The problem is the politicians
The problem with the relationship between Indians and Pakistanis is the politicians, who mould the temperament and attitudes of the larger crowd for their own interests, whether it is short term or long (“Ordinary Pakistanis seem to love Indians. Do we love them back?”). People on both sides of the border are driven into such traps.
Sikhs visiting Nankana Sahib, one of their holiest places near Lahore, have always returned with loads of gifts and hospitality tales. Free taxi and rickshaw rides are common. People feel elevated by serving Indian guests food for free or for very nominal charges. We Pakistanis are not that cruel, rude or even uncivilised as we are portrayed in the media and by the politicians. Thank you for writing a neutral piece. - Dr Asad Mahmood
***
You will see the true ‘hospitality’ of Pakistanis when you ask about the state of religious minorities in that nation. At the time of Independence, there were over 10% non-Muslims in Pakistan, now that number has reduced to less than 1%. India has protected its Muslims since Independence, and they have grown in number – from 8% to 15%. Indians may not have sugar-coated tongues, but when it comes to things that really matter, India is far above and superior to Pakistan. – Aminder
***
Thank you, Aarefa Johari, for sharing with us your thoughts and experiences of your Osloo visit. It reminded me of the thoughts and experiences expressed by Indian cricket fans (including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi) who visited Karachi to watch an India-Pakistan match during a World Cup co-hosted by Pakistan and India. Those visitors experienced the same warmth and hospitality from the shopkeepers, cab drivers (who politely refused to charge them) and people on the street in Karachi. – Maqsood A Kayani
NREGA has positive rewards
I love the article about Narendra Modi and NREGA (“When Modi mocks NREGA, he ridicules the 80 million Indians contributing to the nation’s development”). I spend at least six months a year in India and always admire the men and women who work in these schemes. They appear to be full of certainty, and have a sense of equality and an assuredness that they are doing a well-deserved and well-needed job.
Through this article, I see by that this work has positive rewards in the direction of giving them a benchmark from which to place a value on their services. Plus, it contributes to India’s development as a whole. I sincerely hope the scheme continues under India’s new government.
P.S. – Thank you for putting the English translation of Hindi in brackets! – Sandy Tatham
Excellent Gulzar interview
Excellent interview of Gulzar (“Gulzar: As a poet, I think I write intelligently, but I’m not an intellectual”). Thank you very much. Great coverage of literature and ideas in Scroll—keep up the good work. – Vibhuti Patel
Why isn’t there an independent analysis on AAP break-up?
Your article on the troubles within the Aam Aadmi Party attributes everything to Yogendra Yadav's hubris (“Yogendra Yadav's rebellion is an example of intellectual arrogance”). I have two problems with this analysis:
1. An intellectual disagreement does not explain the extent to which the crisis seems to have moved to, or the division of the party into the intellectuals and the doers. It also denies the context presented by the gradual trickle of activists leaving the AAP ranks after the Lok Sabha elections, which makes the party irrelevant outside the limited appeal of providing good governance in Delhi.
2. The other side is probably something that the author cannot be asked about beyond speculation. Why isn't there an independent analysis of the circumstances of this break-up, that has damaged everyone involved—Kejriwal starts to look dictatorial, Yadav/Bhushan are either victims or perps, but not above spin-doctoring and motivated leaks. So what's going on here, does anyone know? I would love to see an investigative piece on this, that puts the parts together. – Vijay Krishnan
***
This is just to remind you that it was Yogendra Yadav who took a very strong position against Shanti Bhushan before the Delhi elections. Yadav preached anti-intellectualism and now he is at the receiving end of the same. Intellectuals need to be upright and even arrogant. We also need to unpack the term 'elite'. A crorepati candidate of AAP from south Delhi is not elite, a PhD in political science from Haryana is an elite. – Manoj Kumar
***
Misogyny is rooted in our culture
I read your piece on NH10 by Priyanka Dubey (“Think NH10 demonises Haryana? The reality is far worse”). I am from Haryana and I completely agree with you. Misogyny is rooted in our culture, language, religion and social values. But we will keep challenging this discriminatory norm. Well written piece. - Sumit Chauhan
Constant India-bashing
On the article by Sukhada Tatke about mixed couples in India, I just wanted to say my experience has been completely the opposite (“Why does India think every brown woman with a white man is promiscuous?”). Andrew and I have been married for nine months now, and have never experienced any of what Tatke has. First of all, my family and friends never once objected to the wedding, and we had a big fat beautiful Indian wedding. Also, when we went for our honeymoon to Kerala, there were no strange looks or vulgar behaviour. I have to say though that our experience is limited to cities like Chennai, Coimbatore and Kollam, where no one treated us badly. They were, in fact, quite sweet and on hearing Andrew was my husband they were only positively curious.
