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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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'Thengdi is a frog in the well'
E-mail from readers the world overDate: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 18:19:48 -0500From: Gupta <suvidya@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Recent articles on Rediff Could you please revert back to the times when there was no whining in your magazine? I mean the two sides of the current discussion 'pro-Hindu and anti-inferiority-complex' vs 'English-literate hypersensitive' (Arvind Lavakare's phrase) real or pseudo-secularists'. Some say we are too Hindu, some say we are not Hindu enough. All are negative in tone, lost in mutual or self-loathing and incrimination. As a person of Hindu faith, I refuse to apologise if I feel compassion without first checking whether those in suffering are Hindus, Muslims or Christians. Also, as a proud Indian and Hindu, I refuse to attribute my abhorrence to violent acts in the name of 'Hindutva' either to any sense of inferiority about my religion/nationality/history or to a 'modern West-oriented education.' Don't all of you get it? We want India to be greater than all nations in technology and opportunity, in freedom and human rights and in compassion and spiritual values. We should aim for nothing less!! India has it in her to become the greatest nation in the world on many such fronts, if only all of us would stop whining and get on with it, www. rediff.com and its readers included. Rediff used to carry a lot of positive articles on people and events in India. I petition for an article on young philanthropists and volunteers who spare time from their busy careers to contribute to social work. Also another about the children awarded for bravery and gallantry on Republic Day. It would also be interesting to hear of up-and-coming politicians in the local government scene and how panchayati-raj is improving or degrading living conditions in rural India? Also expert opinion on how the state of India's big cities could be improved, etc. More articles from the North-East of India, too. We must be good Indians or Hindus by our actions, one can win only limited spiritual, political or journalistic merit by discussing the subject to death. As Frost who was later quoted by Nehru wrote: "...we have miles to go before we sleep."
Sadhana Gupta
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 11:32:45 -0600 Why the RSS is so confused and bankrupt when it comes to understanding the basic definition of leadership? Why is Vajpayee not a good leader when he chooses to differ from the irresponsible "ideologues" of this organisation. India is fortunate to have a prime minister like Vajpayee who has spent 45 years in national service practicing clean politics of principles. It is too easy for these irresponsible people to criticise him or Pandit Nehru. The fact is, it was because of the leadership of Pandit Nehru that India is a thriving democracy where none is found around, that India chose to be a founder and leader of the Non-Aligned movement, and it will be because of Atal Vajpayee, if luck prevails, we will get to see much better relations between India and Pakistan.
Umesh Tiwari
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 17:21:57 -0800 Unfortunately Vajpayee is not one of my favourites in the PM chair, but I am forced to defend Vajpayee because he is least of the corrupt in the last 52 years. Thengdi is a frog in the well, wearing shoes and belts and travelling in automobiles and crying out loud Swadeshi stupidity. With Swadeshi mentality India will go further in the stone age, what are we going to do with this population boom? Give a "Charka" and ask people to stop producing kids for once? Modernisation is essential and those who have better technology and methods have to adapt into a modern India. Thengdi is only representing the Mazdoor Sangh who will nod at anything as long as they can breed, steal electricity and water and live on public cum private lands without paying for it.
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 17:03:12 +0530 I would prefer that the state be run under President's Rule since the number of politicians at present is very high for such a small state. At least if President's Rule is continued without having elections, the people of Goa will be very happy. It would be better than being ruled by power hungry politicians who change their party frequently. So it's better if Goa has an administration run by the President/governor for the next five years so that it eliminates the sorry state of affairs. John D'Sa
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 22:23:16 -0800 A very good interview. At last, people other than the pseudo-Hindu so-called historians are getting some coverage in the media. Hmmm, could it be that now that the tide is turning against the BJP, the media is rushing to make up for its error in courting the kings of a fleeting regime? I didn't notice the same zeal in covering progressive opinion a year ago.
