'So now Dawood Ibrahim is the one who kept
Indian economy alive!'
How readers responded to Pritish Nandy's recent columns
Date sent: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 16:04:23 -0500 (EST)
From: Samir Dhume <sdhume@cs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Playing God
I was startled to read this article. It is full of half-truths, vague and strange conclusions from
strange assumptions, too numerous to even start listing. Dawood Ibrahim, Haji Mastan and Karim Lala kept open the windows of free enterprise? Perhaps I'm extraordinarily stupid, but
I don't even see a connection between organised crime and free enterprise. Nandy doesn't elaborate on anything, does he? He just throws these vague statements at you.
Your Web Site is fast losing quality. You seem to pick columnists with strong opinions, however ridiculous they may be. Varsha Bhosle, Ashwin Mahesh, Nandy and Panicker are all appalling.
They're illogical, ungrammatical and incoherent.
Samir
Date sent: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 13:31:28 -0800
From: "Gokul Janga" <gjanga@systems.DHL.COM>
Subject: Pritish Nandy
My God!! What degeneration! Is this what happens when someone is expected to churn out columns week after week? So now Dawood Ibrahim et al are the ones who have kept the economy of India alive! Too bad that Nandy is bungling an excellent opportunity given to him to express his views on a popular site. Carry on the (otherwise) good work.
Gokul
Hayward
CA, USA.
Date sent: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 12:23:07 -0800
From: DN Srivastava <dns@panama.c-com.net>
Subject: Playing God
I feel the column has been written in a very convincing manner. I
have to comment that what the State did in the 50s and 60s was for the betterment of the poor. They did so in a proper and moral way, without
any illegal indulgences. However, Dawood Ibrahim and his men do not want
to help the poor. What they are doing might indirectly benefit the poor.
Whatever Dawood Ibrahim does is for himself and it is illegal.
Date sent: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 17:12:19 -0800
From: jkp0445 <jkp0445@tntech.edu>
Subject: Pritish Nandy
I seem to have exactly the same kind of thinking that Pritish has regarding the Indian economy. But glorifying criminals in the guise of redistribution of wealth seems to be really stretching one's imagination. These elements are harming the economy to a great extent. Pritish seems to have forgotten that without peace there is no prosperity, whether it is for a family or for the society or the nation at large.
Jagadish
Date sent: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 23:02:54 -0600
From: "MANISH KOHLI" <mask@dnamail.com>
Subject: Nandy's views
Over the years you reflect the mentality of a person without any strong convictions, a person who certainly knows which direction the winds are blowing. While you have travelled far in your career by making these efforts, you lack the wisdom of respectable people and certainly that of a wise journalist. This
article is another reminder of your stagnant, decaying mind. You, however,
are witty, but don't make the mistake of equating that with intelligence or being a respectable journalist. You are not one. Take a hike and stop your silly contribution to the press in India.
Good luck in whatever you try ahead in life.
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 15:00:22 -0600
From: Kartikkumar Raja <mkraja@gsbpop.uchicago.edu>
Subject: The Right to be Heard
This is indeed an excellent article exposing the outmoded curriculum and
the inept administrators. The one thing I disagree with is Nishant's chosen mode of voicing
dissent. I am shocked that you choose to commend it by saying, "Nishant
did what many of us feel like doing at times but lack the courage to.
He torched himself." It doesn't take courage to torch oneself. It takes courage to
live on and fight. Having recently graduated, I share Nishant's concerns and have often
felt the same frustration; but the path Nishant chose, is something I
can never agree with.
Kartik Raja
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:05:33 -0800
From: Shuba Swaminathan <sswaminathan@micron.com>
Subject: The Right to be Heard
Nandy hits the nail right on its head! Kudos for a great article. I completely empathise with what he says about the Indian education system, having been a victim till
recently. Only, I was much luckier than most of my
peers and got a chance to leave the country and
study abroad. The despondence and depression after
graduating from the Indian system without anything
to show for it, and the extreme opposite
I-can-change-the-world attitude that I presently
have would be extremely hard for anybody who has
not gone through both the systems to understand.
Nandy has tried his very best. To say that I am
a new person wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Shuba Swaminathan
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 14:59:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Abhay Kulkarni <abhay_kulkarni@yahoo.com>
Subject: Right to be heard
The whole incident will make everyone except the authorities concerned
sit up. Universities across the country are infamous for their callousness and carelessness. So long as these authorities get their salaries, the politicians get their votes and publicity, and their
goondas their moolah, no body cares. Only the country is at a loss,
having to harbour a breed of frustrated talented young people who have
to pick up a profession they despise and yearn for professions they
can never attain simply because they are "not qualified".
Who are these people to set a quality standard when most of them are stinking? What about all those tea breaks they take in between, all the plush quarters they are provided, the chauffeur driven cars they get? Are all these people worth it? Do they deserve anything if they are not accountable for their actions?
All governments have bred criminals and have tried to make hay while the sun shines. Our society, or rather the so-called society, has become so parasitic that nobody wants to let go the amenities they do not deserve. Even if a hundred more young men were to sacrifice their lives, the heartless authorities would not even bother to look up. It is unfortunate, of course, but this is the stark reality that faces all of us in India.
Date sent: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 15:32:01 +0800
From: "Ravi Shroff" <rshroff@hih.com.hk>
Subject: Nishant Bhardwaj's sacrifice
The report by Pritish Nandy was good. What action, if any,
was taken against the Acting Vice Chancellor and others responsible for the
situation that lead to a young man's self-immolation?
Ravi
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 23:46:03 -0800
From: Kris Chandrasekar <krischan@pacbell.net>
Subject: Nishant Bhardwaj
We have to stop this approach to problem-solving. Please don't call this courage. It sends out the wrong message. I'd rather Nishant had got a bunch of his peers together and gone and jumped up and down outside some minister's residence to get some attention. Wouldn't have done any good, you say? Maybe, maybe not. But what change is this self immolation
going to bring about? If you think the bureaucrats are going to change because of this, you are sadly mistaken. As for Nishant, he ain't around anymore. What a waste!
Kris Chandrasekar
Date sent: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 15:30:12 +0530
From: "M. Basker" <A12803@email.mot.com>
Subject: Oh, Mr Nandy
Are you trying to justify suicides? Maaan!!
Baski
Date sent: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 16:39:55 -0500
From: "M.Raghavendra" <raghav.malladi@pulse.com>
Subject: Pritish Nandy column
Your article has shown one facet of the problems India is facing because of
inept bureaucracy. Extend your ideas to every corner of our society and you
will find the babudom all along. What else do you think caused problems in Kashmir and the north-eastern states? If not for the press, bureaucracy and politicians would have made India a country of slaves.
Our intelligentsia all through the ages was great, but it accepted
the king as Lord Vishnu himself. One Mahatma, one Vivekananda were not good enough. May be we are in waiting for a Paramshuram (Bhargava).
Raghav
Date sent: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 18:46:13 -0800 (PST)
From: harish vasudeva <harishv@rocketmail.com>
Subject: Pritish Nandy's article on Salim Khan
This article has given a totally new twist to the
whole issue. No doubt, Salman should suffer in jail. But it's really amazing how
the media
has pictured Salim. The so-called
wildlife protectors (forest officers) are the real
killers. They should be given the right treatment too.
Harish V
Pritish Nandy
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