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August 24, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
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How Readers responded to Pritish Nandy's last column
Date sent: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 21:05:31 +0000 I see that you have left out a very important issue here. How about Mr M F Husain and his paintings? You seem to have become very emotional and agitated seeing the way the government officials acted against rock concerts and the play on Godse. I agree fully with you on these issues. As you said, the State has no rights to interfer in my artistic tastes. But, sir, it still surprises me how you could forget the violent outbursts of Shiva Sena activists (your own fellow politicians!) against the artistic freedom of expression of Mr Husain and mine (as a worshipper of artistic talents). Oh! You are getting old, aren't you? You seem to be forgetting a lot of things from current politics, Mr Nandy. Please try to remember some more contemporary issues before writing your next article. If you can't remember such important issues, please be satisfied with writing on stray dogs and stray rats. We would definitely appreciate having an entertainer in Rediff. Why don't you write about the cowardly acts of Indian housewives who mercilessly kill cockroaches in their kitchens, sir? I am sure that would be very interesting. By the way, I am very impressed by the way you dodged Mr Husain's freedom of expression. And, please be advised that we, the readers, are not as naive as you think. Stan
Date sent: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 17:00:05 -0400 (EDT) I have been a Nandy basher in some of my responses to his columns. While maintaining that my view on those remain, I shall not refrain from giving my applause to his latest column. It is a subject really close to my heart and Mr Nandy has perfectly picturised the state of affairs involving uniformed law enforcers in India. Though to every Indian's disgust the Western media has succeeded in portraying India as a dirt pot, it has also admitted the success of democracy in India, going to an extent of even comparing the US & India in this aspect. If we have anything to boast about, it is the strength of our democratic fabric alone. If we do not want to destroy this, the most important step that needs to be taken is to strip off the unquestioned powers of our uniformed law enforcement agencies. The NHRC must play an active role in doing this. These law enforcers must strongly be shown their place as salaried govt servants & and not demi-gods. Sathish Gururajan
Date sent: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 12:09:15 -0400 (EDT) This was an excellent article. Neta jab tak salaamat hain, we are bound to face these arrogant COPs. I bet everyone in this great country has this in mind, except the sadasya of aaj ka goonda leaders. One thing I do not understand is "what does it take for all of them to raise the voice in a united way?" The answer is not elections in the current form (the sadasya have the expertise of getting the votes from the people -- of course, with the help of the omnipresent COPs). I totally endorse Nandy's point here. An average citizen has the right to fully nurture and grow in whatever field s/he wants to, whether it is business or arts or whatever else. Unless we educated people raise our voice against this, the situation will only worsen. As an avid listener of rock, jazz, blues etc, I am totally appalled at the culture police. So much talent is subdued because of this. It leads to strangulation and death or worse flight, of the vast amount of untapped creativity there is in the country. What I would like to know here is whether any organised way of protest is underway yet? If there is some group who is doing this I would definitely like to support/participate in any reasonable protest mechanism. Rohit Sharma
Date sent: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 08:37:13 CDT My sentiments exactly! I agree with Mr Pritish Nandy. The only problem is enough has been said but nothing is ever done to stop these so-called leaders of our nation.
Date sent: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 08:14:23 PDT Pritish, I have been an avid reader of your articles and television programmes for the last 15 years or so. Unfortunately I do have to mention that over the years you have become a very biased reporter. The uneducated politicians and biased journalists like you, and Thackeray's SAAMNA (the worst possible newspaper for a peaceful country) have misled the people and got them to have petty fights and a caste-based approach. India is surely one of the world's most beautiful countries, both in landscape and in culture. Sir, there are many pressing issues that we Indians need to address like POVERTY and EDUCATION for all. Also, if all the people in all the states of India, are guided by their nationality and not their caste, then the largest democracy can achieve anything under the sun. We have shown repeatedly that when it comes to necessity we can and do become self reliant. Examples are the cryogenic engines and supercomputers. I would like to bring to everybody's notice, the silence you have maintained on the Srikrishna Commission report. Everybody knows that the only honest people in public offices are the judges of the Supreme and high courts. And after appointing a commission, how can a state government reject all the findings except mundane and unimportant ones? You and the Shiv Sena are taking the people for a RIDE. I was in Bombay during the riots and I know clearly that the Shiv Sena was the sole party and Thackeray was the snake poisoning people's minds all the time. Even when there is nothing going on, Thackeray's Saamna spews venom against non-Maharashtrian people. It is so sick and pathetic. You are the one who supported forcible stopping of public shows by our neighbour's artists. And what about sending back the 'Bangladeshis', most of whom are Indians, but obviously non-Maharashtrian and Muslims? But you go ahead and denounce the stopping of the Nathuram Godse show. Try to be consistent and not so openly BIASED. We are from one nation and if we stick together instead of sowing seeds of jealousy, we will be a great country. You need to come out of your dreams and see that millions of Indians are poor and oppressed because nobody cares -- obviously, because we care more about the naming of streets and railway stations etc. I really wish that somebody really cared for the MAN and INDIANS as a whole. I am sure that people and influences like you will not last long and the present GENERATION will bring a major change in the outlook of our great country. LONG LIVE INDIA. Shrikant
