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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 16:39:40 +0900 Brilliant. As I read through the whole of the 3-part article, the following things were very clear. 1. Jinnah -- a great and absolutely secular leader. Anyone who says he demanded a Pakistan for Muslims is wrong -- he actually asked it for Hindus to protect them. 2. Nehru -- who devised all plans to destroy Pakistan. 3. Patel -- was cruel! First of all, the very motives for asking for a separate Pakistan were totally questionable. When there was a Mahatma Gandhi in India, I wonder why anyone would have thought Muslims needed a separate state. If Jinnah's demand for Pakistan was based on factors other than Islamic domination, I would have agreed with him. The simple fact is that he wanted Pakistan maybe because he was not able to stop Nehru from snatching the PM's post from him. The whole thing talks entirely -- and obviously with biased views -- from the Pakistani viewpoint AS IT IS TODAY. The references were very clear 1. The government in India was unresponsive. 2. We did not give them anything. I do not know why anything should have been given by India. Partition was asked for by Jinnah and the British were only too happy to accommodate, that was a sweet and parting blow to people like Gandhi and Nehru. If Pakistan wanted something, they SHOULD have asked Britain, not India. 3. So many Muslims were killed in those days in India Well, how could one justify this? Muslims were slaughtered in India, then, how come their share of population is higher now than what it was then? And I am not supporting the killings -- any damn killing is unacceptable -- but, the whole thing was limited to the border areas. I am not aware of any such killings in other parts of India. 4. Jinnah had vision for South Asian nationalism Yeah, surely he did. He started in the right direction, divided what was a single state into two -- that too on the silly basis of religion -- and then wanted to work for "CORDIAL" relations between them. How noble? 5. India -- notorious as it was -- created hurdles in Muslims moving to Pakistan This is fabulous; and, if India did INDEED create such hurdles, those Muslims who were left behind must be thanking their stars today. They would have be rotting in that communal state of Pakistan under the famous brand name of "MOHAJIRS." Their women would have been discriminated, of course, no pampering which they generously have in India. Let us try to see why the Muslims wanted to go to Pakistan at the time of Partition. Simple, they were thoroughly fooled by this vision of Jinnah about a great Muslim state. I fail to understand how a person who started the whole communal problem in the subcontinent -- of which India suffers even today -- could ever be trusted. Jinnah was probably not a communalist, but, he miscalculated the (ugly) power of religion-based politics. First, Independence was delayed because of persistent demands for a separate state for which I fail to see any justification at that time. To use his own quote of the "two brothers who fought for property," he probably believed that a venomous separation was a MUST for a peaceful existence later. He forgot that this second issue concerns not merely two individuals, but, millions of people where even a couple of insanes could wreck havoc. 6. Jinnah -- a great human with tonnes of sympathy. How could Indians be so cruel? While Jinnah was sad about the killings, leaders like Nehru, Patel and other greats were devouring the blood of the dead Muslims; how inhuman of these people? 7. This is fabulous -- "The problems of Kashmir Muslims, who had been betrayed by an alien and tyrannical ruler, weighed heavily on his mind." Such a secular man he was -- I wonder why he was weighed down by the problems of MUSLIMS alone in Kashmir. By the way, I thought Kashmir was a prosperous and lovely state till Pakistan started the terrorism there. There is one possibility -- may be all Muslims left Kashmir after Independence, so, the state was prosperous. And, please correct me if I am wrong -- who are those people in the camps in Delhi and other states driven out of Kashmir by terrorists -- Muslims, I guess, right? One can find hundreds of such stupid things in this analysis of Mr Jinnah's dreams. I am not saying he was stupid -- he probably was not. But, surely, he could not see into the future. One thing that I have seen so far in the articles of so-called learned Muslims is that there is some warp in their mind. The moment you say India, all that wisdom simply evaporates. They try to somehow link every conceivable trouble in Pakistan to Indian