Intolerance again
I am humbled and reassured on reading this article (“Banning release of the Godse book in Goa was an act of censorship and intolerance”). It is a deeply considered repudiation of the politics of hate and intolerance. As long as we have such writers in India, it will never become Hindu-sthan.
I rejoiced that the release was moved to another venue. We have been at the receiving end of the strong-arm tactics of Hindutva forces ever since the BJP came to power in 2014. So it felt good to gloat over our little victory.
The writer shows how hollow that victory is and what we lose by adopting the modus operandi of the opposition. – Meenal Mamdani
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People in our “modern” world must understand what the word “rights” means. If a person has a right then it cannot ordinarily be taken away arbitrarily, no matter how much one dislikes the person or what he does.
However, it seems that one just has to accuse a person of being a terrorist, a prostitute, an anti-national and such, and it seems that authorities feel they can take away the rights of the person without so much as an if you please. And even otherwise, liberal people will support the hysteria even if they don’t support the issue as happened in the Godse book case.
A right is a right no matter that (as in the Godse book case) people are quite deliberately being provocative and/or exploiting a law’s provisions to subvert the law itself. However, in this case, those opposing them should be creative enough to fight back. – Augusto Pinto
Unpatriotic slant
It is unfortunate that despite being a journalist and hence the voice of the people, your opinion on the matter sounds unpatriotic (“The Daily Fix: The death of 10 soldiers in an avalanche shows the futility of the Siachen war”). Correct me if I am wrong, but would you rather have the glacier occupied by our neighbouring country? I agree that soldiers have been laying down their lives and the only people who mourn their deaths are their families.
But to call it quits would mean giving up the highest battleground on a platter to someone else. Since you would know about all these wars and the hostilities towards India, it is sad to even assume that our neighbours are ever going to back off.
All of us (mostly) have ample hopes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and we would most definitely hope that the world’s continuous yet futile efforts towards world peace will help in the end. Will there be a happy ending? Let’s look at the brighter side of life.
You have done your research well on the matter and it’s very nice to see that real journalism still thrives. I am, nonetheless, disappointed. – Saumya
Hindutva terror
“The brutal arrogance of Hindutva will have consequences. It will certainly alienate a section of the population and spawn in them a deep distrust of the Indian state for tacitly supporting what is patently unjust.”
I hope Ajaz Ashraf isn’t coyly referring to Muslims here (“Dear Mr Doval, we need to talk about Hindutva terror”). Why is the media unable to find convincing reasons not to brutalise fellow citizens beyond saying watch out, “they” might lose faith in “our” nation building project?
Occasionally Muslim names will be trotted out to make the same argument.
And who is this section anyway, that has only now discovered the state’s support for injustice, and is ready to spawn itself into a frenzy?
The establishment appears not myopic but quite clear-eyed. Hindutva is a sneering, Nazi-loving attack on women, Dalits, the poorer than thou - in other words, most Indians. It is committed to perpetual hierarchy. It is time we discussed its political intent, not just its victims, and the damage it will do to our Constitution, our daily lives as citizens, and our children’s future. – Aman Kumar
Malign the man only
I have practised Bikram hot yoga for around seven years around the world and only have respect for the yoga discipline’s teachers and students (“Women have gone through hell: Mumbai teacher who testified against star yoga guru Bikram”).
The human mind is often fickle and it’s quite possible Bikram could have attempted to harass women. If true, he should be held liable for it.
The discipline has changed the lives of many people. So please don’t make this about the yoga practise when it’s only about the individual. – G Angurala
Smoke with fire
Thank you, Aarefa Johari, for bringing “out of the smog” and into “visibility” for the rest of Mumbai, the plight of the slum dwellers who live on the periphery of the Deonar dumping ground, where the major fire broke out (“Cough, asthma, headaches: Slum-dwellers next to burning Mumbai dumping ground hit with illness”). Not only do these people inhale the toxic fumes on a regular basis. but also the stench that emanates from the mounds of garbage that surround their homes. – Beena Choksi
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Thanks for your article about the Mumbai pollution. Things are becoming worse day by day. We stay near the dumping ground and kids are falling ill frequently with severe chest congestion and breathing problems. They have to skip school often and are unable to live a day without antibiotics and nebulisers. God knows what will be their future and how long can they survive. – Hareesh Menon
Rent control
You need to appreciate that under the pugree system, the landlord has received and the tenant has already paid the market value of the flat (“Why Mumbai needs to learn rent control lessons from cities around the world”). Hence, the question of paying a higher rent just does not arise. The landlord earns a huge amount every time the rented premises changes hands.
