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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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'Varsha just wants some respect for her Hindus'
Readers respond to Varsha Bhosle's last column
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 01:52:55 PST "Did you think that because some destitute and feeble-minded people convert, Hindustan will be bereft of Hindus?! Hahaha... you don't know how the System works, do you? You must be nuts to believe that missionaries can achieve what Aurangzeb couldn't." Thus spake Varsha Bhosle. Ok, I have endured a lot of twaddle from this apologist for fascism, it is time for some straight talk. Well, if this is what you believe, why raise this hue and cry about conversions ? Why does the topic of conversions induce convulsions of rage ? If even Aurangzeb with his strong-arm methods was unable to make much of a dent on the Hindu hordes, why are you running scared of Christian missionary activity ?? There is no power on earth that can ban religious activity. Ask Mao, ask Stalin, Lenin or even Aurangzeb. It just can't be done. Conversion by fraud or allurement is already banned by law. Fair enough, let the law have its say. Where is the need for this orchestrated hue and cry, this willful and reckless attempt to arouse the vilest communal passions and incite the man on the street against Christians ? What is the motive ? Well, an immediate motive is the slap in the face the voters gave the Sangh Parivar in the recent elections (Yes, madam, the Sangh loonies now associate the Shroud with their own funeral), and the other is their goal of turning India into a fascist state, a Hindu Rashtra. The plain fact is that conversions (note that I need not specify the type of conversion here; no Christian or Muslim leaves the fold to become a Hindu. They are presumably neither destitute nor feeble-minded, and there would also be some confusion about the caste of the converted person ! Personally, I am willing to become a Hindu, but I insist on the Brahminical sacred thread) occur because of the weaknesses and perversions of the Hindu religion. Hinduism originated as a free-flowing pagan religion (are there pagans in the West now ? Oh, yes, a handful of witches survive. Take your pick between the black & the white variety). It was then taken over by the Brahmins, who transformed it beyond recognition into a tool to subjugate, enslave, demean, brainwash and batter the so-called lower castes. It was very similar to what the Whites in South Africa did to the Blacks. One has to only look at the atrocities of the Ranvir Sena to see that this mindset is very much alive in India today. (It is this well-entrenched mindset that the Sangh Parivar should be attacking, if it is genuinely interested in the welfare of Hinduism). At the recent Sammelan of Hindu Sants organised by the VHP (or was it their companion in looniness, the Bajrang Dal?) the shankaracharya declared that the system of varna must be left intact. Unless this blot on the landscape (I refer to casteism, not the respected shankaracharya) is extirpated, Hindus will continue to be converted from the weaker sections of society. And look at how these "destitute and feeble-minded" people get transformed once they regain their self-respect ! I am a Syrian Christian from Kerala. My ancestors were among the earliest Christians, they became Christians before the West became Christian. I am not sure whether my ancestors were "destitute or feeble-minded", but their descendants, I can assure you, are neither destitute nor feeble-minded ! While on Kerala, it is a fact that the Church, by running numerous schools and hospitals, has undoubtedly contributed to the state's advanced infrastructure, which is on par with developed Western societies. Needless to say, those who reap the benefits are not just Christians. It is one of the tragedies of Hinduism that there is no leader who can sink caste. It is another tragedy of Hinduism that it has no counterpart to the well-organised church with a head at the top who can influence the thinking of the laity for the better. In one temple, monkeys may be worshipped, in another temple it could be the rat and in yet another it could be the snake. As Mark Twain put it, India is a country where "every form of life is sacred, except human life". It is another tragedy that the Hindu clergy, unlike the Christian clergy, is not "educated" in anyway. Compare the sort of education a shankaracharya (who is, going by his comment on varna, steeped in obscurantism) gets with the 13 years of education (not just theology, secular subjects too) the Jesuit priest undergoes. It does not come as a surprise that much of our cultural heritage was salvaged by Jesuit priests. It is clear that Hinduism has learnt much from Christianity, but equally clearly, it has not learnt enough. It has learnt enough to eschew Sati, Child marriage, the Devadasi system in temples, social ostracism of widows, human sacrifices and bizarre rituals in certain temples (these still go on in some Kerala temples). Horror of horrors, Hindus even take up missionary activities themselves ! Let Hindus not be scared of ghosts, let them put their own house in order. It is a pity that the only semblance of organisation the Hindus have known is being driven by politicians, fascists with the open goal of ushering in a Hindu Rashtra, a society where the rest of us will do "prayashchith" by feeding the Brahmins ! The methods being used in pursuit of this goal are hardly original, you need only read the history books about the chequered career of their precursor, Herr Adolf Hitler. And, I am afraid, the final result will be just as "successful" !
