|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | COMMENTARY | INDIA CENTRAL | |||
|
April 24, 1998
SPECIALS
|
How readers reacted to Ashwin Mahesh's last column
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 14:50:21 -0600 "It is a safe bet that among Rediff readers, for example, Tamilians, Punjabis, Maharashtrians, Keralites, Delhi-ites, Gujaratis, and other relatively successful groups from India are well represented. Notably, those from UP, MP, Bihar and Rajasthan, as well as from the northeastern states, are simply absent. The disproportionately high representation of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians is also evident, a fact that has not escaped our Muslim readers." How did you arrive at the above conclusion? According to the statistics of hits on your Web site, a typical Rediff reader is an infotech professional from the USA. A majority of the Indian infotech professionals in USA are from Hyderabad (Telugus). That's the reason Microsoft is setting up a software centre in Hyderabad. Yet, you didn't mention them in your various group analysis. You obviously are not unaware of this group because you have concluded your article with Chandrababu Naidu's regional aspirations. This obvious bias could be the reason for using the word "BIMARU". For your kind information, 40% of the population of the country is in these states and you just cannot write about them as sick men in a civic forum like Rediff. I also want to mention that even though NRIs constitute a majority of Rediff's readership, the editor did not consider their sentiments when publishing your earlier crusade against NRIs. India is the only country where minorityism is perpetuated at every level. Sateesh
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 15:32:14 -0600 I mostly agree with his column -- so long as we are thinking of different regions, India cannot make progress. But I do not agree with one of his remarks. He could not differentiate between the local interest and the national interest when he wrote off what was spent on fighting terrorism in Punjab. It was not a local problem, but a national problem. So the central government must bear all expenses, be it Punjab or any other state. P S Phangureh
Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 13:53:01 -0800 My hearty congratulations to Ashwin for an excellent article. You have described very nicely our divisive regional attitude which is very much harmful to Indian society. One can talk about Tamil pride, Telugu pride when s/he is addressing the crowd of that state; but when the nation is being addressed they need talk of these individuals as Indians. Please keep up the good work, thank you very much.
Moin
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 23:39:18 -0600 What is wrong with regionalism? After all, the regional parties are demanding what is good for their states. One has to understand that India is not a nation by itself, but a union of nations. The elite states you have mentioned are contributing more to the cause of India than what they get back from it. This concept in economics/management is called Transaction Cause. Tamil Nadu and Andhra are only demanding what has been neglected by the previous governments in power. India should first strive to strengthen its states individually. That would naturally lead to a stronger India. By way of saying this, I am in no way supporting the narrow and hidden agenda of Dr Subramanian Swamy and Jayalalitha Jayaram, or that of militant forces in Punjab. Strong regional pride is what India needs. The elite states you have mentioned -- Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Maharastra, to name a few -- have a sound educational system. The people there have pride in their identity. It is sad that other states don't have such people. Take the case of Uttar Pradesh: Despite giving many prime minsters, it is arguably one of the worst developed states. People there are complacent enough to send a prime minister to New Delhi and expect New Delhi to feed them. India as an entity is only 50 years old. Our civilisation developed with regional and feudal pride. The present generation does not realise that the seeds of regionalism is as old as our civilisation. India has to be fair to its constituent states as well. How long can it feed UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan and Orissa from the coffers of other states? Has anyone given it a thought? Viewing regionalism as anti-nationalism is bound to spell disaster. Let's avoid it. Let's not become a country on the lines of USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Ramsundar Lakshminarayanan
Date sent: Thu, 2 Apr 1998 17:56:25 +0900 Dear Mr Ashwin Mahesh, It is great to read this article. It is indeed sickening to see regional parties bargaining for ministerial posts in the name of "playing a bigger role" in national politics. One must realise that this is unavoidable in this age of coalition politics. It is not possible to determine who the people voted for in a coalition. The best example is Tamil Nadu where, in the name of Vajpayee, the AIADMK reaped benefits -- only to hold the BJP to ransom later. It is not incorrect for the states to highlight their problem, but then the solutions should be acceptable to all. Like the perennial Kaveri dispute between TN and Karnataka. I have been reading about this for a decade at least. The Centre should be allowed to settle the dispute through some means acceptable to both parties. But that is too much to ask for, given the status of the country now, is it not? Uday
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 18:08:39 -0800 Simply Astounding! This was my immediate reaction to Ashwin Mahesh's column. This man is the pragmatist's answer to the ever-whining, pessimist Pritish Nandy -- hell, I'm sorry to have compared this talented writer to, er, whatever. His insight is astonishing. Very few people have this capacity to analyse things with such a high degree of balance. He gave the outsider's point of view, which I have long been waiting to see. Hats off Ashwin & Rediff! Keep up the good work!
