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'The potential of Indians will slowly be realised when 'negative' forces go by the wayside'
E-mail from readers the world over
Date:
Sat, 01 May 1999 19:40:14 -0500 Excellent series of articles! Regardless of whether the articles picture a distorted view, one fact remains clear. Many individuals, without regard to religion, cannot live free as individuals. Indians are constantly pressured from family, friends, and community to behave in a certain way, even if it means a life of misery. As one of the articles shows, people are discouraged, even threatened, to marry someone of their choosing, no matter how compatible they are and how strong their bonds as human beings are. Instead many are married off before they even reach a mature age and live a life of misery and subservience. And for anyone to say that such a life of misery 'was God's will', that person has no idea of what religion is, much less what it is to be human. The potential of Indians will slowly be realised when these 'negative' forces either go by the waywoside or are overcome through activists such as V P Suhara. If there is an unbiased charity or community redevelopment organisation which helps people like V P Suhara, Fousiya, Tasni Banu, and Palathody Abdul Rasheed, then I am ready to make monetary contributions to help their cause, even if it is a small amount. Some comments on the articles: 1. Palathody Abdul Rasheed's desire to learn and possibly teach Kathakali should be fulfilled. And that desire should be fulfilled because it will encourage a whole new generation to also pursue their ambitions in life. People need to realise that this has nothing to do with religion. Absolutely zero! We should help Rasheed finish his studies and help their family reestablish in another location, away from the negative influences in their community. Some financial assistance should be given to the family so the parents do not have to worry about 'marrying' the daughters. 2. Tasni Banu's interest in journalism should be fulfilled so that people in her community and others in India have someone to look up to. It is vital that the 'words of freedom' get out to the masses. The masses need to hear that they do not need to accept the repressive elements of society. They need to be told that it is up to the individual to make a difference for the current and new generations by not propagating these repressive elements. For those of a rational mind, we must fulfill Tasni Banu's desire to become a journalist. She should be encouraged to attend a good school of her choosing and we should provide financial assistance if necessary. Our return on investment will be in the form of journalistic work to bring the masses out of darkness. She says, "A journalist can do a lot for society. You can influence the mentality of many people. It's one job I would love to have." How can we not support someone who wants to make a difference in India? 3. I am sure that Fousiya's plight is all too common. I am not sure what can be done to help these type of individuals. Are there any women's shelters which will help these divorced women 'get on their feet' so they can become self-sufficient? 4. V P Suhara should be given support. Maybe someone should introduce them to individuals and groups who have similar goals. More members might give her cause some strength. Maybe someone can give them a room to establish a makeshift office. Having a base from which to conduct their activities should give Suhara's group gain some strength. Of course financial aid always helps. 5. I have to say I didn't find anything disturbing in Abdul Rahman's comments. Except two. The interview seems to paint a just picture of the NDF trying to voice the concerns of those who are targeted by the likes of the RSS. However, Mr Rahman is still guilty of trying to force 'tradition' (I will not qualify this with religion) on individuals. The two comments which disturbed me were:
It has now become progressive and fashionable to go for love
marriages. Arranged marriages are
behind the times. That we don't accept. At the same time, as two
free individuals of India, Tasni and Nassar
have the right to marry whichever way they like.
Tasni Banu's parents are ordinary Muslims who wanted their
daughter to marry according to Islamic laws.
That hope was demolished. When that happened they objected to
her marriage, as would any normal,
ordinary parents. That's all.
This is one of the 'biggest' problems in India! People cannot choose to marry who they want no matter how good that person is. People are so 'caught up' in tradition and religion; what is wrong with just getting a court marriage? Did Tasni's parents and Mr Rahman even consider why Tasni and Nassar chose not to perform nikah? Mr Rahman thinks that 'love marriages' are a fashion, not a right. 'Progressive' in this case does not mean defiance of religion or tradition. It simply means that maybe the religious/traditional aspect of marriage may be unnecessary today. Although the NDF may be helping his community defend themselves against other extremist elements in society, the NDF is still doing an injustice to his community by not supporting just causes such as Tasni Banu's. To the editors of Rediff, there are those of us in the world community who would like to support the just causes of those mentioned in your 'The Jihad Within' articles. However, many times we have no way to help except for giving money. Would it be possible to give us information on reputable and respected organisations who can ease the suffering of Indians whatever religion, caste, creed? Would it be possible to contact any of these individuals, even if it is through an intermediary? I would like to suggest that Rediff do a 'follow up' on the individuals mentioned in the articles. It would give these individuals encouragement, because they know that the rest of the world is listening to their 'story,' not to mention that it might be of interest to your readers. Jay Patel
Date:
Fri, 30 Apr 1999 15:25:15 +0530 Talaq and polygamy -- practices which should be abolished through education and legislation. Let us not in name of secularism support this inhuman practice.