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 21:13:40 -0800 (PST) Well let's see how we reached part 3 of this mud slinging series between Varsha and her critics. Varsha starts off with another of her typical articles -- a diatribe against Muslims (Mosies as she calls them affectionately) using half cooked, half baked facts. Muslims being Muslims don't want to give in without a fight and return the compliment with a series of hate mails hoping to have got the last word. Now you can't really do that with Varsha, at least not on ii So Varsha goes one step better and writes the part 3 of this series. Now, what I don't understand is why Rediff is allowing this to happen ??? A probable reason is that Varsha's articles get more response than all the other columnists' articles. But the reason for that is that all the other columnists (Sai, Shenoy, Dilip, Ashok, Mani, Pritish etc) use this site to express their views constructively and hence don't rely on inflaming passions and prejudices to get their point through (And we know for sure that it isn't difficult to create prejudices and inflame passions in India). And yes, they keep a check on their language as well. I strongly suggest that Rediff stop posting Varsha's articles on this site. If not for Varsha, this is a forum where readers as well as columnists can express their opinions in an unbiased and an open minded way. Varsha's articles as well as the love and hate mails in response to them are reminiscent of the mud slinging on other religions, castes etc that local politicians do in India to get their point through (And thus win votes by degrading others). This is hardly the place for it so PLEASE PUT A STOP TO THIS. Venky
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 19:21:18 -0800 Varsha Bhosle's English might not be great. She might commit some grammatical mistakes when she writes. But she is a good writer nonetheless because: 1. She is not a hypocrite: A lot of other writers suppress 'uncomfortable' facts; those which don't fit into their 'theories'. She has never done that. If she lauds the Parivar or its affiliated organisations for something today, she doesn't hesitate to tell them tomorrow that they have goofed up too. She is unlike some 'secularists' who fawn praises on Mulayam regardless of what else he does. 2. She is spontaneous: She writes on what she feels at the moment without deviating from her basic line. This is so much unlike Dilip Dear who writes his essays in a prissy & pedantic way to help his thesis project. Yes, sometimes she calls people dweebs and other names. Sometimes she writes stuff like 'how she saw a lot of burkha clad women voting in the elections in large numbers to keep the BJP out of power and why Hindus couldn't do the same'. But when you are spontaneous you are also vulnerable. And spontaneity is a good writer's hallmark. 3. She is different: She is fun to read and brings a refreshing approach to the much maligned 'holier-than-thou' & 'I luv red even if it is dead' kind of journalism, we have suffered for so long. The situation where it was Arun Shourie vs the pinko brigade was turning out to be an unfair match. If you don't agree with what she writes, then don't read her. I stopped reading Dilip Dear's sob stories a long time back. Either go elsewhere or refute her in a logical manner apart from saying what she writes is all trash. Otherwise, your antipathy wouldn't really matter. Murali
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 20:18:21 PST Excellent Varsha! I really appreciate your courage. You have guts, which is lacking in most of the Indians. Keep it up!
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 16:29:39 -0800 I cannot believe the number of dumb readers that flock to Rediff, and more importantly, the ridiculous ideas they write about! I feel that they read half an article, and write to the editors about what they conclude from that half. You know, someone on there wrote about the kind of people they see/meet in the US. I should add that being in Silicon Valley, it's interesting to meet tons of desis with inferiority complexes, apologetic attitudes, etc. Funny thing is, it just proves that anyone and everyone can make it to this country nowadays. sb
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 19:24:48 -0500 Dear Ms Bhosle, I am a regular visitor to rediff.com and have so far had respect for the magazine and a few of your own columns. Hence I am genuinely interested in trying to make sense of your astonishing statement in your article 'Dear Readers III' "I totally believe Aldous Huxley's "Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead." Therefore, if arson and assault are called for in a given situation, I may back them, who knows? " When and if you support arson as a tool of political discourse, would you also support its use by those whom you oppose? If, for example, your home or business were destroyed and you or your relatives were intimidated or attacked, would you then consider it a legitimate way of expressing disagreement with your opinions and actions? There can be only a few explanations for an educated and enlightened person to even think of supporting arson and assault, which I enumerate below: 1. You feel that those whom you support are the only genuine patriots and so when they exercise their discretion to commit violence, even arson is legitimate and is for the good of the country. Those whom you oppose or your own opponents are un-Indian, traitors or hypocrites. Arson or even dissent by those you oppose can be only either ISI-incited, or a foreign conspiracy or due to a deplorable lack of Hindu backbone. Or 2. You can afford to hire armed guards for your home and family members. Maybe the police commissioner (or a goon squad) is only a phone call away so you can protect yourself and your livelihood from the consequences of the very acts which you may support. Everyone else must take care of themselves during these 'exchanges of opinions'. Or 3. You haven't really thought this matter through and as previously explained, are protected from suffering the consequences of both your own irresponsible views and the unlawful actions of those whom you may support. Or 4. You realise the full implications of what you profess in writing but you too have to make a living after all. Notice I don't mention any political party like Shiv Sena which supplies prime examples of these methods, because I mean to question the methods and not the ideology. Though, I suspect in Shiv Sena's case both are symbiotic. Instead of arguing political or social ideology within the framework of our Constitution and the rule of law, these days, those in government, the political pundits and ordinary citizens like us are first having to settle the question of whether destroying life and property are legitimate expressions of our views. And guess what? It looks like the ones with the most destructive goon squads get to decide. Jai Goon or Jai Sri Goon.. This implies that India's historical and civilisational wisdom is hopelessly lost, its educational standards have fallen to abysmal levels and India is no better than any African country that you could name. Is this really the bright future you envision for India? If you have a genuine clarification of your view I would be glad to hear it.
