Good to know that the Minister, Ministry of External Affairs, thinks India has only one book. What about the edicts of Asoka? But, of course not written by a Hindu. Maybe MS Gowalkar, We and Our Nationhood Defined? who found the arctic moved away from India.–Kamal Mitra Chenoy
* * *
Is Bhagavad Gita worthy of being declared "the Book of our Nation", if at all India needs one? Certainly not, please! By any stretch of imagination, one will fail to see in the Gita even a semblance of openness in thinking, even by the standards of ancient Indian or Hindu tradition.–Venugopalan KM
Madhu Kishwar is wrong about Modi
I am very much surprised that anyone could have have such opinions about Modi and his Vibrant Gujarat, where the average income of a person is below Rs 11, surrogacy has been transformed into a trade to get foreign exchange and which has have a separate colony for Dalit officials on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.– Vikram Surya
* * *
Excellent, objective and accurate assessment by Madhu Kishwar and good questions by the journalist. –Nina Arora
Banning German in schools
This is the age of globalisation and one should encourage learning of foreign languages at school level as a global Indian would be helped greatly by acquiring communication skills in a foreign language enabling children, the future of India to reach out to masses globally. This is the need of the hour and a sign of a progressive mindset. –Dr Rupal Shah
Flight tracker
In your piece "These eight commercial airports in India have no scheduled flights at all", you missed one : Mysore airport has no schedule d flights. –Dipti Kotian
Filtered news from the mainstream media
I thought this article was very well written ("In cold New York, Kejriwal fails to set audience afire'), but I was disappointed by this line from the author: “Kejriwal may have said little to revive the flailing momentum and support for his movement.”
She should have backed it up with some evidence or statistics, even if the assertion is subjective. I would like to submit that the Aam Aadmi Party has been gaining a lot of traction in the past few months in Delhi and a lot of new volunteers have signed up. This can be clearly seen if you are following the parties’ activities. It seems like the author’s assumption is based purely on filtered news from the mainstream media and not her own ground research, which is unfortunate because it only propagates such views further.–Kartik Maheshwari
* * *
I’m a class 12 student. I just read one of your articles on Kejriwal's NY visit. I believe you people are writing off Kejriwal way too early. People are definitely disappointed with him and are asking questions. But the fact that they are continuously asking signifies that they still expect a lot from him and are willing to give him a second chance.
No other Indian politician gets scrutinized by the media and the public as much as Kejriwal. That testifies that he was and still is very different from any other politician. In such a short time he has created a space for himself and his party in Indian politics.
No one can remain at the peak forever. There is always a plateau after a spectacular launch. That's life. But the important thing is how much have you been able to retain after your downfall and AAP is still alive and kicking. Its selfless young volunteers still stand tall for AAP. #MufflerMan trending for 18 days proves that.
Odds are heavily against him in Delhi elections but that's not a new situation. Kejriwal will come back as Delhi CM no matter what. He is important for India and thousands of young volunteers like mysef will assure AAP never fades away.–Pratyush Kumar
A life before ungrateful Turks
I have a two-word solution: frozen eggs.
You can have kids whenever you want, have it with whomever you want (or alone), when you're ready and not because your body needs to dictate terms.
Second, have you seriously considered adopting? Not just because you may be past the age to bear kids by the time you feel ready to have them – certainly you've considered the possibility of becoming family to someone else who might not have one.
As you seem to already know, you're not alone. :) However, I don't see what's so wrong if you just don't want to settle down with any one person while you still have the energy to date, keep yourself unattached, work, travel, have a ball and seem interesting to more than one person for longer than women did just a little while ago.
Sure, we all want to eventually settle down, be overlooked, taken for granted and bend backwards for ungrateful turks, but can't that stuff just wait till one is exhausted with all the other options?–Namrata Zaveri
Passionate hate
This article is crazy and shouldn’t have been published ("The truth is, Pakistan is better than you in every single way"). The author sounds very communal and passionate in his hatred for a country, in this case India. The vindictive manner in which he writes shows this. An article like this can ignite communal tensions for no reason whatsoever, better to avoid publishing these articles, that too in the country the author passionately hates.–Samita Rao
Kicking the lowest common denominator
I'm sorry, but this entire argument was stretched far too thin. The violence the Rohtak sisters resorted to cannot be compared to verbal racism or the perceived higher-casteism of a woman in a white collar job (I'm really rankling at this very lazy, unsubstantiated reference) vs the chauvinism she may face at work.
