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December 8, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
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'The BJP must practice political sorcery the same way as the Left and Congress do it'
How Readers responded to Arvind Lavakare's recent columns
Date sent: Thu, 03 Dec 1998 09:28:45 +0530 Arvind is quite right that the BJP has shown what it is. It can trivialise major issues and make light of serious ones. They seem to be possessed with a death-wish, the moment they come to power. They encourage dour looking Congress-like Sahib Singhs and Keshubhai's and discard more media friendly people like Madanlal's. I still cannot understand why they allowed the structure at Ayodhya be demolished in December '92. If they were serious about it and were smart enough like the Congresswallahs, they should have done it just before the assembly elections in UP. That way they could have saved their governments in UP/MP/HP and Rajasthan for four years, and would have happily been the ruling party in '96 rather than that kichdi party. Even now it is not too late, they should pursue their agendas, if any, on the sly. The Congresswallahs and the Leftists attacked the BJP about a hidden agenda knowing that the BJP will do the same openly to prove its stupid bravado and thereby lose the goodwill. The BJP must practice political sorcery the same way as the Left and Congress do it. Do they have the capability? However, one question Arvind failed to address was, does it not sound familiar that the 1980 election was won by Indira on sugar prices (though it was rumoured that Congresswallahs hoarded sugar in large quantities before elections. It was a fact that the prices crashed after the election, not because of Madam Gandhi but because the hoarded loot came out). My gut feeling is that the present onion prices are a repeat of 1980, and it will be proved right when we witness the onion prices crashing. It will certainly not be due to Sheila Dikshit's policies, but strategies! Ranjit
Date sent: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 15:39:47 -0800 One of the most versatile articles I have ever read. The BJP's think-tanks should really re-consider the role of their PR managers. In the event of the last assembly poll debacle, the BJP should go for an active, intelligent and effective PR group which could help in percolating the BJP's plans, ideologies and schemes to the common public including rural masses. Lastly, we all welcome more articles from Arvind Lavakare with constructive criticism.
Satyam Valluru
Date sent: Wed, 02 Dec 1998 12:58:39 -0500 It is easy to find fault with everything after such a great defeat of the BJP. But I think, the BJP learned the lesson that it is just not enough to have high ideals and to be good and honest, to get votes in each election. Mr Lavakare says the BJP needs more propaganda and PR efforts. He is right, but going by the anti-BJP attitude of the media, very little progress should be expected from it. In fact, rather than spending too much time on the media and doing the PR through them, the BJP must learn to keep voters happy by freshly identifying the essential commodities and literally controlling the prices of those by anti-hoarding raids, giving subsidies, importing if there is a shortfall. No matter what economists and the WB/IMF says, this must continue since, most of the voters get affected by this and when the prices rise, it is very easy for the media and the Congress to play the issues and hide other significant achievements by the BJP. I bet, many in the BJP/RSS believe that good work does not need propaganda, and its cadres are enough to spread the word. But when the Congress has perfected the art of managing the media, showing even its own miserable performance in a shining light, while concealing the good work of the Opposition under the carpet and playing out loudly those issues which are temporary in nature, the BJP needs training in that art. Mukund Kute
Date sent: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 08:15:50 -0800 (PST) Good writing Arvind. I agree with your point of view that serious thought has to be given to address the important issues facing the people of India today, rather then talking about religion or promises of pleasing the minorities. We need to have a long term vision and of course implement it too. Pravin
Date sent: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 14:40:09 +0530 If the Internet can bring this international dialogue amongst the Indians all around the globe, then Rediff must be congratulated. Let more Indians abroad know what we in India think and write about our government... Kudos and criticism are sure signs of an open media. Is our English media (Hindu and all that ) so biased and critical of the BJP? I thought the BJP has brought this wrath on itself as a result of its bad PR -- a point Arvind has correctly analysed. This argument can also be extended to the publicity India gets in the American press. Rediff can do a lot to educate the Americans (and Indians in America) about the "desi" democracy that exists here. L Prabhakar
Date sent: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 10:00:42 -0600 Mr Lavakare's criticism of English newspapers is very apt -- though he should have also mentoned the exceptions, like India Today or The Week which are fairly objective and go by the issue at hand and not by the party they want to support. They sure display sympathy to some party at times (IT to BJP and TW to the Communists), but they don't cross a line. Newspapers like Deccan Chronicle or Indian Express have always been strident in their reporting. In my view, the first one is a Congress newspaper and the second one always anti-establishment. Of course, the first kind of pro or anti party propaganda like reporting is more harmful than the second even if the second can also be non-objective. In this light, it is very tragic that an erstwhile excellent newspaper like The Hindu has taken up anti-BJP propaganda as its reporting philosophy. Days were when The Hindu meant facts and nothing but facts with a very rare allowance to the luxury of opinions. But now, read The Hindu, and you just throw it away in disgust at its utter disregard to objectivity and the vitriolic anti-BJP propaganda. CSR Jawahar
Date sent: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 09:13:32 PST Fabulous again Mr Arvind Lavakare. Besides the legalities, there is a fundamental flaw in the thinking that the rights of a few Hindus can be given up for the peace of the larger majority. We recall what happened to the Jews in Europe during the Second World War and to the Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Jews in Poland and Hungary handed over a few of them to the Germans with the same logic. We know what happened to the Jews -- nearly 6 million killed. The same happened to Hindus in Pakistan and Kashmir. We need to make it clear, if there is a single Hindu left, we need to reclaim that territory as ours with no compromise. Anyone asking for less should be cannon fodder. C Chatterjee
Date sent: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 16:42:35 -0600 The Leftist-secularists have found "Salutation to Fortune," the Greek goddess, as a substitute for Saraswati Vandana. That would satisfy our appetite for westernisation as well as for secularism. Vande Mataram is idolatry and Jana Gana Mana has too many Sanskrit words to suit our secularist ideology. After all Sanskrit is Brahmanic-Hindutwa language and who needs it, except Hindu-fascists. We applaud the fatwa of our secularist brothers against Vande Mataram. We decide now to recompose Jana Gana Mana using more English, Urdu and Arabic words. That is the surest way to teach a lesson to our Hindu-fascists. One final thing: Let's ban the Hindu mythical word 'Bharat'. 'India' will do just fine. Jai India! Jai Secularism! (Never again, 'Jai Hind') |
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