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July 28, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
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How Readers reacted to Pritish Nandy's last column
Date sent: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 13:57:18 -0700
Mr Nandy, today you are defending Nathuram Godse's right to free expression; are you not the same person who defended the Shiv Sainiks when they disrupted Ghulam Ali's concert a few days ago. Where were your ideas on freedom then?
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 17:43:33 -0600
This ban on Mi Nathuram Boltoy is not the result of hurt feelings by a mass of society. I think this ban is a kind of reply to the various agitations, dharnas etc, organised by the Shiv Sena-Bajrang Dal-BJP combine. If all the above-mentioned parties can organise agitations, how can the Congress stay behind? It needed some matter which was secular(!!) in nature and lo -- their goons were out in the open too. But this and other such agitations make one wonder why playwrights, artists or so-called artists indulge in activities which are bound to create controversies and heartburn. How can an M F Husain paint Saraswati in the nude? How can an ad campaign in Britain advertise shoes having Krishna's and Vishnu's names on them? I strongly feel the media in India is taking undue advantage of its freedom. Democracy does not mean you can air/write whatever you feel. The repercussions and effects should also be understood. If an artist or a playwright was so impressed by Nathuram, why did he not write one more book to add to the long series of books already available on the subject? People who are genuinely interested will read those books. Why wash the dirty linen in public? If the artist does want to enjoy the intellectual stimulation of writing such plays, he should be ready to face the wrath of goons and politicians. As India is becoming an increasingly religious and politically conscious nation, the media has to understand its responsibility more seriously and evaluate the pros and cons of each of its actions. For your information, democracy in India is limited to only writing articles and responses like these. Other than that, there is no democracy in India. The only freedom people enjoy in India is to be corrupt and prop the corrupt.
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 17:43:45 -0400
Pritish Nandy's article on the banning of the play on Nathuram Godse was good. It is ludicrous of us to refer to ourselves as a democracy if our government cannot safeguard one our most important rights -- that of freedom of speech and expression.
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 11:57:40 -0600
I fully agree with his views. This kind of censorship should not exist not only for this play, but for any such "controversial" issues. People, in general, are supposed to be wise enough to make the right choices (though, by looking at our elected representatives, one would not always says so). I mean, if a person feels uncomfortable with somebody removing his/her shirt and dancing, then that person shouldn't be there. This is just an example.
Saurabh Gupta
Date sent: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 11:27:17 -0700 (PDT)
Well, well, well! I encourage Pritish Nandy and his fans to put two recent articles of his on Rediff, A Stupid, Senseless Ban and Defending Thackeray side-by-side and read it. In the first, the man is a "lover of freedom"; in particular, the freedom of a playwright to express himself without the big, bad government interfering. In the second, he is a "defender of Hindu feelings against a painter"; in particular, he argues about how the Bajrang Dal (and his mentor Thackeray; I hope Thackeray does not send his minions after me!) has the right to deprive Husain of his freedom to paint. What if I claim that any celebration of Godse hurts my feelings? It will be well worth the effort in figuring out where this great Padma Shri winning journalist/whatever-else stands today with his logic and consistency of beliefs. Oh well, I guess Gandhi once said something like, "Consistency is for fools!"
Ajay
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 20:52:03 -0700 (PDT)
Nice thoughts from Pritish. Really very interesting.
Snayak
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 17:06:00 -0400
This is regarding Pritish Nandy's article on the reservation bill. I wholeheartedly agree with its contents -- there should be no reservations. However, I also feel is that Mr Nandy (the Shiv Sena candidate) is trying to fool everyone on either side of the Parliament door. Sure, by writing against reservations and foolish politicians, he wins the hearts of common people like me. His opinions on the other side of the Parliament door is totally unknown to me!! I honestly don't think he must have told Balasaheb Thackeray that he feels all politicians are fools, especially since he was asking him for a Parliament seat! Mr Nandy is not the only smart guy around, there are several other people out here who can look through his double standards!!!
