|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | COMMENTARY | DEVIL'S ADVOCATE | |||
|
October 7, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
|
How Readers reacted to Pritish Nandy's recent columns
Date sent: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 15:30:49 +0530 The article by Pritish Nandy is, as usual, accurate and hits the bulls eye. But, it's appealing because it strongly voices what all of us feel and go through everyday. That's nice -- to shout, to scream, to criticise the system. But, that's about it. What next? It would be much much more effective if some influential people or organisations could provide a forum, a launch pad where a common man can actually voice his opinion and be sure that "SOMEONE" down there is going to listen. Just writing is not enough. It allows you to let some steam off, give you an illusion that the frustration is gone. It'll slap you right in your face, the moment you walk out of the AC office in whose comforts you were browsing the Rediff web site. What we need is action, not words. The pen is mighty, if someone does something about what you have penned. I don't really expect a reply but would be more than thankful to get a response, if there is really something you and I can do? Anoop
Date sent: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 21:52:04 +0000 Sad but true. India boasts of a morally upright past but is completely and utterly morally corrupt today. The unfortunate part is that most Indians defend the stagnation of their country. B Canaran
Date sent: Sun, 4 Oct 1998 17:52:46 +0800 (HKT) I have flown into and out of Delhi airport only about twice each year for the past 20 years. Not once have I been harassed in the manner described. In fact, in most cases I have found these policemen very helpful. Am I exceptionally lucky? Or is Pritish Nandy given to extreme exaggerations?
Suresh Anand
Date sent: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 11:30:08 +0800 The article on the evil empire was very incisive and broadly analysed issues pertaining to a simple idea of helping others, and how it is getting more difficult these days. I have left India to do my MBA in Hong Kong but want to do something for the country. I believe India has tremendous potential but is getting ravaged by goons and inefficient institutions that we have created. The menace of the Kafkaesque state is growing in alarming proportions. You can feel the big brother watching you in India. Bihar and UP have already gone beyond the state of repair. It is a matter of time before the country starts questioning the viability of the present system. It is tragic that the police in Bihar is considered a ticket to quick money. Here we go targeting the pubs, discos, cinema and entertainment while we should be changing the more fundamental issues that affect the larger public. The tragedy is that it is difficult to be an honest businessman in India. The majority of youth today, at least the educated urban like me see no hope for India and would rather cross the Atlantic. It is sad but it is true. I hope we can try to change the system but we are running away and that's sad! Mr Nandy your article made me really feel like sharing my humble thoughts with you. I hope this reaches you.
Ram
Date sent: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 00:12:30 +0000 "Self-respecting" friends of Pritish might be getting out of their houses after 11:30 at night to 'enjoy at rock concerts, speakeasies, pubs, discotheques, lotteries, casinos, movie halls, entertainment centres, restaurants.' This is the 'culture' Pritish wants our society to adopt and he is upset that the laws are trying to stop this. He also does not like laws like FERA and TADA that are meant to control thieves from stealing the country's wealth and stashing it in Swiss accounts, or to prevent bus loads of people being blown to tiny pieces by Pritish's friends across our borders. If the cops and the administration is corrupt, it is the 'leaders' we have had for the last 50 years that need to be blamed. It is not the 'half literate' cops that started this rot. They are the end result of it. Shashi Phatak
Date sent: Sat, 3 Oct 1998 21:59:17 EDT Hurray for Nandy; he's right. I have travelled throughout India, and have been through some of the same experiences. Time for a change.
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 22:33:55 +0530 You are absolutely right Pritish Nandy. The only way India can succeed is through IT. There was a time few years ago when labour unions opposed computerisation in the fear that it would create unemployment. See how the tables have turned. Today IT is the only industry which generates employment. Fortyfour per cent of all H1 B visas issued by US are to Indians. Out of this, 62 per cent are from Andhra Pradesh and 82 per cent from South India. Rest of India which includes Maharashtra boast of a meagre 18 per cent. Can you imagine the dollars flowing into Andhra Pradesh? Abbasali Gabula
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 18:51:13 -0700 I was extremely impressed with this article till I read the last paragraph, the part about "Thackeray understanding all this." What hogwash! The man has never impressed me with his intelligence, unless you consider his canny ability to appeal to the insular feeling of his fellow Maharashtrians as some form of intelligence. His periodic outbursts against the government, which everyone knows runs on his dictates, are perhaps a way of insulating himself from the inevitable voter backlash that has and will come. I don't blame Pritish Nandy, though. When all it takes to prevent the Sainik goons from showing up at your doorstep is a few words of praise for the boss, I'd do it too. But Mr Nandy is dead on target when he bemoans the absolute lack of any initiative in the Maharashtra government. What can one expect when we have intellectual pygmies running the show.
