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How Readers responded to Rajeev Srinivasan's recent columnsDate sent: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 15:28:49 +0800From: "N.Balakrishnan" <nbala@HK.Super.NET> Subject: Rajeev is a true patriot Dear Rajeev, I think you are a true sort of a patriot, someone who does not merely make up alibis for his country's shortcomings, we have plenty of those in Delhi, but someone who points out how India can be better than it is if it stops being defensive and removes its blinkers. If you ever come to Hong Kong please do give me a call. Bala Date sent: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 07:47:25 +0530
A very good article. Good to see a balanced voice amid the cacophony of extremes on either side. Please keep this up. Date sent: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 21:22:04 -0700 (PDT)
Whose enemy is America? Consider the following facts. After supporting and arming the Khmer Rouge which killed over two million people, Jimmy Carter goes on world tour on peace missions! Who is he fooling? Once he finds that he doesn't figure among the Nobel Prize nominees, his peace missions come to an end. In Afghanistan, US switched support to the faction which was in power. Mujahideen, Hekmetyar, Rabbani and now Taleban. Why? Because only the faction in power can pay for the arms US sells terrorists. More the terrorism in the world, the better it is for US. All those mines in Cambodia which kill and maim people. Who peddled them? None but that racist country. In 1994, Bill Clinton called for abolishing landmines. Coming from a racist, we should have guessed it was an empty call. In 1997, when every country agreed to it, he refused to sign it. He thought there would be opposition and he could project himself as an apostle of peace. Thanks to one Monica Lewinsky, innocent Iraqis have been saved from the bombs of sadistic racists who go about chaining blacks to their trucks and drag them for a couple of miles. You tell me, who supports terrorists world over? All to peddle their stuff in the arms bazaar. Where is the need to deny food to Iraqi children SEVEN years after the war was over. Why should India and Pakistan stop drug trafficking? We know it is not an issue in our society. Drugs are killers while landmines are not? And the racist news agencies describe Trishul as being named after the trident of Hindoo god Shiva. As if they do not know every trident is called Trishul. Well, what do you expect from racists? Arvind
Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 14:11:59
Touche! Refreshing lack of hypocrisy in identifying the true security concerns of India, nuclear China and its continued proliferation vis-a-vis Pakistan. The current US government in its infinite wisdom recently decided "not to make the determination" as to whether China is sending missiles to Pakistan, as that would lead to automatic sanctions against China for missile proliferation. Such blatant acts are not going to reduce the Clinton government's lack of credibility with India, further compounded by the intemperate language of the pathetic group of misfits he calls his state department. Where are the Kissengers and Brezinskis who understand geopolitics? The main interest groups this article is likely to offend are the ever-hypocritical Indian communists and the we-will-throw-wool-over-your-eyes gang of the current US state department. Srinivas Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 19:02:27 EDT
Rajeev, You have become my favourite columnist. Wonderful article dealing with reality. I now believe there are columnists who are practical, analytical and to the point. This article was quite informative. Keep it up! Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 12:40:02 -0700
Oh, how I wish that people like Srinivasan enter politics and give all India the benefit of their rational thinking. I hope India will be fortunate enough to have more people like him to lead it. Vajpayee would do enormous good to make someone like him the foreign minister... Now, just wait till the JNUites crawl out from under their Communist rocks and do the Chinese love dance. Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 12:41:24 -0700
This is the best analysis on China I ever saw in decades. China is not communist. It is hegemonistic and nationalist. Bharat should always guard against China. It can never be a friend in deeds. Kudos to Rajeev. Bhoomaiah Alishetti Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 16:22:03 -0400
Brilliant article! A couple of years back, an over-ambitious Russian ultra-nationalist called Vladimir Zhirinovsky put forward a theory before the entire media about the new extent of the Russian dominion which, according to him, extends to the borders of India and encompasses China! Perhaps, the western media were convinced of the reality of the age-old theory: "Barking dogs seldom bite". They hyped up the issue but all the same dismissed it as mere propaganda. Perhaps they would take seriously the intentions of the "Chihauhau" that China most certainly is. It doesn't bark but is more than ready to bite. All the greyhounds of the west would better watch out! Rajeev's geo-political analysis drives home the point: The dog needs to be vaccinated before it catches rabies, and a thermonuclear device is maybe our best vaccine yet! Sangeeth H Ram Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 16:03:18 -0400
Rajeev, This was great. Thanks Rajeev Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 17:18:55 -0400
Sometimes the unspeakable can only be expressed in humour: but these things are serious and must be expressed. I hope that you are not a true prophet, but I suspect that you might be. Nick Bagley Date sent: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 02:51:25 +0530
China was a troublemaker for centuries. It is unfortunate that many Communist governments in India project China as a model for true Communist country. The fact is that China was ruled and is still ruled by autocratic kings who exploit the idea of Communism. They do not have a free press and independent judiciary. All they want to make people work silently for the leaders of the nation. Two months back, I met two retired physicians (husband and wife) from Beijing and I was quite surprised by their life. Both of them live on a small pension, hardly meet their monthly expenses and live in a rented single room studio. Just imagine, can you see such a thing in India, Malaysia or the West. Chinese people are more disciplined , hard working and industrious than others in Asia. Years of Communist leadership have made them totally ignorant of their rights, unable to understand other cultures, and global and social changes. The only thing they learn is to work quietly for the government. This is exactly what makes the Chinese empire powerful in South Asia and as well as in the rest of the world. Nowadays there are small changes. A Chinese can work abroad, earn