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'India's tolerance is its biggest weakness'
E-mail from readers the world over
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Mon, 21 Jun 1999 15:19:07 -0500 Long live those jawans and officers who guard our country and help us live in peace. Our country will be better off if such honest and hard working persons hold political offices than those who swindle the wealth for personal benefits. My sincere prayers to God to keep all these brave men safe and wish them a happy and peaceful life. Bala
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Mon, 21 Jun 1999 20:27:59 -0700 Wonderful work. I was able to "see" the events in Kargil through your eyes. Excellent job and a brave one too. I am happy to know that Bofors is being praised by our jawans. Hopefully the government will withdraw its sanctions against Bofors and aid in making the shells and guns in India itself. Yours has been the first good article about the Kargil problem and focuses on something which others miss -- the brave jawan on the front and what he goes through on a daily basis. Thanks once again for the eye-opener Arun
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Thu, 24 Jun 1999 21:11:40 -0700 May the major and his men be rewarded with long and prosperous lives. Kris Chandrasekar
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Mon, 21 Jun 1999 12:17:24 -0700 I applaud all the Indians who so empathised with the situation in Kargil that they formed a human chain. Would have liked to be part of the chain myself but I am in Southern California. It is heartening to note that in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of a fast paced life that most of us have here, we still had the time to sit back and pontificate about our countrymen who are braving the odds and say a silent prayer for them. But then this is our destiny and somehow the destinies of the two countries are so finely interwoven that leads them to this battle. Meanwhile, life goes on and must go on. "When you go home tell them of us and say For your tomorrow we gave our today" For all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives defending the country. Urmila Sreedharan
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Wed, 23 Jun 1999 17:48:29 -0700 We, Indians at Oracle, have collected more than $20,000 and have given to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, USA towards the Army Welfare Funds. The Kargil episode has been a catalyst in uniting Indians outside and inside India. There are several technology companies, eg, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, in the US which has a strong Indian presence. I am sure if the news "Oracle contribution in excess of $20,000 towards Army Welfare Fund" appears in Rediff, there will be an encouragement to other Indians also. Anoop Singhal (ansingha@us.oracle.com) has been coordinating all of these efforts, please contact him or me, if you want more information. Hoping to hear from you soon. Thanks in anticipation! Dinesh Arora
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Mon, 21 Jun 1999 16:37:43 -0700 (PDT) You wrote: "You can't explain why a piece of frozen land is more significant than the life of an individual -- whether a soldier or a Tata/Birla." Yes you can. I thought you were smarter than the leftist journalist of Rediff to whom I had to explain why the peaks are important. Let me explain it to you. We live as a democratic, peace loving system in a society called India. There are some groups of people who fancy themselves to be the representatives of Allah and want to destroy us. We have drawn a border to demarcate our society. Never mind if it is frozen on this side of that border or it is a desert. What is important is that the terrorists crossing into this side of that border pose a threat to our system. Come on, we have to draw a border somewhere and that has already been done. By the way, you should ask your pinko friend who writes for Rediff what makes communists and preachers think alike -- while preachers say that criminals are good people, they turn towards us honest folks and say, "we are all sinners". Communists do the same thing. They absolve terrorists of all murders and blame it on the system (the more rights and freedom it gives, the more criticism it gets) and write lengthy articles how honest people are evil. Arvind
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Tue, 22 Jun 1999 10:03:44 +0300 Diagnosis of Pakistan is not far off the mark, but the picture you paint of India may be a little too rosy. The Indian army is equipped with outdated Russian equipment, its organisation is 30 years behind the times and there really is a lot of petty corruption and bureaucratic bungling added to that. With a strong government and clear plans, it took Manekshaw and his men eight months to prepare for the '71 war. Elections are due in three months, still it may be that our ISI may have needled you into shaping up and Pakistan may have to pay in a few months time. But then again, maybe we will get away with it again. Depends on what Uncle Sam's agenda is! If the Indian conspiracy theories about Uncle Sam wanting to weaken India are true, then I am afraid you are going to be weakened. You are in no shape to take on Uncle Sam. On the other hand, I think the conspiracy theory is not really true. Maybe you need to hire Carville and Co to sell your case and stop living in fantasy land?
Just some friendly advice...