The pugree system followed in Mumbai is completely different from the system followed anywhere else in the world. Hence, no comparison should be made. – Arun Shroff
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You missed out on mentioning that in all other cities in the world, no pugree system exists. In Mumbai, the landlords have earned crores of rupees as pugree and all repairs, security, maintenance and related expenses are paid by tenants.
Converting tenanted flats to ownership is the only answer and the government should change the law accordingly. – Manu Bhavnani
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The prevailing pugree system is the main virus that has corrupted the economy in the form of black money. Cities around the world are not facing this problem of black money to such an extent. So your comparison to other cities is not relevant. I hope we study India and Indian problems rather than going international. – Mansoor Kadwalwala
Nuclear dilemma
Any discussion on nuclear energy is complex as it is fraught with plenty of incumbent dangers (“Former atomic energy regulator explains why India needs to pause its nuclear power plans”). Apart from this, the entire world looks on with suspicion when a country avowed to peace hesitantly embarks on such a project. Furthermore, there is no unanimity within our country on developing nuclear energy especially since there have been disasters elsewhere. – HNS Myer
Creating hierarchy
Caste is not unique to Hinduism; it was prevalent among all people (“Beyond Hinduism: Is caste a religious or a regional problem?”). What is unique to Hinduism was caste within caste, giving way to a hierarchy. This is what kept the caste system so strong. Another reason is not going out of the Indian subcontinent to conquer because probably it was not worth it economically or climatically.
If because of any compulsion you have to go to war to conquer other territories you have to perforce integrate. The Marathas lost because they had not integrated into one cohesive army. Untouchability was prevalent among them even during war. – bhaskarsarita on email
Political pain
I was very impressed with Ajaz Ashraf’s impartial discussion and analysis (“10 things the suicide of Rohith Vemula reveals about Indian society”). The toxic environment created by the BJP, the RSS and their ilk is very damaging to Indian society in general.
I wonder why the prime minister has been so silent and has not pulled up ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya on the issue.
With the passage of time, the BJP and the RSS will have to pay a heavy political price, a part of which has already paid in recent Bihar election. – Dr Laxmi
A mother’s pain
Thank you for this report” (“Radhika Vemula lost her son. Now she’s being insulted by the Modi government”). We all should extend a helping hand to Rohith’s mother. She should be proud of her son. I am sure she will realise the value of his martyrdom soon. Your story makes me confident.
Dear Rohith, we salute you for all that you longed for - science, nature and humanity. Hope you are smiling at us. We will care for your family and devote ourselves to the causes for which you sacrificed your life, even with a powerful message to your detractors. They may not understand why you pleased that your enemies be spared. But your mother will. Those who aspire for a new India would. – Cherian PJ
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At one point, the article says, “BJP should stop displaying their patriarchal casteist minds, which assumes that child bears the caste of a father who abandoned him.
I don’t think patriarchs in the BJP think in this way. When a Brahmin man fathers a child with Dalit/lower caste woman, no one would accept this child as a Brahmin. The BJP knows this well. In this case, they are just being their usual hypocritical selves by claiming Rohith Vemula to be of his father’s caste. – Koushik
Challenging orthodoxy
Brilliant piece (“A suicide note and the debate on bullfighting reveal our distorted reality”). Nothing escaped TM Krishna’s scalpel this time, peeling away at our cruelties before we dissect the others. In Jallikattu, the bull trots home alive. In our kutcheries, the poor goat was already dead to become the mridangam that we listen to.
And then there is Rohith Vemula, labelled as an ungrateful Dalit, who used his accident of birth to gain political power. So is that what they tried to do, to put him in its place? And hence this tragic outcome?