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 15:30:38 -0500 How come, Ashwin, you forget Amma's blackmail and preach about Naidu? Please address your writings to Jaya, or preferably write in Tamil!
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 13:46:23 -0500 I like it. Aha! Aha!
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 10:37:19 -0800 Ashwin, This article is really thought-provoking. What you intend is good, but it is a very difficult task to accomplish -- to make Indians think that they are of the same type. Even here in the US, people take shelter/pride in their group/part of India that they come from. The most surprising thing is that even people who are born in the US, talk about they being from one part of India or another, and not just American-born Indians. I think that this can never be corrected.
Date sent: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 10:11:00 -0800 It didn't strike me that the third Bharat Ratna was also a "Tamilian" till Ashwin pointed that out in his article. I am happy for all the three guys as they rightly deserved it as outstanding Indians. But I don't really understand the purpose of the article. I'm sure many of the other "elite" community members on Rediff also didn't give too much thought to the birth state of those recipients. Ashwin not only points that out, he cleverly turns it around and says not to go by such attitudes! Though the article's intention is good, Ashwin is only too eager to preach. With all his elite opinions, he exposes his narrow mindedness and then asks people not to be like that! Yaji
Date sent: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 09:45:57 -0800 The regional pride that the author sees is built on the harsh economic realities of yesterday. If we look at investments in various states -- essentially the Federal govt's spending (pre-liberalisation) -- they tell a story of regional discrimination. Tamil Nadu, for instance, is a state where spending has been much lower than that in other states, consistently since 1968 (the year the Congress lost power in the state). Maharashtra has seen higher spending levels consistently. The pride the author sees today is in part a reaction to this reality of achievement despite discrimination. While special packages are not to be encouraged, states should hardly be foolish enough not to look at the bottomline before giving up on them.
Date sent: Thu, 02 Apr 1998 12:15:01 -0600 While the intention behind Mr Ashwin Mahesh's opinion-piece is admirable, its analysis is overly simplistic and relies on the same regional stereotypes he professes he is so much against. Let us take for example the issue of "Bimaru" states, in which he counts UP, MP, Bihar and Rajasthan. Given the periodic outbreaks of caste violence and the general state of lawlessness, perhaps Bihar does qualify for being a Bimaru state, although I would like to note that much of the wealth of the so-called progressive states is derived from the natural resources of Bihar. Also, the characterisation of two Indias, one progressive and the other Bimaru, is too simplistic. For example, Punjab and Delhi, the two states which the author includes in the progressive camp, also have the highest rate of dowry deaths in India. Kerala, which the author includes in the progressive camp, has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country. In fact, on a strictly per capita income basis, Rajasthan is no more a Bimaru state than Kerala, and UP and MP are also within 10% of Kerala's per capita income. And what does one make of a state like Orissa which perhaps the author excluded from the list of Bimaru states since it is not a Hindi-speaking one, and is not as easy to stereotype? Orissa has a per capita income that is approximately 35% less than that of UP. The author also betrays his lack of knowledge of the existence of a readership of Rediff On The NeT from the so-called Bimaru states. I happen to be from UP, and many of my friends from states such as Rajasthan and Bihar live and work in the US, and indeed read Rediff. It is however true that in my personal experience I have never met a person from the Northeast in the US. Mr Mahesh's conclusion and intentions are correct and praiseworthy. His inaccuracy and stereotyping of India's complexity is not. Saurabh
Date sent: Thu, 02 Apr 1998 13:00:08 -0800 Kalam, MS and CS deserved it. It is a coincidence they are all Tamils. Rama
