India’s scientific prowess dates back to Vedic age, little to do with Nehru, say Scroll.in readers

Credit chaos

Pervez Hoodbhoy’s article was unnecessarily critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Opinion: Pakistan could never reach the Moon because it didn’t have its own Nehru). A lot of scientific and research activities have gained momentum after Modi came to power. Since the Vedic ages, knowledge assimilation has been a part of Indian culture. I don’t see the necessity of comparing it with Pakistan. Pakistan has its own economic problems. As the article is highly biased it has no credibility. – Savitri Jayaram

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This article is more interested in hating on Hinduism than appreciating the Indian Space Research Organisation. – Harshit Patnaik

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A very cheap way of trying to tarnish a non-corrupt government – but you have failed in your attempt. The Nehru and Gandhi family have ensured corruption in as many [places] as they could and have made the country bleed. A time will [come] when people will burn you and your company. I don’t care if it is the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Congress. All I care for is a corruption-free country where people like you do not exist. – Parag Sagar

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An article which was supposed to highlight the bad state of the Pakistani space programme lost track in the very beginning and went into Modi hate speech typical of Pakistan and Nehruvian Indian Opposition parties. News portals such as Scroll.in are well known for their anti-Modi stance but this article crossed all limits.

The article begins by praising Nehru. We all agree that he did a lot for India but comparing him to Modi is not justified. In fact, a comparison was not needed at all. If [Jawaharlala] Nehru was good so is Modi – and for that matter, nobody is perfect. Nehru had his own share of imperfections and so does Modi. As for Hindutva, it is not a bad word if you are an Indian. Of course, I can’t say the same to a Pakistani. Hindutva doesn’t automatically mean hatred towards other religions as the Opposition tries to portray. – Dr Abhishek Shrivastava

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It seems the writer is still in the slavery of the Nehru-Gandhi family. He thinks that only they can perform and others are fools. – Pawan Sharma

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It is sad that our country’s journey in science and technology has started to go in the reverse direction. It is difficult to understand how a majority of Hindus have approved this reverse journey. – Rajendra Kulkarni

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Scroll.in seems to be an Indian mirror of Pakistan’s Dawn! I read this article in Dawn itself and wrote to them saying that it was not Nehru, it is our Indian scientists and technological wizards that India should thank. During Nehru’s time, many public sector undertakings were born and almost all of them are bleeding our economy now, while only one or two such as ISRO have done a good job. We had an Abdul Kalam while Pakistan had a Khan. Kalam inspired us while Khan indulged in conspiracies by stealing from someone and selling to someone else. – MN Rao

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I think [this] Pakistani media person is trying to depict India as a Congress-made nation created and nurtured by just the Nehru and Gandhi family. He has selected his incident and points, based on this and tried his best to avoid addressing the religious beliefs of the extremist people who have shaped Pakistan’s current political, economic and social scenario. – Kamal Singh

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India’s science and technological advancement did not start from the Nehru era, as you mentioned. I feel sorry for your lack of knowledge about India. India has been a master of science, medical and Ayurvedic arts, architecture, even space and astronomy for centuries – dating back to out rishi munis [sages]. So don’t underestimate our culture and civilisation which mastered all fields.

You people can’t think beyond a certain level because of which you are in this position today with a terror tag in the name of religion. You will never come out and succeed in any field because of your blind faith in religion. Soon India will become a superpower and emerge as a vishwaguru [universal teacher]. Wait and watch. – Vijay TP

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India is a living civilisation. We have past glories. When the world did not know how to communicate, Indians had written scriptures. I will label your effort to malign Indianness by taking it as an ill-conceived notion. Araybhat discovered zero. Ramanujan was a mathematical genius. Hindus, are a civilisation proficient in research. [The word] Hindu means a collective population having a common root in the Indian subcontinent. It has a place for all ideals and ideas.

Nehru did not do anything. It is India’s inherent capacity to achieve and march forward that has delivered. Pakistan could also have delivered had they clung on to their roots.

Genetically, the collective population of the Indian subcontinent has higher potential than any other part of the world. People in this region just need opportunities to flourish. – Bibhasendu Mohapatra

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Your author Pervez Hoodhboy is pathetic. Chandrayaan-2 has been a success and brings great pride to the country. But this author has started his article by demeaning the prime minister of India. I am not a fan of Prime Minister Modi but such articles criticising him will only earn him more and more followers. Ask your author to bring more rationale into his articles. – Deepak Singh

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In the article, Pervez Hoodbhoy could also have made a passing reference to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first education minister. Azad, born in Mecca, to a Saudi mother, a child prodigy with little formal education, did much to steer higher education in independent India for which, somehow, most, if not all, credit goes to Nehru! – Sushil Prasad

