|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | DEAR REDIFF | |||
|
COMMENTARY
|
|
|
E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 13:49:25 -0400 Tibet must be free. We Indians must give a big arm to Tibet. We have a chance to feel proud again by making Tibet free. They are our brothers. They are cultural brothers. We can't afford China's activities next to our door. Sukhanandan Kumar
Date sent: Sun, 03 May 1998 00:05:32 -0400 Good one!
Date sent: Sat, 2 May 1998 07:37:09 -0700 The Chinese will not just walk away from Tibet. It is time now to gather Tibetans and tell them that as long as they are with a weak country like India their hopes of a free Tibet are zero. Why don't they Tibetans follow their Buddhism in India and be content? The only force that will deter China is a nuclear war, for which only the USA has the arsenal, but do not know if they have the guts to use it -- after all China is not Japan. China cannot be singlehandedly destroyed by any country in the world. It is not Iraq where the coalition army destroyed the Iraqi defence. The Tibetan who doused himself with gasoline and burned himself has not set any positive example to his bretheren. India and China have thousands dying for one or the other reason and nobody gives a damn. The other Tibetans on hunger strike should have their meals, gather strength, forget China and Tibet -- now most of you are Indians, so get an education, a job and become worthy citizens of any country that will accept you. Anything that China has gulped -- it will not vomit voluntarily. China does not care for international sanctions or human rights.
Date sent: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 13:39:31 -0400 Many many years ago, when Joseph McCarthy was railing away at many patriotic Americans (including the former secretary of state General George Marshall), President Eisenhower was asked by some people to intervene publicly against McCarthy. To which, he replied, sagely, "I will not get into a pi__ing contest with that skunk." The skunk in the Indian polity today is clearly Swamy. He failed in central politics after he could not even win an election after he left the Janata government as a Jan Sangh member, and then turned vituperatively against his former cohorts. When Jayalalitha gave him the respect he deserved (which is to say, none), he turned into a crusader against her corruption and thievery, even helping put together the DMK-TMC alliance that toppled her. When the new winners gave him scant respect, in the most craven display of a flexible spine yet seen in Indian politics, he walked right back into Jayalalitha's arms, thus winning the Madurai seat. Thinking the BJP to be like Jayalalitha, he tried sucking up to Advani and Vajpayee, hoping that they'd give him the respect he thought he deserved (obviously not what he's getting). They gave him short shrift, and no surprise, he's mad at them too. One wonders what the press is thinking when they give this man so much coverage -- he's a nobody trying to be a somebody, and always will be. To indulge him a minute is a waste of time. It appears that only the BJP's leaders have understood the lesson that Eisenhower so wisely articulated 40+ years ago. This skunk ought to be ignored; otherwise, we'll begin to stink like him. Ramdas
Date sent: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 10:52:54 -0600 The only thing Mr Swamy wants is some attention. That is the only motive behind his statements. One day he will file a case against some politician and the next day he will align with that politician to file a case against another politician. The only person who is able to use a "public interest petition" to achieve his goal is Mr Swamy. Today he wants to form his own front to topple Mr Vajpayee. Who knows what he wants to do tomorrow. Has he ever won any Lok Sabha poll on his own? Can any one think, he would have won an entry into the present Lok Sabha without the BJP's help? The BJP should have discussed about Swamy with AIADMK before the poll. This is the big mistake done by the BJP before the poll. Swamy is firing his gun at the BJP, just because Vajpayeeji didn't include him in his Cabinet. This is one of the bold steps Vajpayeeji took. Some weeks back he made a statement about missing the Nobel Prize because he left Harvard. All the posts he held there was below the rank of assistant professor. That too not more than three years. Did he think getting a Nobel Prize is as easy as changing parties or as easy as getting Bharat Ratna during the UF regime?? Talk some sense Mr Swamy. The media should start ignoring his statements. That is the only way to keep him quiet. M S Reddy
Date sent: Sat, 02 May 1998 09:50:30 -0500 This Subramanian Swamy character is one of the most arrogant, 'feller' I have ever had the misfortune of reading. Well except, perhaps that other guy called Seshan -- his achievements as the election commissioner notwithstanding. These guys seem to me are legends in their own minds. I would appreciate if you refrain from reporting on Swamy and the likes more than once, and even once is too much if you ask me. When are these people going to realise that nobody gives a hoot about them, at least not me.