Ajay Garg
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 14:14:47 -0600
Well said, Mr Nandy!! We have become a country ruled by imbeciles. It pains me to see vested interests ruin such a great country. Every single problem our country is facing can be traced back to politicians. The conscience and virtues of these power and money-hungry fools are with the pigs... and that is demeaning the poor pig. Quote from article: Why should we give a politician or a government servant -- who are usually the most thick-headed and corrupt amongst us -- the right to decide for us what is good for us and what is not? Surely we know better than them. Are we not responsible for this? We are the people who take these morons to the pinnacles of power. Maybe we are bigger idiots. There is only one thing that can get our nation on the right rails. Education. People have to learn to differentiate between a lallu and a mahatma.
Vikram
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 15:02:39 -0400
I am a reader who tries to regularly read the more sensible articles carried by Rediff. Your column was one of them. But, by becoming a Shiv Sena MP, you have started colouring your columns and that has saddened me a lot. For a long time, I never believed in 'Everything has a price tag', not even after seeing the movie Indecent Proposal. But, after your case, I'm beginning to believe it. Anyway, everybody looks for something and you proved it! You can be a Shiv Sena MP, but please don't lose your humanitarian face and justify everything that is done by your associates.
Balan
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 11:53:51 -0400
This article about the merits and demerits of the Indian government's reservation policy is wonderfully written. Since I was born into the so-called upper class, I have been unfortunate to see what reservations can do. Even after securing a rank that is considered terrific, I did not manage to get admission into any medical school in my state. I was appalled to see some of my fellow students, who were trailing me by more than tens of thousands of ranks, get into the most sought after schools. This is just a simple example. I'm not worried about it. What worries me most is that, based on the caste you belong to, incompetence and lack of merit is given precedence over skill, competence and merit. If this is going to determine who occupies key positions in various governmental organisations, it is dreadful to see where our country is heading. People who don't get recognition for their efforts will look elsewhere. This is what is influencing the already skyrocketing brain drain. What's the use of a women's reservation bill, when you don't respect a woman or her right to equal opportunity? Give her the respect and credit she deserves, make her an equal. Don't discriminate against the girl child. That, I think, is far better than introducing a reservation bill. Politicians have been the bane of our country. They do anything to gain votes for themselves and the rotten parties they represent. The country bleeds, but they don't care as long as they make their money and win elections. Once these stupid people come to power, they make up some more horrendous laws. A vicious cycle. The way things are, there is very little hope for the future.
Srikanth
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 07:50:20 -0700
Pritish, you are right on target again. Bombay does not want a riot started by the Congress dhotiwallas; the people in India do not care for their right to speech. The poor, who elect most of the leaders, do not and are not interested in day-to-day affairs of the government. Give the poor a JHOPADI AND THE RAILWAY LINE TO SHIT ON, THEY ARE IN HEAVEN. The quota system for SC/ST gives them a free ride (intellect not required). The best can only leave India for good. First the British were robbing us and taking the money to England. Now, our beloved topiwalas are stealing our money and taking it to Switzerland. For the last 50 years, we have known that the population is going out of control; yet, we ignored it. Only Sanjay Gandhi saw the problem and did something about it. No one can claim to love Gandhi without respecting everyone's opinion -- and that includes Nathuram Godse's reasons for the murder of Gandhi. I hope the director of Mi Nathuram Boltoy will sell it in video cassettes, so that we can enjoy the play.
Date sent: 21 Jul 1998 09:33:05 -0500
I agree with Pritish Nandy. I will worship Gandhi as a super human who taught tolerance and non-violence to India and rest of the world. Yet, the Indian government has no Constitutional power to control the thoughts of people or infringe on their basic rights. It is a total surprise to me that we do not understand our democratic rights. I define it as:
1. The majority (either the Parliament or a majority religion or a majority party) cannot do anything that is against the Constitution.