Why do we still have a caste system? Minus that huge blot, does Hinduism not provide a good vehicle for self-enquiry, ethical living and spiritual solace? If a mind like Rohith’s can comprehend Carl Sagan, will the import of Gayatri Mantra elude him? Or elude the millions of kids who pass the board exams with first class and more? Why restrict the essence of our religion to Brahmins?
Unfortunately, these questions are never asked to the orthodoxy. The reform movements work around the system and create perhaps a more inclusive parallel path. – K Anand
Impractical proposal
We don’t need new laws every month, but proper implementation of the existing ones (“Maneka Gandhi’s suggestion on mandatory sex tests aims to absolve doctors of blame for foeticide”). What happened to the Juvenile Justice Act must not happen to the PCPNDT Act. I am a native of Haryana, a state known for the worst sex ratio. Registering and tracking pregnancy, as Maneka Gandhi proposes, will not work because those craving for a boy don’t go to registered clinics for sex determination.
It is the illegal unregistered clinics working underground that perpetuate the practice of sex determination. For ground realities to change, her ministry must focus on closing these illegal clinics and educating the people. Schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao are working in the right direction. The local district administration must be strengthened by providing more funds for the effective implementation of the existing schemes and PCPNDT Act. – Gaurav Singhal
Twisted geography
The two maps are great in every way that Rohan Venkatramakrishnan cannot see (“This preposterous map insists most of the world didn’t like India until Narendra Modi turned up”). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party both have their share of flaws. India has been a capitalistic society even before colonisation, which is reflected in the basic governance .Don’t go by the exactness of the map. It is only a jingoistic representation. Today, India has visa on arrival from about 108 countries. – Hrishikesh Trivedi
Ways of worship
I enjoyed reading this wonderful piece, but would like to make a clarification (“Jhulelal or Zinda Pir: Of river saints, fish and flows of the Indus”). Muslims don’t “worship” saints. They worship one god. They visit shrines to pay respect to the saints, they honour and venerate them, but their supplications are to Allah, asking for his blessings or a favour for the sake of his beloved, the Saint.
Another practice is asking for the intercession of the saint between the supplicant and Allah, but it’s not widely acceptable.
When boundaries are blurred between who is the giver of blessings, the Saint or God, then it is no longer an Islamic practice. The dargah can be seen as an inspirational venue, a portal to reach out to Allah. – Semyne Khan
Spoiler alert
It’s a shame you had to go and pooh-pooh on your own country (“Coldplay’s new music video shows India as the land of exotic clichés (yes, again)“). I get your problem with the overglorification of Mumbai and it being painted as a Westernised dreamworld. But at the same time, why don’t you also enjoy and embrace that the video is celebrating some key historic and cultural interests that have served to build the living, breathing, cataclysm of chaotic commotion that is India.
Sure, all of India’s shameful and often swept-under-the-rug bits are totally omitted, but then again, when was there ever a truly piercingly revelatory anti-propaganda video ever made by an international pop group, let alone a domestic one?
So then I ask for what purpose were your quips for? You are either upset at the state of things in India from a domestic point of view or you are upset at the way things are going, partly (if not totally) because of the influx of starry-eyed Western/global travellers that swan into India. – Jamie McIvor
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Where is the portrayal of the 33,000 reported rapes in 2013? Or the public service announcement that this “blissful” country banned a movie which showed this animalistic and vicious country’s government for exactly what they are?
And there’s definitely a glaring omission regarding homosexuality issues.
Shame on Coldplay for allowing this video to be released. They ought to be doing songs which help the people of India who are being subjected to the ugliest violence possible by a horrible and corrupt government. What a terrible joke. – T Thompson
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Can you blame Coldplay for falling for every “Incredible India” commercial ever shown on television? And for the record, I think the video is beautiful; it makes me want to visit India. – Bina Shah
Taking sides at sea
It is true that public sector ports are being weakened, which ultimately favours Adani and has damaged all other international traders (“Are India’s public-sector ports being weakened to favour Adani Ports?”). These ports have priority for berthing Adani’s trading companies so other traders have no alternative but to use public sector ports only. Weakened ports will definitely weaken other traders and Adani enterprises will end up having a monopoly on international trading. – BK Mansukhani