Muslim, Christian, North Eastern, Gujarati, Keralite, white, black, yellow and spotted women face this sort of invasion of their space and bodies every day. While you can at least try and access redressal in an office, on the faceless streets you have split seconds to do one of two things: take it or challenge it. A lot of us do the second.
This is because we have to admit that the social rules of public spaces are allowed to collapse into the aspects of the lowest-common-denominator of society. And if every woman raises a ruckus, she believes eventually these absolute opportunistic degenerates will at least think twice before upsetting us for the day.
Every man who touches a woman, against her consent, in public, inappropriately, deserves a kick in the ****. Call me a dingo though, I'll just laugh it off. Also physical molestation and street harassment are very, very misogynistic and lewd comments thrum with violent promise. I’m surprised that the writer has no idea about this.–Genesia Alves
Match your own standards
With all due respect to the rape victim, I do not think Scroll.in should have openly declared the driver's name in the Uber rape case until he has been convicted by a court of law. The police may have declared his name (and other media outlets may have as well), but I hope a journalist would exercise better judgement.
I understand that India's abysmal record in addressing crimes against women has called for the media and civil society to take a turn toward activism. Yet, I believe that even in times like these we must remember that the 'accused' remains a human being (whatever crimes he may have committed) and every human being deserves a modicum of respect. His name may not mean much to most of us, but it does hold meaning for some. He is a driver, and even if proven innocent (jurisprudential rationale says we must accept that possibility however small we may view it to be) this could taint his prospects for future employment and threaten his already precarious livelihood.–Salil Singh
Only change is permanent
Nothing is permanent in this world. The importance of a minister howsoever intelligent depends on her equation with the PM and her standing in the party hierarchy. Perhaps Sushma Swaraj has lost that standing.–Kewal Khanna
Sena the Sidekick
The headline is hardly justified by the article that follows ("Why the Shiv Sena is a bigger threat to Devendra Fadnavis"). The latter is just a recap of the present situation in the state. The two factors that stand out are the enfeebled Congress and the strongly positioned BJP. The Sena is just a side-kick.–Usha Subramanian
A piece of Tibetan history
Thank you very much for this sad yet beautiful piece on Tibetan elders in Dharmsala. I personally visited this old age home in 2009 for a school project and since then, I have been thinking of writing a piece but never got a chance from my busy life in New York.
Your piece nicely made the connection between their personal life and their dreams of return. This generation’s Tibetans, who’ve had the most hardship in their lives, are now lying alone in their bed and waiting for their last days. This is so heart breaking. :(
I agree with you about bringing their stories to light so that the younger generations do not forget their sacrifice, struggle and stories. They need to be heard. They are a part of very important piece of Tibetan history.–Tenzin Yeshi
A quality of cheating
It is just unfortunate that political parties are getting together to ensure only their survival ("Everything you need to know about the new anti-Modi party: the Samajwadi Janata Dal). This is a selfish effort, unfortunate for the country. Each leader among them harbours ambitions of becoming PM. How can they succeed? If only they had worked for the country, their survival would have been guaranteed. Look at the people. Where do they go? Everyone is out to cheat them. These netas are again devising strategies to cheat the people. They have proven that they have cheating qualities in them, time and again. People need to read these characters well and decide for themselves. They are having a rollicking time whereas people are crying for basic amenities.–SNP Sashi
Will Scroll print my story?
Jyoti Punwani is a veteran journalist writer. But her article ("Who exactly tried to get the court to ban children participating in Moharram rituals in Mumbai?") looks forced and without any credible evidence. As if the sectarian divide within the community wasn't enough, she has played a dangerous game of dividing the Shia community. Every Shia believes in the martyrdom of Imam Husain. There may be differences of opinion among them on some issues but no Shia would go to the court to ban flagellation.