Letters on lynchings

These 42 people, so-called intellectuals, are the real parasites of the country (‘Biased, intentionally lacking in facts’: 14 personalities condemn open letter to PM on mob lynching). For example, Aparna Sen. Did she ever talk about [the practice of accepting] cut money in her own state, West Bengal where poor people were forced, using all means, even through threats to their lives by the ruling All India Trinamool Congress? Did the state government ever take any action against these goons? Even the state machinery supported these goons. They also got their cut out of the cut money. What are these 42 goons doing for such exploitations of the poor at the hands of the state machinery? – SB Agrawal

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The 14 intellectuals who wrote to the prime minister that his policies are good – okay. Why only 14? Modi can mobilise 14 million to write in his favour. But one intellectual writing against the policy of the government will be portrayed as a million voices. – Janardan Pati

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Lynching is one of our social problems which has to be solved by society. Such incidents have been happening for a long time. Our media without any objective principle is unnecessarily giving it undue importance. I condemn it. – Ahobala Rao

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In fact, our respected so-called intellectuals are doing harm to the country by indulging in a one-sided story. It is better for the creation of harmony and the education of society to shun their ill-will and work towards [the establishment of a] friendly society. Provoking negative feelings do more harm to the harmonious relationship and costs citizens, irrespective of their caste and creed. We must work as a whole for the strengthing of society and not dismantle it. These are my personal views. – Parmanand Shukla

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If it is projected that it is intentionally lacking in facts then it can be construed that the press is spreading fake news. Thus, it would be better that these groups of 62 and 14 urge the press or put an advisory through relevant authorities to control the press!

It’s true that the aim of the people should be to maintain harmony, but the people, who do not try are creating such disturbances – as being reported by news agencies. [Such people] should be brought to light along with those people/organisations backing them.

There should be a concerted effort by both the group of 49 and the group of 62 to force relevant authorities to act on the press so that they publish the news of heinous crimes along with statistics only. The press should be brave enough to bring it all to light along with those who are behind it – not just the incident.

Further, if it is found that these incidents are really happening then none out of these 49, 62 and 14 must fall behind. All must put up a concerted effort to make authorities take exemplary action. – Rathin Roy

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I totally disapprove and disagree with the selective usage of so-called celebrities who are hell-bent on tarnishing the image of India and our beloved prime minister. We need to pray to god for the cleaning and clearing of their sick mentality so that they become as pure as the Ganges. – Kanipakam Jayachandran

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I want people to come out of their negativity and help the popular government concentrate on bringing people out of poverty. – Bijay Gutgutia

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The respected honourable gentlemen are concerned about mob lynching and therefore [they have written] the letter. They are all enlightened and the who’s who of society. They should also have suggested ways and means to resolve the problem. I am suggesting this as law and order is a state matter. In Bihar, one collector was lynched by a mob and the law has taken its course and culprits are now behind bars, serving jail terms. The state administrative machinery must pull up their socks and take stringent action as per law. These incidents are taking place in many of the states BJP rules as well as those ruled by Congress and other governments.

There are always misguided elements in society who in the name of certain issues settle their scores politically and socially. The Centre may assist state governments by providing extra forces and other legal assistance. In a federal set up the states must take initiative and steps to address the problem.

This is not a religious issue. The misguided elements are taking advantage of the present political scenario to settle their scores. – Jeetmaludia Udia
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The so-called self-proclaimed intellectuals are unhappy that Modi has come back. Their response is always selective. The Central government is not sponsoring any [incidents of] lynching. Media which is also unhappy with the second coming of Modi reports with a lot of bias. I suggest that these people keep their mouth shut. – Bharath Curam

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If anybody goes through the list of signatories to the letter addressed to the prime minister on lynching, it can be seen that most of them are from West Bengal – which is now a wretched land after 40 years of misrule by communists and then Mamata Bannerjee. It is clear that these signatories are either on the rolls of Bannerjee or the mentally deranged Congress party. It is better to ignore. – PD Amarnath

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So mob lynchings are normal occurrences in a democracy? Is that what they mean, the second group who claim to be intellectuals? – Lordwin K Das

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No one can deny the fact that actual mob lynchings are taking place and the culprits not being punished. – Shaik Altaf Haider

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It is simply becoming [a situation where] my lynching is okay but yours is not. My rape is okay but yours is not. It is becoming [a situation where] the majority doesn’t have a say. Appeasement has boomeranged on the face of those who were taking things for granted. – Ravi RP

Miscellaneous musings

As usual, the anchor Arnab Goswami hardly cares to listen to anybody’s voice (Watch: How filmmaker Aparna Sen dealt with news anchor Arnab Goswami shouting at her on TV). He questions a celebrity and scarcely waits for an answer. He himself answers the question in his own way and tries to shout down the voice of his guest or participant if he/she ventures to speak. It is, in fact, a novel way of anchoring by Goswami fortunately not being followed by any other anchor. Aparna Sen also fell prey to this neo-anchoring by Goswami who seemingly behaved like a patient of hysteria for a long 13 minutes rather than a sane journalist. – Ujjal Pal