We need to highlight both the positives and negatives instead of just painting an ugly picture of India. This was one bad experience, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who do not share the same views. I am sorry that Tatke's experience has been horrible, I do hope that she doesn't experience this in the future. – Dr Naveena Prakasam
***
Interesting article. It highlights how people make generalisations based on lack of knowledge.
Yet, the title of the article asks why India—an entire sub-continent—thinks this. The irony is rich. Perhaps it was intentional? Either way, it frankly contributes to the constant India-bashing that one witnesses in the western media in general. It’s a real shame to see this same trend in the Indian media. – Sanjeev Wason
***
Thank you for this article. I am an Irish man married to an Indian woman. She is, however, from the Northeast and whilst there I have not noticed much difference in the manner she or I are treated, when we dated in Mumbai, it was definitely more frowned upon by less enlightened and open-minded individuals. – Kevin Kerr
***
I want to say that here in South Africa there have been quite a number of South Africans of Indian-origin marrying white women and vice versa since the dawn of democracy in 1994. It seems both groups have an eye for one another. There have been isolated incidents during the Apartheid era but these had been declared illegal by the authorities.
I came across a local South African of Indian-origin, Leelan Pillay, having tied the knot to a local white lass, Kim Taylor, according to Hindu rites at a local temple recently. It seems the vast majority of the people in India are still caught up in racial prejudices. – Subry Govender
***
You post such biased articles and do not even have a comments section. Wow! Reading the article, it feels like the author just stepped off the airplane from the US to India. She does not even care to do some research before making generalised statements. Until the late 1960s, biracial marriage was a crime right here in the US. In fact, if you step into the hillbilly countryside or KKK domain, they will graze you to the ground even today. And here the author is talking about prejudice in India. – Ajay
A sadhavi for a nun
I'm glad that the well-researched article about the sadhvi rape was published (“Heard of a sadhvi getting raped in Bengal? Here's the real story”). Nowadays everything is openly practised based on appearances, rather on a superficial basis. The concepts of a sadhvi, nun, diksha, etc are all so unclear to people that it exists only in the form of stereotypes. I'm not surprised that after the rape of a nun, the rape of a "sadhvi" too had to take place, the connotations being obvious.
This is what happens when the central government is ruled by ritual-worshipping old men believing themselves to be the kings of yore. – Nilanjana Dasgupta
Warts and all
I would the story about Deepika Padukone’s Vogue video is a bit of an over-analysis ("Deepika Padukone's got it wrong: merely making choices does little to challenge male power"). So it doesn’t address a large number of concerns, but it does not claim to be an exhaustive list of the same either. Fitting in wage inequality and division of labor in clichéd poetry is an uphill task. Fitting them in a magazine like Vogue has got to be impossible.
Personally, I found the video a tad dramatic and not really speaking to me beyond Padukone looking gorgeous. But it’s made by the same guy who made Cocktail, so I didn’t have too many expectations. Also, take a look at the comments section of any online magazine that has shared the video - enlightening, and highly entertaining. – Shreya Chatterjee
***
Thanks for your letter in response to the Deepika Padukone’s video going around. Much of it makes sense. I also like how you mention so sensitively and aptly that people belonging to the gay community don't always just make a choice.
The only thing I find a concern is that 'size zero' is considered an 'unrealistic' image. I, for years, was and knew many size zero women who were neither anorexic nor trying hard to become that way. Having said that, I struggled with the society's unrealistic expectation of girls like me to 'gain some weight' in order to fit their ‘realistic’ image. I think if a woman is healthy and satisfied with her own image, she shouldn't have to defend it to anybody and that is what the video was trying to say in that section.