Punwani, unknowingly, was used by some in the community for their vested interests. If her sources are right, then she should come out and name them. Being a journalist myself, I will understand the sources’ points of view and carry out my own investigation. But will Scroll print my sources’ story? And also by whom and why was Ms Punwani mislead?–Mufeed R
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
* * *
Is Bhagavad Gita worthy of being declared "the Book of our Nation", if at all India needs one? Certainly not, please! By any stretch of imagination, one will fail to see in the Gita even a semblance of openness in thinking, even by the standards of ancient Indian or Hindu tradition.–Venugopalan KM
Madhu Kishwar is wrong about Modi
I am very much surprised that anyone could have have such opinions about Modi and his Vibrant Gujarat, where the average income of a person is below Rs 11, surrogacy has been transformed into a trade to get foreign exchange and which has have a separate colony for Dalit officials on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.– Vikram Surya
* * *
Excellent, objective and accurate assessment by Madhu Kishwar and good questions by the journalist. –Nina Arora
Banning German in schools
This is the age of globalisation and one should encourage learning of foreign languages at school level as a global Indian would be helped greatly by acquiring communication skills in a foreign language enabling children, the future of India to reach out to masses globally. This is the need of the hour and a sign of a progressive mindset. –Dr Rupal Shah
Flight tracker
In your piece "These eight commercial airports in India have no scheduled flights at all", you missed one : Mysore airport has no schedule d flights. –Dipti Kotian
Filtered news from the mainstream media
I thought this article was very well written ("In cold New York, Kejriwal fails to set audience afire'), but I was disappointed by this line from the author: “Kejriwal may have said little to revive the flailing momentum and support for his movement.”
She should have backed it up with some evidence or statistics, even if the assertion is subjective. I would like to submit that the Aam Aadmi Party has been gaining a lot of traction in the past few months in Delhi and a lot of new volunteers have signed up. This can be clearly seen if you are following the parties’ activities. It seems like the author’s assumption is based purely on filtered news from the mainstream media and not her own ground research, which is unfortunate because it only propagates such views further.–Kartik Maheshwari
* * *
I’m a class 12 student. I just read one of your articles on Kejriwal's NY visit. I believe you people are writing off Kejriwal way too early. People are definitely disappointed with him and are asking questions. But the fact that they are continuously asking signifies that they still expect a lot from him and are willing to give him a second chance.
No other Indian politician gets scrutinized by the media and the public as much as Kejriwal. That testifies that he was and still is very different from any other politician. In such a short time he has created a space for himself and his party in Indian politics.
No one can remain at the peak forever. There is always a plateau after a spectacular launch. That's life. But the important thing is how much have you been able to retain after your downfall and AAP is still alive and kicking. Its selfless young volunteers still stand tall for AAP. #MufflerMan trending for 18 days proves that.
Odds are heavily against him in Delhi elections but that's not a new situation. Kejriwal will come back as Delhi CM no matter what. He is important for India and thousands of young volunteers like mysef will assure AAP never fades away.–Pratyush Kumar
A life before ungrateful Turks
I have a two-word solution: frozen eggs.
You can have kids whenever you want, have it with whomever you want (or alone), when you're ready and not because your body needs to dictate terms.
Second, have you seriously considered adopting? Not just because you may be past the age to bear kids by the time you feel ready to have them – certainly you've considered the possibility of becoming family to someone else who might not have one.
As you seem to already know, you're not alone. :) However, I don't see what's so wrong if you just don't want to settle down with any one person while you still have the energy to date, keep yourself unattached, work, travel, have a ball and seem interesting to more than one person for longer than women did just a little while ago.
Sure, we all want to eventually settle down, be overlooked, taken for granted and bend backwards for ungrateful turks, but can't that stuff just wait till one is exhausted with all the other options?–Namrata Zaveri
Passionate hate
This article is crazy and shouldn’t have been published ("The truth is, Pakistan is better than you in every single way"). The author sounds very communal and passionate in his hatred for a country, in this case India. The vindictive manner in which he writes shows this. An article like this can ignite communal tensions for no reason whatsoever, better to avoid publishing these articles, that too in the country the author passionately hates.–Samita Rao
Kicking the lowest common denominator
I'm sorry, but this entire argument was stretched far too thin. The violence the Rohtak sisters resorted to cannot be compared to verbal racism or the perceived higher-casteism of a woman in a white collar job (I'm really rankling at this very lazy, unsubstantiated reference) vs the chauvinism she may face at work.