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 10:12:02 PDT I really wish that a copy of this article is sent to the CM of the state. Maybe it will show him the ray of prudence. I, for the first time in my life feel very insecure about the state. I just can't imagine the future generation migrating to states like AP and Tamil Nadu in search of jobs. The sense of pride of being a Maharashtrian is diminishing. I being a staunch supporter of the saffron brigade, feel that the Congress was far better than the current government in the state. What Maharashtra needs today is a man with a vision of the future and not people who don't want to come out of the old knit web. It is really stupid to pursue the same old industries in this information age, and as Pritish rightly pointed out call in for more pollution and less or no profit at all. There's still time for the government to take appropriate action and break out from the old web to the new one ie, the world wide web. Please save my state and thus help the future generation. One just shouldn't just talk about the great Shivaji Maharaj, but should also try to implement and design policies which will make the government a real "Shivshahi." That is why we voted you to power. Amar
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 11:13:30 +0530 I think you are absolutely right in your article 'No, Chief Minister,' but I have a feeling that we Indians have many people who tend to look at things at the macro level. Take the case of Bal Thackeray, he has been boasting of controlling the state. I feel he and all of us Maharashtrians are equally responsible for the situation we have landed in. We should work hand in hand for retaining the past glory of our state, instead of talking like an "economist." I personally feel that people of your and Thackeray's calibre should strive for getting us out of this mess. Sridhar
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 17:09:53 +0530 Thanks and congratulations to you for writing such an excellent eye-opening factual statement on the status of Maharashtra. It is a sad state. Viquar
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 11:19:38 -0700 Pritish Nandy is absolutely right when he says that Maharashtra is doomed due to the policies of the present government. When all other states are proactively soliciting and pursuing investment in their respective states, the government of Maharashtra seems to be doing nothing. The law and order is going the Bihar way. As a friend of mine says, all the Shiv Sena is capable of managing is Ganeshotsavs. It's the electorate's fault if they expect them to run a state. But then this has been the case ever since they came to power. Why has Pritish woken up just now? Is this is an exercise by Pritish to oblige (and please) Thackeray for his Rajya Sabha seat? Or rather, is Thackeray using Pritish to hit out at Joshi and reign him in? Pritish is a very senior and respected journalist and a lot of people will lose faith in him if he gets involved in partisan politics. Pritish? Brajesh
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:22:27 -0700 Pritish Nandy is so right about the plight of Maharashtra and especially Bombay. If we have to regain Bombay as the backbone of the foreign investments corridor, then we will have to make Bombay more liveable, less dirty, more tourist friendly and less corrupt. Why does not the Maharashtra government insist on big companies to take up some social projects and maintain it, they can use free billboards or neon lighting for their contribution. One thing every medium or large company should do is sponsor toilets, provide garbage bins throughout the city that are emptied and cleaned at regular intervals, provide shaded bus stops, proper cross walks, beggar free zones so that one cannot be harassed. There should be an increased police presence during dark hours, and people should be fined for littering, spitting or throwing cigarette butts. Trees should be planted all along roads to give more greenery, and an orderly flow of traffic, pedestrians, animals and processions should be worked out. Most of the time we only hear what the Sena is doing to downgrade Muslims or South Indians. One Indian rightly puts it that in India there is plight seeing and not sight seeing. People do not have stress, they have distress. The difference between broad gauge and narrow gauge lines is the number of people using them as toilets. The only thing that flows from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is the river of corruption. If I had money I would not invest it in India, at least not as long as the corrupt are at the pulpit. Figures don't lie, it is liars who figure. Keep us the good work Pritishda. Tell the Sena chief to do something positive for Bombay and for India.
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 10:42:41 -0400 (EDT) You are in the best position to point this out to the government. Do you actually tell the CM about his mistakes, or do you keep venting your frustrations, however valid on the Internet. Saurabh
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 10:50:20 +0400 Great article. He doesn't mince words. He hit the nail when he said that the Maharashtra government is foolish. Like he said, the Maharashtra government has to have vision if it wants to succeed. But why does he "maska polish" Bal Thackeray? Like everyone else, even he can't speak out against Thackeray. Farid
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 23:52:59 PDT This is with reference to Pritish Nandy's article "Oh, Chief Minister." I think this is an excellent article by Pritish, totally confirming what we have suspected all along. In fact, this article should reach out to every nook and corner, through whatever means so that as people of this state we are aware of the gravity of the situation. Forget about the business acumen of the government, basic responsibilities are not being performed by the government. Road and railway infrastructure are simply inadequate. Corruption is at an all time high, whether it getting a telephone connection or lodging a complaint at the police station. Increase in population and pollution, uncontrolled vandalism stemming out of unemployment and a general disregard for the life of the common citizen will ensure that decent citizens, well bred and mannered, cannot remain mute spectators to all this. All this frustration and anger will look for a natural release and when that happens it won't be a happy day for the government. Bombay is bursting at its seams and we are losing whatever little social and moral fibre we have. For this, I blame the government to a large extent. If they cannot solve our problems and give us a good clean, habitable city geared up to face the pressures of the coming century, they have no business governing us and we have no business electing them. Kumar |
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT |
INFOTECH
SHOPPING & RESERVATIONS | TRAVEL | LIFE/STYLE | FREEDOM | FEEDBACK |
|