Also, when you mention that the video means little in a culture where the hands of most women are so tightly bound, as much as I agree, I also think it has to start somewhere. A video like this, with all its flaws, is still an effort at breaking through and empowering the women of our nation. – Natasha
Excellent article
Excellent article about by Abhishek Sudhir on World Bipolar Day (“Tegretol, cigarettes, pregnancies and suicide: life with a bipolar mother”). I believe some understanding of Gautam Buddha's discoveries, and experience with vipasaana, is likely to help a person having emotional difficulties or mood disorders—and also his or her family. It is definitely worth looking into. Of course, any prescribed course of medicines and counselling must also continue alongside.
What the author's Uncle was able to do, the author can also do! – Naresh Jotwani
Jains who grew rich did so on their own
I am sure you agree Jyoti Punwani needs to know Jain history before commenting on the present request (“Minority rights: India's powerful Jain community suffers from 'Muslim envy'”). Her tone is ignorant, rather than being unbiased as it should be. Jains who grew rich did so from their own hard work, a huge insistence on education and not from any subsidy or reservation. Also being powerful is very different from being rich.
Many major temples like Ranakpur were destroyed by Aurangzeb. A small example: the Qutub Minar is built from stones from destroyed Jain temples. Routinely Jains were forced to pay huge sums to enter their own shrines due to Muslim rulers.
The Haj and other subsidies upset people, including some Muslims: If Islam forbids these, surely a fatwa would stop them immediately. Hindus, including branches like Jains, have had government officials routinely take away temple donations 'to balance state expenditure' and for non-Hindu causes (including churches). – Bharati Kurien
‘Ass-cursed’ stones found in Udaipur temple too
I have observed and found the ‘ass-curse’ stones in one more temple too (“Revealed: The secret of the ‘ass-curse’ stones scattered across Maharashtra”). It’s in Eklingi Mahadeve Mandir, Udaipur. When I asked a local man about it, he said it’s got to do with a curse. – Parikshit M Lad
***
You might be interested to know that such sculpted images are found in 14-16th century Hampi as well. – John Fritz
Fanatical fringe
It is most spacious reasoning for someone claiming to be an intellectual. By calling church attacks as “alarmist”, Jagdish Bhagwati appears to be another pretender (“Why we must be thankful for Bhagwati's article dismissing fears expressed by India's minorities”). There is no point hiding the fact. Face it and find the solution to the fanatical fringe whose intent is to hurt minorities. – Naiyyer Razzaqui
Ban alcohol too!
Consuming alcohol is not allowed according to Islam. Then it must be banned also, no? (“As Maharashtra beef ban goes to court, lawyers say rap for possession is unconstitutional”). – Shamim Ahmed
Farcical memoirs
The tragedy about ministers revealing dirt about the Congress is that when in power, all these people enjoyed the merry–go-round and keep their eyes closed (“A wave of ‘tell-all’ memoirs from Congressmen is threatening the Gandhi Parivar”). Once out of power, they write memoirs and spill the beans presenting themselves as apostles of truth, democracy, integrity and patriotism. Can there be a bigger farce? – Kewal Khanna
ScrLOL.in
What does Scroll.in mean to me? Actually, not much. And, whenever I accidentally get to your website, courtesy Twitter, what do I get to read? Humiliation of Bhagat and Bhagwati (“What does Scroll.in mean to you? Letters from Chetan Bhagat, Jagdish Bhagwati and others”). As they say, if you cannot succeed at proper journalism, bhakti or writing books, start 'scrolling'. You are, in fact, giving scrolling a bad name. In ancient times, sacred texts were assigned to scrolls, and, even to this day, our President hands out country's highest honours on scrolls. Scrolling is ancient, sacred and divine. Please treat your website as a temple and abstain from the profane, impure and ungodly. The people you routinely criticise are demigods, at least in their own imagination. If you cannot become one yourself, at least change the name of your website to ScrLOL.in or something. – MP Singh
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
The problem with the relationship between Indians and Pakistanis is the politicians, who mould the temperament and attitudes of the larger crowd for their own interests, whether it is short term or long (“Ordinary Pakistanis seem to love Indians. Do we love them back?”). People on both sides of the border are driven into such traps.