The Congress is destroying our democracy; it should not have demanded a ban on the play. They have every right to protest, but not allowing any dissenting opinion is repugnant.
Prabhakar Shenoy
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 10:04:05 -0400
Freedom is NOT the right to do ANYTHING one wants to do. Especially when one is infringing on the freedom of others. Freedom comes with responsibility. Freedom is not limitless. One cannot say anything one wants to. One cannot do anything one wants to. One can only do these things if it does not bother others. We all know that persons who made untrue, defamatory statements (for whatever reason) have been made to pay for it under the IPC. Expressing one's own opinion has been considered incorrect by the highest judicial courts on at least a few occasions. So freedom of expression is limited to truth and facts, and not defamatory remarks. In your article, I wish you had made distinction between entertainment censorship and political or ideological censorship (curbing the right to express opinions). Entertainment censorship is good and necessary -- else all that media offered us in the name of entertainment would be violence and sex. We are not ready for a censor-free society. Not yet. Else we would not be having 'Big Bad Mama' on Star TV, right in our living room. Political censorship is a different matter. Do NOT judge an action based on the qualifications of a person. Judge the actions on their own merit. I was disappointed that you attacked the politicians, instead of judging the ban objectively. Our politicians may be bad and they may not be qualified enough to call for bans. But THAT does not make their actions bad, unless the actions by themselves are bad. In your future articles, concentrate only on explaining why you feel that the ban is bad, instead of penning a litany of 'crowd-appeal statements' on big, bad politicians. Also, do not take a stance that 'the ban is bad because the Congress is the only entity calling for the ban'. Your arguments falls flat even if one person who is not in the Congress calls for a ban. And that makes your article less creditworthy. I appreciate your concern for freedom and democracy and I share your views on that topic. However, I am disappointed with this article. I would like to see your future articles being more sensible, more credible, less dramatic and devoid of poor logic.
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 08:43:26 -0400
First of all, I think there was no need for you to identify Mr Nandy as a Shiv Sena member of the Rajya Sabha. This gives the impression that his views in this article are coloured by his party affiliation. I don't see you identifying the party affiliations of other columnists. I also endorse the view that the Godse play should have been allowed to be staged. All that the ban has done is to popularise the play which many would not have even heard about. For example, very few know about the Gujarati version of the play, even though it has been staged many times. I am sure that the people who wanted to ban this play are also the ones who strongly criticise the attacks on Husain's paintings of Hindu gods!
Ven Hari
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 13:43:52 +0530
I don't think Mr Nandy has seen this play before commenting on it. This is a shame for a person like him.
Date sent: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 12:05:37 +0530
Simply A+!!! In a class of its own.
Bhavin Desai
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 23:56:51 -0700
So, now, let's make a hero of this assassin. It's a real shame that one needs to mask his deeds by using democracy as a screen. Godse should be condemned for his senseless act.
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 15:32:30 -0700
If rigorous international standards of competence and efficiency were applied, how many of the upper caste people would be able to retain their jobs? Many of them are there because a secret system of reservations exists for them, and this includes jobs in the private sector.
Milind Padki
Date sent: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:01:59 -0500 (CDT)
A nice article! Thanks goodness Pritish did not servilely praise one party or leader. Instead, he went on to justify how reservation is not good for a nation, leave alone women's or OBC reservations. I still don't understand why (even after V P Singh's Mandal has shown everyone what the nation's response to reservations is) politicians do not avoid this topic which only results in chaos, criticism and confusion. If they cannot control this, why don't they keep themselves away from it and not add to the already volatile situation in this nation? They will only success in setting fire to the whole nation. Further I don't understand how such policies will help their "vote bank", when all political parties also subscribe to it. Anand's example was good, but not completely correct I guess. What if Anand had never got the opportunity to play chess? So the key issue is providing the oppressed with a better future... and NOT just reservations. |
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