high-handedness. Today's picture of Muslims in India clearly shows where they are better off. If there is anything which prevents Pakistan from progressing, it is their stupid notion that one day Hindus are going to eat them up. The way Muslims are conducting themselves all over the world shows that they might eventually be eaten up by American cruise missiles than Hindus. One must remember that a mistake -- whether done knowingly or unknowingly -- remains a mistake. Jinnah might have had better ideas, but, his ideas had an incorrect foundation. He wanted an Islamic state which is secular and that is stupid, an obvious contradiction. It is in a way a great comedy -- imagine some professor sitting in UK and enjoying all material benefits, uses a warped sense in projecting -- in a subtle way -- India as the killer of Jinnah. Naturally, India caused all the problems which prevented Jinnah from realising his (ill-conceived) dream of Pakistan, right down to the ambulance breaking down. Was RAW responsible for that -- check that out, it HAD to be RAW. UDAY
Date sent: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 13:25:56 -0400 The attempt to judge Jinnah by his speeches on August 11, 1947 is hypocritical and cynical. A man is to be judged by the sum total of his life and the movements he led. Jinnah headed a movement in the name of the Muslims of India in multireligous provinces. This is the underlying reality of Jinnah. Thank you Mr Ahmed and Mr Jinnah -- you have your Pakistan. India strives to achieve what Jinnah described in that one speech. India did not use one set of rhetoric to get Independence and another one to sustain it. I don't know what motivated Jinnah's daughter to live in India -- she can provide the answer herself. It could very well be that she did not approve of the ideology of her father.
Date sent: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 14:01:29 -0400 In the ultimate analysis, Jinnah lacked confidence in the concept of a secular state in which non-Muslims would be a majority. That is too big a failure for any statesman who thinks he is secular.
Date sent: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 10:28:41 +0100 Mahatma Gandhi described Mr Jinnah as "an evil genius" and I am inclined to concur with him. Mr Jinnah bears primary responsibility for widening the divisions between the Muslim and Hindu communities in India, and he used these divisions to further his egotistical desire for Pakistan. Mr Jinnah is culpable for the murder and mayhem caused by the Partition of India. Akbar Ahmed makes much of Jinnah's so-called "Gettysburg Address" where he seems to have belatedly discovered that a citizen's religious faith ought to play no part in how that citizen is treated by the state. He wanted his countrymen to be "first, second and last a citizen of this State" regardless of their "colour, caste or creed." How very disingenuous. Mr Jinnah's vivisection of India was based on his two nation theory. He was unwilling to accept that Muslims would be treated with justice in undivided free India. The vision of Pakistan propounded in his "Gettysburg address" is of a secular democratic country. Such a state is precisely what was desired and created by Gandhi, Nehru and Patel. If there was any conviction in his address, the natural course of action for Mr Jinnah would have been to work towards a free undivided India, and to reconcile the differences between Muslims and Hindus. This he did not do. His divisive actions speak louder than his dishonest final words. Mr Jinnah was a communalist, and his Pakistan was and remains a testament to this. Eklavya Sareen
Date sent: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 10:10:24 -0700 An excellent article. Though Dr Joshi was a professor of physics at Allahabad University and has more than 100 papers to his credit, yet, it is difficult to imagine that a politician can have such a deep understanding of science and technology. It is all the more difficult to talk on this subject at the IITs. It was also refreshing to see 'Shanti Mantra' in the report. In fact, this report is in total contrast of his image in the media as a bull-headed Hindu hardliner. I am hopeful that, unlike his predecessors (Arjun Singh, S R Bommai), he will leave a mark on this important ministry of HRD. If Dr Joshi continues as HRD minister for several years, many Indian researchers working in the USA will like to return and serve their motherland.
Dr Sunil Kumar
Date sent: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 17:59:12 EDT I do miss Varsha Bhosle's articles. Where is she? Varsha Bhosle is travelling abroad. She will resume her column on her return.
