V
Date sent: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 08:36:22 -0500 To be honest, I never really cared much about the Bedis. But now in the light of this interview, I guess I can look at them from a completely new perspective. It only goes to show that there is so much every human being has to offer, if only we care to listen. Such profound observations from a lady with such an "infamous" beginning is definitely enlightening. Her diatribes on human attitudes, in particular, are so true, yet so repulsive! All I can say is,
Fair is foul and foul is fair,
I'll be looking forward to the next interview. Thanks! Prasenjit
Date sent: Tue, 01 Sep 1998 19:26:16 -0400 In the article by Tara Shankar Sahay, the following was mentioned : "A former party MP, close to both Gandhi and her late husband Rajiv, who could not win the last parliamentary election, told this correspondent that the party leadership had taken cognisance of the recent criticism emanating from the likes of former party chiefs Sitaram Kesri and P V Narasimha Rao." Would it harm anyone if Mr Sahay had just said that Captain Satish Sharma, ex-MP Amethi, said ... I fail to see why he chose to make it so verbose. Unless, of course, he wanted us to know, but convey the impression that he wasn't really revealing his source. Ashish Chandra
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 21:09:06 EDT Mr Gandhi, who so passionately articulates freedom of expression going hand in hand with responsibility, did not raise his voice when M F Husain for decades abused the freedom of expression by deliberately hurting the religious feelings of another community to which he did not remotely belong. To incite, hurt, cause anguish, anger and degrade a community in the name of freedom of expression is no more different than an activity of a criminal who flays all norms and rules of civility and commits the crimes. I did not see Gandhi and his likes strongly condemning the freedom without responsibility, expression couched in veiled hate and degradation of another community. Gandhiji had a historical mission and he fulfilled it during his lifetime, but no individual can bind future generations without his relevance. Even Nehru had a relevance for a period. The country should be free to find its relevant leaders and the leaders should not be removed violently unless the leaders become an albatross round the neck of people. It should be open to debate whether Gandhiji had become an albatross around the neck of the people to have been violently removed. Rasik Sanghvi
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:17:33 +0530 A very nice interview. Hope in the future too you do these type of interviews. Call him for a live chat.
Date sent: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 14:06:51 -0700 (PDT) I vehemently protest against ANY ban in the expression of one's ideas whether it be through books or theatre or anything else. I am ashamed of the BJP government who ordered this ban and the Congress hoodlums who started the ruckus! If the play did not create "communal tension" in the 80+ stagings in Gujarat, which moron thought up this "communal tension" consequence of the play?? One of the pro-ban arguments floating around is that the "people" are illiterate and so cannot appreciate the drama or weigh its pros & cons. Well, isn't Kerala supposed to be 100% literate!!? Why are the netas working overtime to ban it there? And the book in question has been around, at least in English, for a long time! And if the "people" are literate enough to vote a neta to power, then the theatre goers are certainly more than literate to understand & appreciate a different view point. All these pro-ban arguments are just disguises for the real intent. Nobody should be allowed to tamper with the "cash cow" for the Congress. Till today, 50 years after Independence, the Congress fights elections in the name of the Mahatma, though not one of his qualities remain with any party member. They don't have ANYTHING else to showcase to the public!! Even today, the Mahatma's picture forms the backdrop of the rowdy contesting the elections. Now, THAT is sacrilege, don't you think, O pseudo-Gandhians? The press & media should definitely take this to its final conclusion through courts! This affront to free speech will affect everyone including the media. And where are the artists who protested against the M F Husain incidents? Very soon, you and I will need a rowdy's permission to even write a letter to newspapers! Das
Date sent: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 00:48:52 +0530 If all that you state in your article is accurate, why exactly has J Jayalalitha threatened the BJP government with withdrawal of support? The average Indian views the monthly threats to the BJP with great hilarity. The reason is the pathetic performance by the government during the last 4 months -- with semi-literate old men regularly showing up on television to explain the BJP point of view. Right or wrong, this lady has shown the country that the BJP is largely made up of men of straw -- and they can't really expect her to actively support the BJP with the Enforcement Directorate and Bezbaruah filing cases against her -- whether deserved or not. If the BJP does not quickly get J Jayalalitha wholeheartedly on its side of the fence soon, it may find that all the corruption cases notwithstanding, the lady from Tamil Nadu might be the main force against it in there.
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 14:47:20 -0700 (PDT) Your standing up for truth and justice is commendable. Every person in Mumbai and Maharashtra for that matter should raise their voice against this blatant ignorance on the part of the government. Why just Maharashtra, every person in India would have to be blind, deaf and dumb all together to be oblivious to the fact that the Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray were the instigators and perpetrators of communal violence in Bombay. In fact, that's the way the government is behaving right now: blind, deaf and dumb. Don't we, the people have the right to be led by a sane and conscious leadership or is that just something to be talked about and moaned by each and everyone of us? We have to stand up for our rights. Our rights that were crossed over during the riots of 1992-93 when these fanatic and malicious leaders disrupted our lives for their sorry excuse of what they call religion. Our rights which are being discounted for right now by being led by the same people who pretend nothing happened and those 1,500 lives which were compromised cannot be brought back. Our rights which will be sacrificed in future in the name of a twisted version of Hinduism that these fanatics preach. We have to wake up. What worries me is, if the people of Maharashtra are holding back their fundamental right to speech for fear of retaliation from the Shiv Sena? I would like to hear your view on this. I really appreciate your legal proceedings against this nationwide blindness. Naresh Bhagtani
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 22:36:31 PDT Well if the university officials are that concerned they should try to patent the Vechoor breed without further delay...
Date sent: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 22:32:40 -0700 Congrats to Syed Firdaus Ashraf for the wonderful interview with Nitin Mukesh. I have been a Mukesh fan and feel that he is immortal. Thanks to Rediff for publishing the interview. Vinay Deshmukh
Date sent: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 16:58:01 -0700 When I was hearing this song, I didn't understand it completely, the way you have explained the song is so wonderful and the article is so good. Kathir
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