Sadhana Gupta
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 14:47:34 -0600 "It's that time of the month again -- stress, discomfort, short temper, lassitude and general ill-being. All brought about by the terrible injustice of Nature. I, of course, mean the responding to hate males." You mean hate "mails" don't you, Varsha? Coz, I have noticed that not all those who condemn your articles are males. There are quite a few females as well. Don't blame it on Nature. Is it not your decision to pursue this career? Is it not your decision to write those articles? Well, then, why are you bitching about the responses your articles receive? This is what you asked for, and this is what you will get. Take it, or leave it. But, just don't complain. Also, may I request you to kindly stop using slangish terms like Mosies, darkies etc? I am sure you wouldn't fancy it if Rediff put up an announcement saying, " Sorry folks, we won't have that broad's column this week." Think about it! Dharma
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 14:15:57 CST I hope this gets to you!! I have tried sending comments about your articles earlier also, somehow the Rediff staff does not want to include my emails in the responses. May you guys thinks there is only one RITAMBHARA (The fanatic Sanyasini). Anyway I love reading your articles. Keep it up. Ritambhara Goel
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 11:49:38 -0800 Varsha When most desi sites are deluged in the hallowed portals of our politico abyss...perhaps Rediff provides a variety fare with the likes of Varsha, Ganesh Nadar, Sai, Prem Panicker....& gang (a little ego boost here) damn the occasional mines (err...disgruntled readers)...we could do well with more of the genre... tacit & humorous By no stretch of imagination is a Mosie's criticism more valid than VB's about their iconoclastic ways!!! (in which other secular country does the Mosie get a different set of laws ? Try those megaphones during prayer in the USofA (the haven of free spirit)...you'll be tied down with enough litigation to fight till the last Mosie man (do the womenfolk count??) Rajaram Vadapandeshwara
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 13:50:36 -0500 Varsha Bhosle is a rabid Hindu fanatic, who is bent on creating more hatred in India than ever before. There is not even an ounce of journalistic quality in her articles. She would be better of shifting her words of hatred to some official mouthpieces of the VHP or some like that.
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 11:07:01 -0700 Dear Rediff You've got a winner in Varsha. I have not read her a whole lot, but she seems quite well-read and intelligent. If not for her column in Rediff, she could have easily passed as an upper middle class, Malabar hill living, Mithibai vibes giving 'mod' Mumbai or Pune ghati. But she is passionate -- unlike the pseudo-secularists she hates so much. And that, possibly is the gift of her genes. But first things first. All those readers who tend to call her a ghati or a ghatan (and there are a few of those) in a derogatory manner may be reminded that it was ghatis who got went all the way to Atak (in today's Pakistan) to extend the boundries of the only indigenous (mind you -- I didn't say Hindu) empire India has had since Ashok (namely -- Shivaji's Hindavi Swaraj). The nationalist fervour in ghatis can be rivaled only by that in Bengalis -- as a cultural group -- my humble opinion. Having said that, I hereby come to Varsha's rescue. Poor guys. All those who go after her blood so religiously and request Rediff to take her off. YOU are the reason Rediff gets so many hits. And, of course, Varsha. She has the courage to say what she feels in a society which is mortally afraid of confrontation and bad vibes among each other (namely ours). I believe in peace and love and all that -- and I am not in love with Bal Thackeray or Varsha -- but the fact remains that if we are letting Pakistanis play cricket in India -- we are re-enforcing India's image of being a country of spineless people. And maybe we are. People who have no respect for the thousands dead -- defending against Pakistan. Christians, Stains, Muslims, Babri, BJP and Shiv Sena -- are all parts of the same problem. Hindus get taken for granted. Because they are not united with a ghetto mentality. Because they don't have/never had anybody to fight with. Because they are increasingly self-critical and self-defeating. Because they are not a 'religion' that needs to be protected, but a way of life that is intangible and can be easily attacked. Because their rich cultural diversity works against them in dividing them. Because unlike any other religious/cultural/ethnic group in MAJORITY anywhere else in the world -- they don't force others to live by their code of conduct. Because they are 'nice' guys and as they say in the US (which as a much more primitive civilisation than ours) -- 'nice guys get pushed around', even if they form 82% of the population. THAT is the problem. And the Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal are just a rash on the body -- a natural defensive reaction of the body's immune system against a perceived threat. I prove my point as anybody can see that there are MORE Hindus attacking the Shiv Sena and BD than Muslims or Christians. Varsha just wants some respect for her Hindus like MOST (mind you -- I did not say all) of the Hindus show other religions. Maybe Varsha should tone down her rhetoric a bit. She will do herself more harm if she sounds increasingly like Bal Thackeray. I read her for her intelligence. She should use it to her advantage. And....can you tell me if she is married? : )
Ravi Kanaskar
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