Sikhs visiting Nankana Sahib, one of their holiest places near Lahore, have always returned with loads of gifts and hospitality tales. Free taxi and rickshaw rides are common. People feel elevated by serving Indian guests food for free or for very nominal charges. We Pakistanis are not that cruel, rude or even uncivilised as we are portrayed in the media and by the politicians. Thank you for writing a neutral piece. - Dr Asad Mahmood
***
You will see the true ‘hospitality’ of Pakistanis when you ask about the state of religious minorities in that nation. At the time of Independence, there were over 10% non-Muslims in Pakistan, now that number has reduced to less than 1%. India has protected its Muslims since Independence, and they have grown in number – from 8% to 15%. Indians may not have sugar-coated tongues, but when it comes to things that really matter, India is far above and superior to Pakistan. – Aminder
***
Thank you, Aarefa Johari, for sharing with us your thoughts and experiences of your Osloo visit. It reminded me of the thoughts and experiences expressed by Indian cricket fans (including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi) who visited Karachi to watch an India-Pakistan match during a World Cup co-hosted by Pakistan and India. Those visitors experienced the same warmth and hospitality from the shopkeepers, cab drivers (who politely refused to charge them) and people on the street in Karachi. – Maqsood A Kayani
NREGA has positive rewards
I love the article about Narendra Modi and NREGA (“When Modi mocks NREGA, he ridicules the 80 million Indians contributing to the nation’s development”). I spend at least six months a year in India and always admire the men and women who work in these schemes. They appear to be full of certainty, and have a sense of equality and an assuredness that they are doing a well-deserved and well-needed job.
Through this article, I see by that this work has positive rewards in the direction of giving them a benchmark from which to place a value on their services. Plus, it contributes to India’s development as a whole. I sincerely hope the scheme continues under India’s new government.
P.S. – Thank you for putting the English translation of Hindi in brackets! – Sandy Tatham
Excellent Gulzar interview
Excellent interview of Gulzar (“Gulzar: As a poet, I think I write intelligently, but I’m not an intellectual”). Thank you very much. Great coverage of literature and ideas in Scroll—keep up the good work. – Vibhuti Patel
Why isn’t there an independent analysis on AAP break-up?
Your article on the troubles within the Aam Aadmi Party attributes everything to Yogendra Yadav's hubris (“Yogendra Yadav's rebellion is an example of intellectual arrogance”). I have two problems with this analysis:
1. An intellectual disagreement does not explain the extent to which the crisis seems to have moved to, or the division of the party into the intellectuals and the doers. It also denies the context presented by the gradual trickle of activists leaving the AAP ranks after the Lok Sabha elections, which makes the party irrelevant outside the limited appeal of providing good governance in Delhi.
2. The other side is probably something that the author cannot be asked about beyond speculation. Why isn't there an independent analysis of the circumstances of this break-up, that has damaged everyone involved—Kejriwal starts to look dictatorial, Yadav/Bhushan are either victims or perps, but not above spin-doctoring and motivated leaks. So what's going on here, does anyone know? I would love to see an investigative piece on this, that puts the parts together. – Vijay Krishnan
***
This is just to remind you that it was Yogendra Yadav who took a very strong position against Shanti Bhushan before the Delhi elections. Yadav preached anti-intellectualism and now he is at the receiving end of the same. Intellectuals need to be upright and even arrogant. We also need to unpack the term 'elite'. A crorepati candidate of AAP from south Delhi is not elite, a PhD in political science from Haryana is an elite. – Manoj Kumar
***
Misogyny is rooted in our culture
I read your piece on NH10 by Priyanka Dubey (“Think NH10 demonises Haryana? The reality is far worse”). I am from Haryana and I completely agree with you. Misogyny is rooted in our culture, language, religion and social values. But we will keep challenging this discriminatory norm. Well written piece. - Sumit Chauhan
Constant India-bashing
On the article by Sukhada Tatke about mixed couples in India, I just wanted to say my experience has been completely the opposite (“Why does India think every brown woman with a white man is promiscuous?”). Andrew and I have been married for nine months now, and have never experienced any of what Tatke has. First of all, my family and friends never once objected to the wedding, and we had a big fat beautiful Indian wedding. Also, when we went for our honeymoon to Kerala, there were no strange looks or vulgar behaviour. I have to say though that our experience is limited to cities like Chennai, Coimbatore and Kollam, where no one treated us badly. They were, in fact, quite sweet and on hearing Andrew was my husband they were only positively curious.