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 15:24:10 -0400 This column surely sounds like its come out of his heart. I do not understand taxes very much but do pay them regularly. I feel very much reassured that there is somebody who cares for me up there. A very good column indeed. Balaji
Date: Tue, 01 Sep 1998 16:59:31 PDT It is absolutely no surprise for me that TIL has decide to withdraw the proposed venture. Our successive governments have simply failed to deliver on this so-called policy of "economic liberalisation and restructuring." The problem with a country like India is that we have people like C M Ibrahim who seem to have no inkling of the economic realities of the country, and are only interested in ensuring that their positions are protected. Performance simply does not seem to be a factor for a job as a minister. Despite all the hype, the fact remains that India is trapped in miles of red tape, corruption and nothing seems to be moving. People sit behind their desks and wonder why a country like China, which is not a democracy, has no proper company laws in place is able to attract investments 15 to 20 times more than India. People who want to do business are not interested in India being the worlds largest democracy, they care about results. Sitting around and wasting their life trying to put some sense into the government or its functionaries is not a preferred option. India and Indians need to re-evaluate what they want this country to achieve, the world will simply move on and India will once again have missed its chance to take advantage of a perfect opportunity that exists.
Date sent: Tue, 21 Apr 1998 02:00:15 -0400 I would appreciate if you could give statistics comparing the top software cities in India. There has been a lot of hype about software companies shifting their bases to Hyderabad. Being a native of Madras and in the software industry, I was very happy to see the silent progress of Madras in this area. Hope to see the comparisons of all the major software cities soon.
Samuel Ranjeet Devasahayam
Date sent: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 22:15:28 -0500 A very thoughtful article by N Vittal. The AP example goes to show how the will of the person at the helm can help achieve things. If we can get this kind of commitment from the central government it is possible to build India into a huge reservoir of manpower to feed the world's IT resources. Regular universities (other than technology universities) should seriously start making computer science a main stream curriculum like science and maths instead of treating it as a vocational subject. With the availability of latest technology in computer based training, it is possible to teach computing/programming to people without the help of people. So there is no threat of non availability of teachers. Oh, there are dreams like this and many....Will they come true...? There are no short term solutions for this. We need a vision, a long term plan and strategy to make our dreams come true. Venky Swaminathan
Date sent: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 16:31:21 -0400 CD-Roms, CBTs and videos will of course somewhat offset the need of a trained instructor. I even have a better solution. Create an intranet (or even Internet) with all kinds of educational subjects on it. It does not take more then Rs 10,00000 to put 10+ web servers all over the educational units in India. If given money (including pay), I can do this job. Good article!! Keep it up! Sandeep S Bajwa
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 11:24:34 -0400 I think you guys are wrong!!! This is the best love story EVER!! Have a heart!!
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 11:49:13 +0800 Great! Keep it up. Yours is the best (and perhaps the only?) webzine on the south screen.
R Ananthanarayanan
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 11:51:43 +0100 Your site is the best I have come across! Keep it up! Naresh
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 13:22:28 +0530 This is what I sincerely feel about your piece on Cochin. I have seen hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists over the years with many a smile in Cochin. Contrary to what you pointed out much sweat is the case in Hawaii, Acapulco, Phuket or even Maldives. Mosquitos definitely come your way in any tropical region. Regional chauvinism? Well, you are the first one to say that. Let us not get into a mundane topic like God's Holiday... People with a reasonable amount of intellect would easily relate to the two names Ernakulam and Cochin. I wonder how the gender demarcation spoils your holiday. Your shortage of travelling must have prompted you to remark about people not being able to speak an alternate language. And thank you for that trifle comment on food and the photographs that you have incorporated. My note to you is not a reflection of hurt sentiments but a logical response to a tasteless article about a beautiful place in an international medium. Now the truth is that some of the best places in the world -- the ghats of the Ganges in Varanasi, the Savannah grasslands of Serengeti and Masai Mara in Africa the lovely Amazon forests, Annapurna in Nepal are all littered with the garbage you mentioned in the article. The point is that you ought to learn to look beyond the obvious, try to scrape the surface -- maybe then you may be able to see God's own country!! Incidentally, I ain't a Keralite, so no jingoism.....!!
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 21:13:02 +0400 Fantastic! It evoked a lot of nostalgia. I am an ex-student of Podar college and a South Indian. This feature was a journey back in time for me. Well written and quite exhaustive. Keep it up. Gopal Iyer
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