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Tue, 22 Jun 1999 14:52:30 -0500 I am of the opinion that it is not up to the UK or USA to decide what we should do to deter our enemy. It is good to know that the West, especially the EU, has directly and indirectly put the blame on Pakistan for the current tensions in Kargil. However, if crossing the LoC is imperative then the Indian army should do so and not let the opinion of the West be a hindrance. After all what moral authority do they have in preaching restraint and respecting a border? Doesn't anyone ask them why the Serbs were ruthlessly bombarded. So many civilians perished under those attacks. The Serbs didn't attack their neighbours, let alone the US or the UK. Then what was their 'excuse' to attack the Serbs? The US showed their 'long reach' when they bombed Afghanistan. What stopped them from showing restraint? I don't remember the British rapping US for not showing restraint. Then why this holier-than-thou posture when it comes to India making a pre-emptive move? India is faced with massive intrusions by regular Pakistani soldiers and mercenaries, spreading mayhem in Indian territory and the West wants India to show restraint! This is ridiculous to say the least! It's high time that India stopped reacting to the Pakistanis and instead acted more proactively. There just cannot be a diplomatic solution to any dispute with Pakistan as long as the power structure in that country is the way it is today. The military has complete control over the decision making. Nawaz Sharief and his government are just a facade to cover a morbid and dysfunctional society that has failed miserably in all fronts. Their press, mere puppets in the hands of the thugs that run the country, churn out ridiculous stories on how the 'brave freedom fighters' (read terrorists) are chasing the Indian army from Kashmir. Well if these 'freedom fighters' are so resourceful then why are they crying hoarse for the immediate withdrawal of Indian forces from Kargil and put an end to the air attacks? These silly attempts to pull wool over the eyes of the Pakistanis won't cut ice with the more intelligent and civilised world outside of Pakistan. The sooner Pakistanis realise this, the better for the survival of their pathetic and brittle existence.
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Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:01:17 -0500 If Pritish Nandy indeed wants to take to task those who have put the lives of our jawans in danger, he should be talking of taking Vajpayee and his lumpen Cabinet members to task. Bofors is archival material now. Nandy is trivialising the Kargil issue by mixing it with political issues. Not long ago, Rediff itself carried a news item suggesting that the ministry of defence was considering to bring back Bofors as a supplier. But how will Nandy, the saffron lapdog that he is, understand all this. Uday Turaga University Park, PA 16802-5000, USA
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Wed, 23 Jun 1999 13:29:05 EDT It's nice to hear that so many people are ready to donate and help our country, especially to the families of the great jawans who sacrificed their life to protect our country. But I am more worried whether these donations reach them as I read in Fox News yesterday that the bodies of those brave jawans were handed over to their families without paying any respect. I sincerely pray to god at least one-tenth of the money donated reaches the needy people. Sandhya
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Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:02:07 -0700 Not just a 'rogue state', Pakistan has proved itself to be a 'terrorist state'. Much like Libya in the '80s. It is time the world realises this. As history has proven, India's tolerance is its biggest weakness. It has been 50 years since our Independence. It is time for every Indian to stand up and not turn the other cheek when slapped. Instead, a well executed punch where it really hurts should be India's next action.
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Thu, 24 Jun 1999 19:53:54 +0530 I think that the courage and enthusiasm shown by our soldiers and other officers in the frontline is worth applauding. As the proverbial saying goes "Make the hay while the sun shines", one should in fact take such steps and see to it that the part of Kashmir lost to the Pakistanis must be regained back and the map of Bharat, Hindustan be restored in its original form. The official movement in this regard may be unwanting at this stage when our leaders are dealing with the issue with such great diplomacy, but a similar support as that provided by the enemy side may be given. As indicated by the officers there should be a massive destruction campaign launched against the enemy camp and the entire operation done with such secrecy that the enemy should regard the disaster as a natural one. I think in this regard one should play the game of the jackal and inflict such devastation to the enemy camp that even to retaliate they should think twice. I am in full support of their action and so are many more millions of Hindustanis who wish to see a Azad Hind.
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Thu, 24 Jun 1999 10:58:15 -0400 If you start judging you go nowhere. When in conflict, there are just two sides. You have to choose your side. Even the so-called modern developed world doesn't analyse who is right and who is not. Even if you know you don't agree with the majority of your side, you have to remain there. That's what democracy is and that's what reality is. Comparing Pakistan's brutality with the (Indian) police brutality doesn't make anything right. As far as police brutality is concerned, the law of the land SHOULD take care of it. The state police and the legal system should ensure such a thing doesn't happen. It takes time. There is this Louima case in NY that is going on for over a year and half. I am curious as to how you would act if you were a policeman in some remote area in India. I am not learned enough to say that Islam does or does not preach violence. The holy book of Hindus is given by God to a warrior at the time of war - to go ahead and fight and not to talk of peace. Hinduism talks of pragmatism. As far as religions are concerned, Christianity and Buddhism do talk of non-violence. You know enough of medieval history, IRA and the recent Sri Lankan history to come to a conclusion that these religions do not play a role in a violent society. Don't think too much and don't be too confused. Just be practical and choose your side. So far, the Indian government has behaved sensibly on the defence issue. Decision making for a nation is far too difficult than writing a weekly column or even preaching on a Sunday morning. Remember, in a democracy the government has more responsibilities than a journo. As far as the world's largest democracy goes, problem solving is a lot more complicated with a "free press" expressing its brilliant-views. Sridhar Tiruchendurai
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Fri, 25 Jun 1999 11:55:25 +1000 I cannot believe that there are such stupid, cynic cricket fans out there who support that India should play Sahara Cup (according to your poll For: 238, Against: 204). They should wake up from there pseudo-secularist view to remember our Kargil heroes who are real the heroes unlike our cricketers. I hope at least out cricket team and cricket board will make a gutsy decision to boycott Sahara before this Kargil issue is sorted out. Shalini
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