Date sent: Sun, 3 May 1998 17:29:58 -0400 It is strange that Indians and the Indian governments (past and present) constantly harp on this form of intellectual piracy by the United States and other European and advanced Asian countries. The problem is not in the behaviour of these countries which has been a tradition among all of them for which there is plenty of historic evidence, but the half-assessed response India seems always eager to give. Patenting of elements of biological specimens from developing countries, specially India is a deliberate foreign policy action via the patent office. The proper way for India to respond, is to ignore the US accusations on other alleged intellectual piracy actions from India -- such as software products designed, developed and may be patented in the US, technical and scientific patents that may have been granted to parties in the US, and to boldly go ahead and ignore US demands, until such intellectual piracy stops, and to demand royalties for all products developed from natural resources peculiar to India. To be able to make such demands, the people, businesses, and the arbiters in the government have to be honest, and fiercely protective of Indian resources and know how, and not hesitate to copy what ever intellectual break through that may happen in these countries. It would also help, if the country serves notice, that it is perfectly willing to drop out of the WTO and other international organisations, unless such piracy stops and the country properly compensated. It may also be not a bad idea to pass a law, which makes such actions criminal and be subject to Indian laws, a la some of the US laws which verily impact on the sovereignty of nations. How I wish, India had honest intellectuals who are truly into protecting the interests of the country, instead of trying to project themselves as pseudo-secular spokesmen of questionable merit.
Dr Narendra Kumar
Date sent: Sun, 3 May 1998 17:06:25 +0400 Good article. Few good photographs would have made it better.
Jayesh Sanghvi
Date sent: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:46:34 -0500 I read and have been hearing quite a lot of stories about these VSNL guys making hay while they are delaying the entry of service providers. The whole idea of forcing the providers to lease lines through VSNL is crazy. If more telephone lines were made available and the private providers were given a little more freedom, the Internet could be made real fast in our country. With these people in the fray, even a turtle could deliver an e-mail faster. Hope things get better soon. Amalan
Date sent: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 11:26:46 -0800 This is regarding DoT's new ISP policy. There are many points in the new policy which are draconian and have no technical merit whatsoever. Why should an ISP be required to route all his international traffic through DoE or VSNL GIAS only? Why not allow them to obtain the best and most efficient connection from any international service? This is nothing but being high-handed in such a decision. This is but an unveiled attempt at maintaining control over these companies. By taking such shortsighted steps they are only reducing the accessibility of the Internet to the Indian masses. Given the international competitiveness and the fact that the Indian software industry is steadily moving towards a commanding position in the global marketplace, Internet services should be free for all citizens. Let the Indian develop his resources and make full use of this new medium. Let him gain an edge over his international competitors. Who but the Indian economy is to gain from this? Secondly, there are some ridiculous and unenforceable laws. Take voice communication for instance. I'd love to see them enforce that one. Maybe they can track each and every data packet leaving the DIAS gates, analyse its pattern to determine whether it is a voice file or not. See why it is ridiculous? And lastly, there are some *dangerous* aspects: What do they mean by saying "Flow obscene and objectionable material over the ISP's network is not permitted"? How can the *ISP* be responsible for what data flows though his network? Will he be charged legally if some such material were to flow though his network? This is absurd. If someone mails obscene material using the Indian Postal Service, is it the Postal service which is penalised? Obviously, the bureaucrats who are making these laws do not understand neither the internet aspect nor the constitutional aspect of their laws. Control, control... Rishabh Bakshi
Date sent: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 13:42:01 -0800 VSNL should not sign up one more customer. They cannot provide service for the customers they have. They have been sending me automated messages every time I log on asking me to change my password. I have sent them 56 messages asking how to do it. I have queried the help desks in all of the hub cities. I have also faxed the help desk since they don't answer their phones. I have received not one reply. Either they don't know how to change the password, or are too lazy to respond or are overloaded. So I don't think they should look for new business until they can handle what they have.
Barry Wiedenkeller
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 3:45 PM Thanks very much for carrying an interview with Mr Hariharan. It's been informative and enlightening. Special congratulations to Ms Shobha Warrier too who did similar stuff with other stalwarts like Mr Adoor, Mr Mohanlal, Mr Maniratnam, etc. Thanks once again for your efforts.
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 1998 7:09 AM Great to read an interview with Amrish Puri. Only thing inappropriate was that it talked too much about theatre and nothing about his personal life. We all know his movie and acting life but his personal life is still a secret (at least to us).
Date: Friday, March 13, 1998 6:28 AM What's your problem criticising Shah Rukh? He is one of the best actors in Indian cinema right now. I personally am a big fan of his. Though the movie was not up to everybody's expectations, it was still a real good one compared to the other stupid stuff that is coming out. You have no right to criticise his performance in DTPH. He gave a real good performance. You cannot expect anyone to be at their best all the time, there are times when after giving a bunch of #1's you give a performance that is not considered #1. So give him a break. He did his best. I have been his loyal fan when I was in India, and I am still his huge fan here. Yadu Singh How Readers reacted to Pritish Nandy's recent columns How Readers reacted to Saisuresh Sivaswamy's recent columns
|
||
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
CRICKET |
MOVIES |
CHAT
INFOTECH | TRAVEL | LIFE/STYLE | FREEDOM | FEEDBACK |
||