Date:
Mon, 3 May 1999 12:20:24 -0500 Two things become readily apparent: 1. The Chinese take the time to do their homework to couch their lies well before opening their mouths in public. 2. They have done a much better job on Tibet than India has done on Kashmir despite the clear advantage India has had on the issue. All in all, the reasons for the Chinese foreign policy success over their Indian counterparts over the years is now more clear. The BJP is our best hope to equalise the balance. It is too bad no questions surfaced regarding Chinese nuclear proliferation although their answer would have been a well rehearsed lie. Pradip Parekh
Date:
Fri, 30 Apr 1999 02:25:36 EDT In your column on 'Congressmen falling over each other to make Sonia contest from AP' you state that N C Naidu and the TDP would "make Sonia Gandhi's 'foreigner status' an issue." You also state that "Naidu also claimed that at the time of the Indo-Pak war in 1971, Sonia Gandhi went to Italy." Also after the 1977 election when Indira Gandhi was defeated "Sonia Gandhi tried to go back to Italy and even approached her country's embassy, he alleged." Ms Shireen it is apparent that you consider these claims and allegations as you call them from Naidu specious. As a reporter I would have thought that you would at the very least make some effort to investigate if these claims as you call them are true. After all, you are a member of the press and so who better than you to find out the truth about such matters. Matters if found to be true would cast aspersions indeed against the character of a woman who could lay claim to the highest office in the land.
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 13:02:15 -0800 I dream of India being a country where the remotest villages are connected by e-mail and Internet facilities. This may be one of the genuine steps taken by Uptron with Koshika. The concept is superb. Now the implementation. Hope this will also be exemplary.
Kalyan Bhattacharya
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 11:34:43 +0800 It is a regret to know how ignorant your reports are about the premier technical institutions in the country, except IITs, (may be because your reports never move out of cosy metros). The University of Roorkee is one of the oldest technical institutions in the country, and it has been a Technical University since 1949. One of the finest technical institutes in the country and may be Asia, but it has been relegated to the background by distorted priorities and visionless leadership, and ignorant mediapersons. " ..the Roorkee Engineering College among others. " Please correct it.
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 00:25:40 -0800 I am writing from British Columbia, Canada. I have been noticing all the interest in Linux. I was using OS2 Warp and liked it. I run Windows 95 and windows 98, but I spend more time fixing the computers of friends and pulling mine apart. I belong to the Port Coquitlam Computer Club which was an Amiga users group for most of its earlier life. However, I encouraged the club to have a demonstration of Linux. We have already joined the Red Hat Users Group Program (http://www.redhat.com/user_groups.phtml). We hope that they will send us some really nice samples! We now have a Linux Sig in the club. All the best, Art Rowe
Date:
Tue, 30 Mar 1999 22:57:10 -0800 (PST) I think Ricky Martin is the most gorgeous guy that I have ever laid my eyes on. I'm sure he is much cuter in person. I would love to be able to meet him some day in my life.
Date:
Wed, 24 Mar 1999 16:15:45 -0500 Certainly greats like Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi and Jasraj and several other classical masters in North and South Indian classical music and dance have contributed a lot for Indian culture. But even these masters love Lata and her songs, Bhajans. Truly, for this one reason alone, Lata Mangeshkar should have been given the Bharat Ratna. When such an award will be given to her, it will make a single event when all Indians in India and abroad will feel happiness. Lata Mangeshkar is one of the rare Ratnas, Bharat has produced in the 20th century. Mukund Kute
Date:
Thu, 25 Feb 1999 19:25:48 +0100 Why should he makes statements like "Even Adoor Gopalkrishnan makes his own kind of compromises for his own kind of market" . I do not think Adoor agree on this point, also he should have avoided such comments about Adoor.
A M Vinodkumar
Date:
Thu, 25 Feb 1999 23:00:18 -0500 I read your article and it was very impressive, but I have one question that has been bugging me since I saw the clips of this movie. I thought I might get my answer when I see the movie. Unfortunately, I didn't so I am going to ask you to enlighten me. Although I am not very fluent in Hindi I know this much that Daag does not mean fire it means spot and fire means aag -- so how in the hell is the title of the film Daag the fire, please let me know. yasmin
Date:
Tue, 23 Feb 1999 10:00:24 +0530 If the movie is half as entertaining as the review, I think it's worth watching. The description about the "pinkie" and the "finger chips" had me in splits. This is my first visit to this website and I promise to be back, if the reviews are just as funny. Ashwani Bazaz
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