We need to highlight both the positives and negatives instead of just painting an ugly picture of India. This was one bad experience, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who do not share the same views. I am sorry that Tatke's experience has been horrible, I do hope that she doesn't experience this in the future. – Dr Naveena Prakasam
***
Interesting article. It highlights how people make generalisations based on lack of knowledge.
Yet, the title of the article asks why India—an entire sub-continent—thinks this. The irony is rich. Perhaps it was intentional? Either way, it frankly contributes to the constant India-bashing that one witnesses in the western media in general. It’s a real shame to see this same trend in the Indian media. – Sanjeev Wason
***
Thank you for this article. I am an Irish man married to an Indian woman. She is, however, from the Northeast and whilst there I have not noticed much difference in the manner she or I are treated, when we dated in Mumbai, it was definitely more frowned upon by less enlightened and open-minded individuals. – Kevin Kerr
***
I want to say that here in South Africa there have been quite a number of South Africans of Indian-origin marrying white women and vice versa since the dawn of democracy in 1994. It seems both groups have an eye for one another. There have been isolated incidents during the Apartheid era but these had been declared illegal by the authorities.
I came across a local South African of Indian-origin, Leelan Pillay, having tied the knot to a local white lass, Kim Taylor, according to Hindu rites at a local temple recently. It seems the vast majority of the people in India are still caught up in racial prejudices. – Subry Govender
***
You post such biased articles and do not even have a comments section. Wow! Reading the article, it feels like the author just stepped off the airplane from the US to India. She does not even care to do some research before making generalised statements. Until the late 1960s, biracial marriage was a crime right here in the US. In fact, if you step into the hillbilly countryside or KKK domain, they will graze you to the ground even today. And here the author is talking about prejudice in India. – Ajay
A sadhavi for a nun
I'm glad that the well-researched article about the sadhvi rape was published (“Heard of a sadhvi getting raped in Bengal? Here's the real story”). Nowadays everything is openly practised based on appearances, rather on a superficial basis. The concepts of a sadhvi, nun, diksha, etc are all so unclear to people that it exists only in the form of stereotypes. I'm not surprised that after the rape of a nun, the rape of a "sadhvi" too had to take place, the connotations being obvious.
This is what happens when the central government is ruled by ritual-worshipping old men believing themselves to be the kings of yore. – Nilanjana Dasgupta
Warts and all
I would the story about Deepika Padukone’s Vogue video is a bit of an over-analysis ("Deepika Padukone's got it wrong: merely making choices does little to challenge male power"). So it doesn’t address a large number of concerns, but it does not claim to be an exhaustive list of the same either. Fitting in wage inequality and division of labor in clichéd poetry is an uphill task. Fitting them in a magazine like Vogue has got to be impossible.
Personally, I found the video a tad dramatic and not really speaking to me beyond Padukone looking gorgeous. But it’s made by the same guy who made Cocktail, so I didn’t have too many expectations. Also, take a look at the comments section of any online magazine that has shared the video - enlightening, and highly entertaining. – Shreya Chatterjee
***
Thanks for your letter in response to the Deepika Padukone’s video going around. Much of it makes sense. I also like how you mention so sensitively and aptly that people belonging to the gay community don't always just make a choice.
The only thing I find a concern is that 'size zero' is considered an 'unrealistic' image. I, for years, was and knew many size zero women who were neither anorexic nor trying hard to become that way. Having said that, I struggled with the society's unrealistic expectation of girls like me to 'gain some weight' in order to fit their ‘realistic’ image. I think if a woman is healthy and satisfied with her own image, she shouldn't have to defend it to anybody and that is what the video was trying to say in that section.