Muslim, Christian, North Eastern, Gujarati, Keralite, white, black, yellow and spotted women face this sort of invasion of their space and bodies every day. While you can at least try and access redressal in an office, on the faceless streets you have split seconds to do one of two things: take it or challenge it. A lot of us do the second.
This is because we have to admit that the social rules of public spaces are allowed to collapse into the aspects of the lowest-common-denominator of society. And if every woman raises a ruckus, she believes eventually these absolute opportunistic degenerates will at least think twice before upsetting us for the day.
Every man who touches a woman, against her consent, in public, inappropriately, deserves a kick in the ****. Call me a dingo though, I'll just laugh it off. Also physical molestation and street harassment are very, very misogynistic and lewd comments thrum with violent promise. I’m surprised that the writer has no idea about this.–Genesia Alves
Match your own standards
With all due respect to the rape victim, I do not think Scroll.in should have openly declared the driver's name in the Uber rape case until he has been convicted by a court of law. The police may have declared his name (and other media outlets may have as well), but I hope a journalist would exercise better judgement.
I understand that India's abysmal record in addressing crimes against women has called for the media and civil society to take a turn toward activism. Yet, I believe that even in times like these we must remember that the 'accused' remains a human being (whatever crimes he may have committed) and every human being deserves a modicum of respect. His name may not mean much to most of us, but it does hold meaning for some. He is a driver, and even if proven innocent (jurisprudential rationale says we must accept that possibility however small we may view it to be) this could taint his prospects for future employment and threaten his already precarious livelihood.–Salil Singh
Only change is permanent
Nothing is permanent in this world. The importance of a minister howsoever intelligent depends on her equation with the PM and her standing in the party hierarchy. Perhaps Sushma Swaraj has lost that standing.–Kewal Khanna
Sena the Sidekick
The headline is hardly justified by the article that follows ("Why the Shiv Sena is a bigger threat to Devendra Fadnavis"). The latter is just a recap of the present situation in the state. The two factors that stand out are the enfeebled Congress and the strongly positioned BJP. The Sena is just a side-kick.–Usha Subramanian
A piece of Tibetan history
Thank you very much for this sad yet beautiful piece on Tibetan elders in Dharmsala. I personally visited this old age home in 2009 for a school project and since then, I have been thinking of writing a piece but never got a chance from my busy life in New York.
Your piece nicely made the connection between their personal life and their dreams of return. This generation’s Tibetans, who’ve had the most hardship in their lives, are now lying alone in their bed and waiting for their last days. This is so heart breaking. :(
I agree with you about bringing their stories to light so that the younger generations do not forget their sacrifice, struggle and stories. They need to be heard. They are a part of very important piece of Tibetan history.–Tenzin Yeshi
A quality of cheating
It is just unfortunate that political parties are getting together to ensure only their survival ("Everything you need to know about the new anti-Modi party: the Samajwadi Janata Dal). This is a selfish effort, unfortunate for the country. Each leader among them harbours ambitions of becoming PM. How can they succeed? If only they had worked for the country, their survival would have been guaranteed. Look at the people. Where do they go? Everyone is out to cheat them. These netas are again devising strategies to cheat the people. They have proven that they have cheating qualities in them, time and again. People need to read these characters well and decide for themselves. They are having a rollicking time whereas people are crying for basic amenities.–SNP Sashi
Will Scroll print my story?
Jyoti Punwani is a veteran journalist writer. But her article ("Who exactly tried to get the court to ban children participating in Moharram rituals in Mumbai?") looks forced and without any credible evidence. As if the sectarian divide within the community wasn't enough, she has played a dangerous game of dividing the Shia community. Every Shia believes in the martyrdom of Imam Husain. There may be differences of opinion among them on some issues but no Shia would go to the court to ban flagellation.
Punwani, unknowingly, was used by some in the community for their vested interests. If her sources are right, then she should come out and name them. Being a journalist myself, I will understand the sources’ points of view and carry out my own investigation. But will Scroll print my sources’ story? And also by whom and why was Ms Punwani mislead?–Mufeed R