Date sent: Fri, 03 Apr 1998 09:53:11 -0600 I don't think we should feel sheepish or ashamed of regional aspirations. Politicians need to win their spurs at the regional levels, and that, in reality, means working for the interests of those people, within the broader framework of the country's interests. 'National' leaders without any regional or local base will always depend on the largesse of Laloos and the whims of Jaya-Lolitas. Conflicts have to play themselves out, and it takes good leadership to steer things to a meaningful consensus. Now, how about making Saurav Ganguly the sports minister? Anand
Date sent: Fri, 03 Apr 1998 19:10:29 -0700 Just what is the point of this article? Seems to me, it is a rambling piece trying to make a stipulated length, using extraneous facts to build minor, self-evident arguments that seem not to build up to anything cohesive. I have no objection to someone stating his/her point of view as long as s/he, at least, state it. I felt cheated after spending time reading it. Thought I'd let someone know... Gyanendra Singh
Date sent: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 04:37:34 -0400 (EDT) I appreciate the writer's thoughts and comments. The following are my opinion on the topics he discussed: "Much as we cherish and applaud the efforts of Dr Kalam, Ms Subbulakshmi and Dr Subramanian, we cannot in good faith hold them up as shining examples of Tamil pride." They were awarded Bharat Ratnas for their outstanding services and contributions to the nation. This award is being conferred to recognise the services of individuals, irrespective of their state or religion. As many Tamils are awarded Bharat Ratna, Tamils have to be proud of it. Everybody is a member of a family, village/town/city, district, society, state and the nation. If a Tamilian achieves distinction, we don't just say s/he is a Tamilian -- we say he/she is an Indian. Finally, if one cannot love his family and society, he cannot love his nation.
Jayalalitha front:
But the issues: Reservation for the professional education should continue. It benefits a lot of bright students from villages. A lot of them perform better than city students in college or university. But if they were asked to compete with city students for entry, they will lose. But for government jobs, a time has come to rethink about reservations. The government should study the social development of the state/country for the last 50 years. The government may consider changing the policy of reservation to income-based as against caste-based. But I don't believe there is going to be any change on the reservation policy in near future as the political parties will not risk their vote calculations. Elevating the status of Tamil. I often wonder why the central governments can't clearly state their policy on regional languages. For everybody their mother tongue is important. As every citizen of India is equal, every Indian language must be equal, too. But why is equality denied for the other languages? Why should Hindi be considered first and the others second? After all, Tamil and other such languages are primarily spoken only in India. If India cannot save these languages, who else will do that? P Purushothaman
Date sent: Mon, 06 Apr 1998 10:56:32 PDT Dear Ashwin, I liked the article. But it seems you are representing Tamil or South, not India. You mentioned all South names and not any others. In fact, there are other Indians who have got Bharat Ratna. You seem to be a true Tamilian and not a true Indian. If you are a true Indian, don't make differences like UP, Bihar, Tamil, etc. The article clearly shows you think only Tamils are great and all others are foolish. Let me tell you one thing: I am also from the South, but I am not Tamil or Punjabi or... I am an Indian.
Jai Hind,
Date sent: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 23:40:37 -0500 Ashwin, this is the first time I visited your page and read your article. Wonderful. Ravi Sarma
Date sent: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 01:29:43 -0400 Dear Mr Mahesh, Vaclav Havel once spoke about the importance of common "decency". I felt very happy reading your columns. You seem to be a "decent" person. In a world where it is so easy to hate and divide people, the opinions and contributions of people like you help preserve a condition of fairness and justice in society. Keep up your wonderful columns. Best of luck. Sanjoy DasGupta |
| Tell us what you think of this column | |
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
CRICKET |
MOVIES |
CHAT
INFOTECH | TRAVEL | LIFE/STYLE | FREEDOM | FEEDBACK |
|