Also, when you mention that the video means little in a culture where the hands of most women are so tightly bound, as much as I agree, I also think it has to start somewhere. A video like this, with all its flaws, is still an effort at breaking through and empowering the women of our nation. – Natasha
Excellent article
Excellent article about by Abhishek Sudhir on World Bipolar Day (“Tegretol, cigarettes, pregnancies and suicide: life with a bipolar mother”). I believe some understanding of Gautam Buddha's discoveries, and experience with vipasaana, is likely to help a person having emotional difficulties or mood disorders—and also his or her family. It is definitely worth looking into. Of course, any prescribed course of medicines and counselling must also continue alongside.
What the author's Uncle was able to do, the author can also do! – Naresh Jotwani
Jains who grew rich did so on their own
I am sure you agree Jyoti Punwani needs to know Jain history before commenting on the present request (“Minority rights: India's powerful Jain community suffers from 'Muslim envy'”). Her tone is ignorant, rather than being unbiased as it should be. Jains who grew rich did so from their own hard work, a huge insistence on education and not from any subsidy or reservation. Also being powerful is very different from being rich.
Many major temples like Ranakpur were destroyed by Aurangzeb. A small example: the Qutub Minar is built from stones from destroyed Jain temples. Routinely Jains were forced to pay huge sums to enter their own shrines due to Muslim rulers.
The Haj and other subsidies upset people, including some Muslims: If Islam forbids these, surely a fatwa would stop them immediately. Hindus, including branches like Jains, have had government officials routinely take away temple donations 'to balance state expenditure' and for non-Hindu causes (including churches). – Bharati Kurien
‘Ass-cursed’ stones found in Udaipur temple too
I have observed and found the ‘ass-curse’ stones in one more temple too (“Revealed: The secret of the ‘ass-curse’ stones scattered across Maharashtra”). It’s in Eklingi Mahadeve Mandir, Udaipur. When I asked a local man about it, he said it’s got to do with a curse. – Parikshit M Lad
***
You might be interested to know that such sculpted images are found in 14-16th century Hampi as well. – John Fritz
Fanatical fringe
It is most spacious reasoning for someone claiming to be an intellectual. By calling church attacks as “alarmist”, Jagdish Bhagwati appears to be another pretender (“Why we must be thankful for Bhagwati's article dismissing fears expressed by India's minorities”). There is no point hiding the fact. Face it and find the solution to the fanatical fringe whose intent is to hurt minorities. – Naiyyer Razzaqui
Ban alcohol too!
Consuming alcohol is not allowed according to Islam. Then it must be banned also, no? (“As Maharashtra beef ban goes to court, lawyers say rap for possession is unconstitutional”). – Shamim Ahmed
Farcical memoirs
The tragedy about ministers revealing dirt about the Congress is that when in power, all these people enjoyed the merry–go-round and keep their eyes closed (“A wave of ‘tell-all’ memoirs from Congressmen is threatening the Gandhi Parivar”). Once out of power, they write memoirs and spill the beans presenting themselves as apostles of truth, democracy, integrity and patriotism. Can there be a bigger farce? – Kewal Khanna
ScrLOL.in
What does Scroll.in mean to me? Actually, not much. And, whenever I accidentally get to your website, courtesy Twitter, what do I get to read? Humiliation of Bhagat and Bhagwati (“What does Scroll.in mean to you? Letters from Chetan Bhagat, Jagdish Bhagwati and others”). As they say, if you cannot succeed at proper journalism, bhakti or writing books, start 'scrolling'. You are, in fact, giving scrolling a bad name. In ancient times, sacred texts were assigned to scrolls, and, even to this day, our President hands out country's highest honours on scrolls. Scrolling is ancient, sacred and divine. Please treat your website as a temple and abstain from the profane, impure and ungodly. The people you routinely criticise are demigods, at least in their own imagination. If you cannot become one yourself, at least change the name of your website to ScrLOL.in or something. – MP Singh