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 18:57:36 -0500 The nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar should have been accorded the Bharat Ratna. All over the world her songs are played daily in every corner. Pandit Ravi Shankar deserved it but frankly classical music appeal has a select audience, whereas Lata's songs sell and play all over the world and have a wide appeal.
Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 10:09:35 -0600 This is totally ridiculous. Now what happens to local call charges made when dialing to an ISP (DOT/VSNL). 120 calls in two months means a maximum of six hours of free browsing time only. Has DoT done a study about how do the urban/rural calls compare and are the 250 calls/2 months in rural areas being fully utilised? Remember that one has to pay both DoT and the ISP if you are dialing. Or do they have a separate pricing structure for this? I am more critical about it because this pricing will be taken as the benchmark by other TELCOs in future. These whole steps are towards subsidising incompetency. Why do these companies in India try to increase the barrier for entry for the common man and hope that somehow more consumers will come in the marketplace and the Indian economy will increase. It is true with all the government policies/companies. These are only my observations. Swapan
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 12:45:05 -0600 That was a really hilarious article. Congrats Dilip, never saw the lighter side of you before! Great. I laughed through the entire article. Tapas
Date: Sunday, February 14, 1999 10:19 AM We lament the state of our domestic cricket. But, then it usually does not get attention. The press always neglects the domestic match. I had come to expect that from Indian newspapers. However, Rediff's neglect of the current Pakistan team versus Board President's XI match is very disappointing. Don't get me wrong! I don't need any indepth analysis (which I must add, is exemplary), but a report from you usually satiates the curiosity of us cricket fans, regarding the future prospects that are out on the field. Is Ananthapadmanabhan really good? Can J P Yadav or Shewag blast away to glory? These kind of questions are usually answered. Unless one fosters the neglected how do we expect them to shine? Mahesh Chandrasekharan
Date: Saturday, February 13, 1999 7:33 AM Let's take the current best two teams (Tests or One-Dayers) -- South Africa and Australia. (Let's face it, India is way below them). Both the countries have done an excellent job in terms of captains. Steve Waugh has been, over the years, developed into a captain of the team. And I am sure the board is going to stick with Shane Warne as vice-captain so that, when the time comes, Waugh can hand over the baton to a well trained player. Same with South Africa. We can see that Shaun Pollock is being trained to lead his national team when Cronje decides to leave the scene. I think this is very important. I don't know about teams during the olden times. But of whatever I can remember in the last 5, 6 years, no team has been successful during a period when a fairly inexperienced captain was at the helm. Pakistan under numerous captains of late, West Indies under Lara, England under Stewart, New Zealand under Germon and Fleming and of course India under Sachin (not that India under Azhar is been successful). At least this (inexperienced and/or under-respected captain) is one of the reasons for a team to be unsuccessful during a new phase. And is India learning from this? I don't think so. I think Azhar will remain the captain of the Indian side for another year or more. And hence this is a good, if not perfect, time to appoint a vice-captain who will lead India after the Y2K. Jadeja may be a good cricketing brain (though he was miserable when he led India in the Commonwealth games). But should a player, whose place in the Indian side is not always guaranteed, be appointed a vice-captain at all? And who was the vice-captain of the Indian team which played the two tests against Pakistan? I did not see any report/news item on the Internet which indicated any name (may be I missed it). It is time India appointed Sachin or Rahul as their vice-captain. I don't have any preferences. I just want a shrewd cricketer to take over that job and eventually of the post of captain in 1-1/2 to 2 years. And those are the two names which come to my mind. Kumble is a good brain, but may be a bit too soft spoken for the job. Hari
Date: Monday, February 15, 1999 1:23 AM At 78 Ashwini Kumar still hopes to serve two more years in IOC. Isn't it time some younger person is elected to represent India? By the way, what was your response to the question which was an answer to yours? "Arree Babaji, ab tau chhodo, aesi baten, yeh aap ke munh se achhi nahi lagti!" Ramesh
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