and buy property with certain limitations -- not enough to change the culture of their rulers. Chinese have plans to aggress all countries in the region. In the subcontinent, they claim most of the Himalayas, the Leh mountains, Arunachal, parts of Uttar Pradesh, the fertile river beds of Ganges etc. They eye ports from the west Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean. Pakistan is a tool in this direction. Fifteen years ago, the Chinese built a national highway connecting Pakistan to China. It crossed the mighty Himalayas and went through the region north of Azad Kashmir. With this, China has access to Karachi and Buluchi ports. Most countries ( including the US) know that the Pakistani tests were sponsored by China and Clinton wants China to be a mediator in Indo-Pak discussions. Unlike the Chinese, Pakistanis enjoy some freedom of opinion. But they have a powerful element of unity -- that is, religion. Most leaders in Pakistan know how to tap religious feelings and use against India and thus divert problems of people to India for political gains. Unfortunately, India has a coalition government which projects Hindutva and which fears to lose power. This government does not represent India as a whole. It helped give the false impression internationally that a Hindu government conducted nuclear tests. It was also notable that leadership didn't stop VHP laying a foundation for a temple at the test site. Further developments are the blind eye turned to the VHP actively going ahead with temple construction in Ayodhya and other places. It backs the view that the present leadership is a group of Hindu fanatics. This makes another opportunity for Pakistani leaders to encash on Hindu-Muslim sentiments for political survival. Pakistan constantly studies what India does and keeps trying to portray it as a Hindu attack on Islam. The BJP should understand that the nation is based on the principle of secularism and democracy. By favouring the VHP and the RSS, it has lost the faith of the people. It will not return to power. This time, the BJP got a majority because of the Congress lost credibility. That happened due to weak leaders, corruption and because the people were tired of Congress and Janatha Dal coalition governments. It is definitely not because India has a majority of Hindus and that they elected a pro-Hindu government. I strongly feel, Indians should form certain fora ( irrespective of help from the government) to promote awareness of India as a true democracy, to educate people about security of the region, respect others culture etc. Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 17:57:15 -0400
Excellent article. One suggestion for Rajiv -- please compile his articles in a book and simultaneously publish in the West and in India. Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 17:59:32 -0500
As an American and two-time visitor to China, I read all that I can find on the subject. I see unbelievable contrasts between a convincing display of democracy in the provinces, real vitality in the cities and great secrecy and mystery about what the huge military is up to. The column reminds us of the relevant political history of the country and includes a plausible scenario for future Chinese moves in the area. Thank you for this insightful analysis! James R. Hooley
Date sent: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 16:11:16 -0500
Am referring to "America is not India's enemy" by Rajeev Srinivasan. In my opinion, Mr Srinivasan is largely correct in saying India is responsible for the negative opinion of India in the USA. Indian foreign policy is a pathetic mixture of philosophy and moral posturing. In reality, India is a beggar country, contributing one per cent of the global economy and begging aid even from tiny countries like Holland. But it behaves like one authorised to give lectures to even the mightiest country. This makes the big powers rightly contemptuous of us. I can swallow some reason for India to conduct the nuclear tests, but the moral posturing about why it cannot sign the CTBT is simply nauseating. At the moment, after having sufficient number of tests, if we sign the CTBT (which is universally supported) we can get of the hook of sanctions and still keep our weapons and take the spotlight off Kashmir. This is diplomacy, a reasonable compromise. But don't expect our clowns in Delhi to do that, they will refuse it and talk philosophy and ultimately suffer not only the sanctions but also, in the end, agree to some sort of dismantling of missiles and be forced to sign the NPT as well. The hollowness of our politicians can be seen by the kind of "swadeshi Budget" they trotted out after the sanctions. This is guaranteed to multiply the effect of sanctions by scaring away investors. I won't for a moment believe our politicians after seeing this ghastly scam. Unless pragmatic politicians take over the reins of the country, we are headed for a great deal of suffering. Shankar Date sent: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 01:08:07, -0500
Very good. Though I think NRIs in USA are looking for some kind of lead from knowledgeable people like Srinivasan to guide them in times of crisis, like during the sanctions. Selling India is certainly needed and we need to hire more than just PRs. Hiring former officials and now consultants like Henry Kissinger would be go a long way! Look who is publicly supporting Clinton's visit to China, amidst all the opposition even from the Democrats! Keep up the good column. Tony Date sent: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 22:02:40 PDT
Hi, Kudos to the author for bringing up such a topic! I agree with the author that Indian diplomats have to maintain a clean and smart picture when they go abroad. But I disagree that they have to act like a baseball buddy and engage in the locker room kind of talk. I feel it's for them to reach our wavelength and listen to us but will they or the western world come to India and talk in Indian terms? Certainly not! For that matter they don't even know what's happening in India, whereas we Indians are curious to know what's happening in places other than India. We can talk of Chicago Bulls and Stanford etc... And yet we are not international enough? "LET'S BE CLEAN AND SMART BUT LET'S BE INDIANS! " :) Any comments? Sumathi Date sent: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 08:06:14 +1000
It's good to see that someone at Rediff has got the guts to have an opinion that does not pander to the usual stereotypes. Well done Rajiv Srinivasan, yours was an excellent article and the scenarios you paint are not at all unrealistic. It is important to understand that the Chinese only respect strength. It is also a pity that India, even after detonating the bomb, continued to concentrate it's diplomatic efforts against Pakistan, instead of drawing the world's attention to China, especially the genocide in Tibet. Cheers.
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