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COMMENTARY
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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 22:40:43 +0530 While I have no respect for the right-wing forces in the country, I strongly feel that banning the play was a slur on the intelligence of the Indian citizen. In a vibrant democracy, everyone has the right to examine both sides of any issue, and make up her/his own mind about it. By banning the play, our politicians are only exposing their real interests in the name of 'public consciousness.' The core issue, which I hope is visible to all sensible Indians, is not whether Godse was evil or if Gandhi was sacred: it is the right of the freedom of opinion and expression that is being sabotaged. Politicians always stand to gain by this. By the way: 'vad' (or 'vadh') does not mean the killing of a demon. It means the killing of anyone, and is, as such, not a judgmental word. Jayant S
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 22:31:12 +0530 These are the personal views of the author. There is, however, no denying the fact that a very large number of people who have debated the happenings of that period and the assassination of the Mahatma much as they respect, do come up with some controversy in their mind. I, for one, as a senior citizen cannot and have not accepted the reality of Partition of my country. Sadly, it is a historical fact and I cannot put the blame on anyone for it. Many years ago during my travels, I happened to watch a movie. I think it was called Nine Hours to Rama. I found it hard to accept and believe what I was seeing, but nevertheless, I did see it. I was later told that it was banned in India. This banning, prohibition, reservations etc etc is altogether another issue. To my mind it is a failure on the part of our system, and rulers to provide an adequate education so that the masses are able to think for themselves and decide what is good for them. This way they will not be treated and exploited as sub-humans. Political assassinations based on some fanatical belief have been carried out in many a country. To name a few -- Abraham Lincoln, JFK, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and so on. However, to condone or justify any assassination would be highly immoral. As regards the mobs. Political parties have cultivated this lumpen element which can be activated as and when desired. Whether it is during elections or any other occasion. I don't think there is any thinking involved on the future implications of using this element by those that use it. Yes, it is high time that the youth of our country realised the future that is being created for them -- driven with caste and creed, with nothing but vote based politics. If it was not for the caste factor, possibly many of our leaders would perhaps lose their deposit. It is time the narrow walls are broken down, and India, one of the oldest civilisation takes its rightful place in the world -- not by demand but by recognition. There should be no need for the future leaders to fire guns from the shoulders of the great men of the past. No need to make statues. Let them rest in peace. It is the youth that have brought changes in the world. If the youth want a better tomorrow and with a future with accountability, they have to work with a fanatical zeal with unity and rationale. First and foremost, I would suggest that the places of learning be treated as temples of learning and teachers as priests. Finally, I would like to quote as my advice: "Let lives of great men of the past remind us to make our lives sublime So that when departing we leave footprints on the sands of time." R Badhwar
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 11:00:46 -0500 Even in a democracy, the burden of proof lies with the claimant of a statement (P Dalvi did not know what book he was stating the "facts" from. Selective amnesia??) Democracy is used nowadays for anything that does not go a person's way -- reservations, politics, etc. And let's not take lessons from other countries or compare ourselves with them. They had their own share of BIG mistakes like slavery, syphilis testing on "African Americans" (their own citizens). We are a great nation. A nation which has survived by its (people's) own wits. We need to set our own standards and better them each time.
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 10:41:44 -0500 To not allow freedom of expression is not the language of democracy, but oppression. All people in India should be appalled at censorship. Today it's this and tomorrow it's that! Let us not roll over and play dead again.
R Bhaskaran
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 15:02:52 PDT My lack of knowledge about Gandhi Hatya does not let me cast any opinion on the credibility of Mr Pradeep Dalvi's, and that is not why I am writing this mail. I write this mail to express my dissatisfaction about this entire episode. The violent demonstrations, banning of the play by the chief minister of Maharashtra (without actually seeing the play) etc has made a mockery of democracy, and brings out the hypocrisy of the politicians. We claim we are the largest democracy of the world, and that we have freedom of speech in our country! Let me quote a line from the movie -- The President starring Michael Douglas. "Freedom of speech means not just being able to say what you want, but it also means allowing the next person to scream at the top of his voice trying to drive a point which you are dead against." These may not be the exact words but that is not the point. The point is why should someone be stopped from expressing his views. After this entire episode, I have come to realise that we are a long way from becoming a true democracy. The first step into becoming a true democracy, in my opinion, is education. Nishad
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 14:38:43 PDT Take it easy! Why do we need such provocating dramas...? Everyone knows what the real story is. Already India is going through a worst financial situation. A developing country like ours has a lot of other troublesome issues which need to be resolved. As long as people in India are not well educated to understand such dramas, they should be banned. I think it was a wise decision by our state and central governments. Amar
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 13:51:51 MST Like the BJP, the Shiv Sena has exposed itself to be spineless and gutless. In fact the "Tiger of Maharashtra" has shown himself not just to be toothless, but in fact revealed that he's no tiger at all! It was but natural for the BJP to turn around -- these guys have a track record of letting go of a plate should it even feel lukewarm -- yet their greed for the yummy grub of power doesn't cease. (May I remind them of the Truman maxim? -- If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen). This holds equally true for "PM-in-Dreams" Advani. Ayodhya, Kashmir Article 360, Uniform Civil Code and now Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy. The stand adopted by the BJP-Sena has brought out a couple of things to the fore -- the kids in khaki shorts have yet to mature, and ACCEPT the challenges of MEN. And the street vada-paav vendors have yet to learn the ropes of the big business. My disenchantment with the duo keeps growing seeing that in hypocrisy they are no less than the Congress (Italian) or Janata Dal or UF (or whatever they call themselves now), and yet I thought this duo would just be acceptable as the only thing they had of any worth were some "Principles." By carrying out a public gang-rape of Madame Democracy and by banning the play, the combine has started showing that they aren't much different from the Congress Pvt. Ltd. I am truly ashamed of being their sympathiser/supporter/voter all along or being an Indian today for that matter. Amol Joshi
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 12:59:04 PDT I strongly support Dalvi as everyone has a right to say what s/he wants in a democratic country. A similar thing could happen to anyone in future while expressing views. The interview was really nice as it gave me the viewpoint of Dalvi, which you never get to hear in the print media.