Date sent: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 13:25:57 +0900 Pritish Nandy, I appreciate your stand about India's state of affairs with regard to the economy. No wonder we have a lot of red tape and nonsense bureaucrats in our society. But I sincerely feel it's an irony that you as a Rajya Sabha member from Shiv Sena has no role in passing on your comments and feelings to your ally and Communication Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is primarily spearheading the culture cops and denying Indian citizen his/her right. It is not enough if you provoke the readers about the issues. You should also stand up and express your feelings to ur friends in political circles. Don't just shout. Try to act! Venky
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 16:54:16 -0500 Mr Nandy makes good points in the beginning. But towards the end he gets himself carried away. Let me make it clear. I agree that the Indian government must have encouraged more Indian enterpreneurs and prevented foreign companies from flooding the market. The government must have retained only the capital intensive industries that no private sector can afford at that time like railways etc. I also agree that the Godse play and Abhimanyu play must not be censored. But I do not agree when he says, "Let us kiss in the public; say the f word; take off our clothes etc." I think the above-mentioned independence is just mere copying from the West. It is not real independence. In Indian culture these things do not have a place! If Pritish feels that it should, then he is in the minority and I suggest he move to a Western country. I think the censors are right in stopping such behavior. Karthik
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 15:55:17 -0500 I just want to know the theme of this article. You start with a different issue and end up with something else. I read the responses from readers to your last articles and I was surprised to see that not even one was in your favour. Now at least for your own dignity's sake stop writing these baseless articles. The biggest problem with you is that you really think whatever you write is right. You may be or may not be, don't take yourself for sure. Jai Hind Shashi
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 13:47:08 -0600 So how come, you being a member of the Shiv Sena, don't knock some sense into that old, whimsical fool...or are you afraid of him and can vent your frustrations only on the Net? Saurabh Gupta
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 19:41:55 EDT Fiftyone years after Independence, India is on the verge of absolute chaos. Must we sink to the depths of an Algeria, Rwanda or Afghanistan before things turn around? Perhaps our timid expats will find the "kapuras" to return and give India direction. Perhaps Vishal Dadlani of Pentagram, will 'get it' some day and not have to co-opt an American theme to protest. The Ku Klux Klan despicable as it is, resides on the fringes of American life. Perhaps Mr Dadlani could turn his attention to a problem staring him in the face -- India's minority middle and upper classes. Their tacit approval and collusion keeps India's 'majority' poor, hungry and uninformed. Hey, it's 'cheap help'! Right? Remember Bob Marley's protest music -- specific to himself and his community. Yet it found universal resonance. Methinks the day our artists get it right, is the day we begin to turn around.
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 15:20:29 -0400 This is regarding the two commentaries by Mr Nandy featured on Rediff: "Stop the Bullies!" and "Defending Thackeray". Mr N seems to be contradicting himself. On one hand he seems to be suggesting that censorship of any kind is bad, and on the other he defends illegal and unacceptable forms of censorship exercised by the Shiv Sena and others. Is it that he is having trouble making up his mind, or is it that he is wearing his politician's hat? As regards his stance that the fatwa declared by the Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushide for authoring the Satanic Verses, I think it is downright idiotic to suggest that the fatwa is a justifiable form of protesting against the book or it's author. Such anarchistic actions, like several similarly intolerant and communal actions of the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal that he defends, are regressive and will only serve to move humankind back to the dark ages.... Although, one thing he does seem to have right: censorship of any kind enforced by anyone is undemocratic!!!
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 19:18:57 EDT Hello Mr Nandy, Do you really mean what you have written? So there should be no control on anything said or written which can be obscene because it curtails the freedom of the individual? Is that your understanding of freedom? What type of society is in your mind? What discipline will be in society and the country at large? I think something has gone wrong. KPKA
Date sent: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 22:03:05 +0530 I fail to understand why and how intelligent people continue to give ear to pets such as Pritish Nandy and Subramaniam Swamy. This man Nandy has left a trail of disasters wherever he went.. His only objective seems to be to promote himself at all cost. And now he is an MP! Speaks volumes for our political system. Amar Madnani |
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