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E-mail from readers the world over

'India, for those in the north, extends only from Mumbai to Kashmir'

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 11:55EST +0100
Subject: The Clinton visit

The story on President Clinton's meeting with the Katyal family was interesting. In fact, I had followed all your reports on the recent hijack crisis (IC-814) very closely. The entire coverage was excellent. Keep up the good work.

Manali Rathi

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 14:54:32EST +0530
Subject: The Clinton visit

I fully agree with the views of Krishna Srinivasa. It is not the politicians and other vested interests who are responsible for the positive developments in this country. The reason behind these developments is that people have realised that it is they who are responsible for the country's progress ultimately. And this is exactly what the Indian Americans and so many other faceless people in this country are doing --putting in their bit so that the country prospers. President Clinton's visit is the result of all this hard work. I am happy that the American government has recognised the merit of Indians.

Prasad

Date: Thu, 20 April 2000 19:55:56EST +0530
Subject: The Clinton visit

President Bill Clinton's historic visit to India and the results of the talks between the two countries can be regarded as one of the great events of this new millennium. Clinton has appreciated our commitment to promoting international peace and fighting cross border terrorism. He has also understood Pakistan's involvement in nefarious activities and has appreciated the economic progress made by India.

One hopes that the new and improved relations between India and the United States of America continues to strengthen and set an example to other democratic countries in the world.

Ravi Prasad

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 03:58:09EST +0530
Subject: The Clinton visit

Your news reports are very lucid and extremely visual in content. One can actually picture the events merely by reading your stories.

Gaurishankar

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 06:16:06EST -0600
Subject: The Clinton visit

We will miss President Clinton in the White House when his term comes to an end. It scares me to think of our choices and with the ongoing India-Pakistan crisis, we could well do with the strong leadership that he has been providing.

Joan Sieren

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 09:26:47EST -0500
Subject: The Clinton visit

These guys need to grow up!

Shailesh Trivedi

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 21:52:53EST +0530
Subject: The Clinton visit

The above report is excellent. Indeed, President Clinton's speech was brilliant and touching. No wonder our MPs became his fans!

K Mohan

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 21:56:15EST
Subject: The Clinton visit

I wonder why Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, was not part of Clinton's itinerary. This is very much an Indian attitude -- disregard South India as if it does not exist. India, for those in the north, extends only from Mumbai to Kashmir. If this attitude continues, sooner or later, the southern states will want to be independent of the rest of India.

Dr Murthy

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 15:33:27EST -0000
Subject: The Clinton visit

As an American, I thank you for your frankness. Bill Clinton is the best thing that has happened to America in many years. He is a true American, not one of those born-rich Republicans who think that they have a "right" to be President. Bill Clinton has earned that right. True, he is a politician and must compromise on certain issues, but he is also one with the people.

Long life to him and his family!

Patricio Canahuate

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 21:29:36EST -0500
Subject: The Clinton visit

Clinton is a politician, a profession which is lower than that of a lawyer's which in turn is lower than that of a used car salesman's job.

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 09:42:21EST -0500
Subject: The Clinton visit

I am disappointed to see how little importance CNN gave to Clinton's India visit. His recent visit to China received far more attention than his visit to India.

Prasad Akavoor

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 22:07:40EST +0530
Subject: The Clinton visit

I have only one word to describe the photographs -- fantastic!

Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 21:51:26EST +1100
Subject: The Clinton visit

That was a good, concise report. Well done! We look forward to more such reports from you.

Gopal Kamat
Sydney, Australia

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 16:46:25EST -0600
Subject: The Clinton visit

I am a native of Kerala. In my younger days I was proud of being born and brought up in a state where people are civilised. educated and tolerant. But that was in the past. Now, even though it is known as God`s own country in tourism circles, it appears to be more like a devil's land where there are rapes, atrocities being committed on women by ministers and other high officials, barbaric killings of political opponents, strikes, hartals, bandhs and what have you. And when a world leader like Clinton visits India, he is made out to be an enemy.

This is shameful. The hartal that was organised to protest against his visit has certainly done him or America no harm. If anything, it is India's and more particularly, Kerala's loss.

Rajesh M Gopinathapai
Chicago

Date: Thu 23 Mar 2000 09:50:57EST +0900
Subject: The Clinton visit

A balanced article on Clinton which looks at both, his accomplishments and failures. Good work!

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 15:55:16IST
Subject: The Clinton visit

President Clinton's itinerary in India was disappointing. Like any average American tourist, he spent most of his time in the Golden triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur. He praised the women of Kerala for their achievements but spent time in Rajasthan where the rate of female literacy is lowest in India and where cases of Sati still take place. He visited one of those "show-cased" villages and came away believing that women are treated well.

Western observers will remember the Malivada village in Maharashtra in the 1970s. One wonders if he asked the women in the panchayat what their views on Sati were. He talks of democracy and yet he chooses to spend his holiday time in castles of the past.

Bill, are you committed to democracy or is it a ticket to royalty as most politicians here believe? I think Mr President, you should have visited Kerala instead and spent time in the Kovalam beach, another favourite haunt of the average American tourist.

M K Vasudevan

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 11:54:40EST -0000
Subject: The Clinton visit

Clinton set an example for our Indian politicians. It is really very sad to learn about how C M Katyal feels about our ministers and scores of other social service organisations.

Now, whether this gesture by President Clinton is purely an effort to understand the complexity of the problem or it was merely to drive home his sincerity in improving Indo-US ties will be worth studying when he returns to his homeland.

Mahesh

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 09:43:58EST -0500
Subject: The Clinton visit

President K R Narayanan is increasingly behaving like a rebel and is taking militant stands on various issues. This does not speak well for his image as a learned person. Rather than bringing maturity to his office, his utterances and actions are bringing disgrace to the office and to the nation.

In a massive welcome which Indian people offered the US President, the leftists' opposition was drowned. Probably that is why the Indian President felt like helping them a bit by publicly taking belligerent stand towards a visiting head of state. What happened to the philosophy of atithi devo bhava which was being dished out to the BJP and the RSS everyday during the Pope's visit?

I think K R Narayanan is a frustrated, grumpy, old comrade ever willing to spoil his government's initiatives in forging a good relations with USA.

Since when has the foreign policy become a job description of the President's office in India? Narayanan should ensure that he acts solely on his government's advice and as per the Constitution. He is not a directly elected official and he must keep that in mind. The mandate to govern the nation is given to the Prime Minister and not to the President.

It is unfortunate that this President is ever willing to exceed his powers and ever eager to misuse the government's courtesy of not editing his every speech. I wonder if he has misunderstood the government's courtesy as a weakness of the prime minister.

It was not that Vajpayee and Jaswant Singh were bending backwards to please the US president. At least on four occasions before and during Clinton's visit they clarified in clear but polite terms that India will not sign the CTBT in haste and will not roll back nuclear arms. The way our prime minister acted during this visit was admirable. He proved that he has a spine of steel and can at the same time be a warm and friendly person too.

K R Narayanan's angry and out of place outbursts should therefore be condemned by all. Such outbursts are certainly not in our national interests.

Mukund M Kute
Willow Grove PA 19090

Date: Wed, 01 Jan 2000 09:24:13EST -0600
Subject: The Clinton visit

Are you serious? Bill Clinton is the biggest liar the United States has ever had the horrible misfortune of having as a president.

Skip and Helen Richardson

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