Date sent: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 04:50:55 -0400 Not a judgement on your coverage...but this is a betrayal... I wish there were a lot more people with the same sense of conviction as Shri N Godse. Nations are built on reality and a real determination of realpolitik. Simply put, M K Gandhi even with the best intentions would have been horribly devastating to the Indian nation. Try telling Major S Sharma (1948, Badgam) about politics.
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 23:14:08 -0700 India might claim it is a democracy, but as long as its politicians murder the freedom of speech, that claim will remain just a partial truth. By banning a play which tells Godse's version of events, all the Indian government has achieved is making people more interested in the play. I am sure it will be available in the video circuit in the black-market.
Jay Kulkarni
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 22:57:05 -0700 India cannot be considered a democracy if an elected government is able to "ban" the free expression of ideas.
Sunil Sanghavi
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 15:32:56 -0700 Sir, I applaud your reporting on this interview. During the days when I grew up in India in the 50s and 60s, the whole subject of the Mahatma's assassination was hushed up and there were few facts to go on. It is only recently that I read Nathuram Godse's speech at his trial in a recent biography of Gandhiji. It was a moving speech. This does not mean killing a human being, especially one such as the Mahatma, for whatever reason is justifiable. However, it cannot be denied that interviews like these are good for informing everybody. I obviously do not agree with the banning of the play. If it is an offensive play, then people have the choice not to see it. I do not believe anything is gained by banning any kind of art or any kind of speech, even though it has no redeeming value. Kosla Vepa
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 18:23:57 -0300 I consider the ban is totally incorrect as far as freedom of speech is concerned in INDIA. The main theme of the drama is that the culprit of Gandhi's murder can also have his/her think machine. Mahesh
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 15:45:56 -0400 The Indian freedom struggle from 1818 to 1857 till 1947 was predominantly an armed struggle. From 1920, when Gandhi became influential, we saw shades of non violent struggle which became predominant thereafter. This was a new experiment and the nation will always remember Gandhi's contribution. Was he the father of the nation? Yes, for the new India born in 1947. The new India failed miserably to keep India united and happy. In a 5000-year-old Bharatvarsha, Ram, Krishna, Ashok, Guru Govind, Rana Pratap, Shivaji are the fathers of nation. Compared to them Gandhi is a much smaller man full of contradictions, mistakes and virtues. But since, most of us did not see these great people and Gandhi is most recent of them, we can say he is the current father of the nation. But at the same time, I feel we are orphans in today's times -- as we hardly follow any good taught by Gandhi. The Congress ruined his name and his teachings in the past 50 years and people like Godse, Ambedkar, Savarkar brought the contradictions in Gandhi's life to public glare. Freedom of expression should be extended to all sections of the society. But right from Gandhi-Nehru's time the voice of armed struggle and Hindu mind has been suppressed. Nehru, Gandhi impressed illiterate Indians not by any thought but by their charisma. They did not save anybody but put millions of Hindu-Muslims to death by accepting Partition. If he was the father of the nation, I would say he was a weak father -- where brothers and sisters kept fighting and the father never asserted himself to bring in unity. His experiment of non violence became successful with the British, but failed miserably with our people. I agree with Dalvi that Nathuram was forced to kill Gandhi because he did not follow Vanaprasthashram (leaving the mantle to the young and taking sanyas), and handed over the political house to Nehru, Patel. However, he kept interfering in the affairs. Gandhi vadh was only one way to dissociate Gandhi from the day to day affairs of new India. For me both of these men were deshbhaktas (patriots), but their views collided -- killing each other. A tragedy for a new nation!
Date sent: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 16:30:37 -0400 I too am an admirer of Godse (even though I am Gujarati). I strongly feel that the nation should know both sides. He was one of the greatest youths Hindu religion has ever produced (this is my opinion). I did read Gandhiji's biography and lots of literature on the Indian freedom struggle. I am also an admirer of Sardar Patel and against Nehru's stupid decisions because of which I cannot keep my head up when I am abroad. We should mature. We cannot demand respect, we should command respect. I strongly recommend a couple of books written by Gopal Godse. This will reveal the real other side of that great man. I guess I should stop, I am dying to see this play. Peace. Nilesh How Readers responded to Dilip D'Souza's last column
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