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May 5, 1998
SPECIALS
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How Readers reacted to Dilip D'Souza's last column
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 11:41:33 +1000 I was really excited about the recent events, but not after reading Dilip's articles. I could not agree any more with Dilip. We talk of hypocrisy of the US and other Western countries, but what about our politicians who promise so much for the common people, have they fulfilled it!!! Or are there any genuine plans to uplift our standard? Let us not get carried away, rather think rationally, what our priorities are! This article makes us think more in a balanced way.
Barun Gorain
Date sent: Wed, 13 May 1998 17:55:43 -0500 Mr D'Souza, I don't know whether you are going to read this or not, but this is meant only for you. If you are an engineer then probably I would have explained you the significance and technicalities of the data that has been collected. I'm sure you will appreciate it if you can understand it. We want to make progress right? And I'm sure you will agree that no progress can be made without technological advancement. As an Indian, please look at this as an achievement in technology. There's no reason to panic or feel guilty because we haven't dropped a bomb on anybody. We only collected the data for our purpose so that we will not have to do it later or buy it from the big powers if need occurred. A writer such as yourself, I think should take a more closer look at what has happened and what is happening rather than writing the views of a ganne-ka-ras-wallah. So, please don't look at this with the eyes of a ganne-ka-ras-wallah. This is something bigger than that. I want you to understand and appreciate what it is to achieve such a thing indigenously.
Date sent: Wed, 13 May 1998 15:15:04 -0400 I completely disagree with what Dilip has said. Just because we are a poor country doesn't mean we should disregard our security completely and bend our knees to satisfy the so-called Western nations. We might have as well been under British rule or handed over the whole country on a platter to China. I don't think these nuclear explosions are a show of military strength. It is obvious that China is many more times powerful than us. But this should serve as a warning that we are not to be taken for granted. It is better to make sure that we are alive first and then worry about food. Sundar
Date sent: Wed, 13 May 1998 15:37:22 -0400 The article by Dilip D'Souza is a sane one. I hope more Indians see the true (BJP?) motive behind these explosions. Unfortunately, whether the majority of Indians like it or not, India has initiated another Cold War in its own neighbourhood, thanks to the BJP. Danny Dhanasekaran
Date sent: Wed, 13 May 1998 17:00:51 -0400 Great column. It is time someone took a stand against nuclear testing. India can never be a great country unless it focuses on improving the economic conditions of the people. India's problems are mainly internal and not external and we need to recognise this. Viswanathan
Date sent: Fri, 15 May 1998 14:10:53 -0400 A very good article by Dilip. I bet you would have found a 100% conformance to your thoughts from more than one juicewallah and other-wallahs like me. In fact, my guess is that, your hit ratio would surely be more than 80% where the public are in total agreement with your opinions. During all this time between the explosions and now, I have been trying to find answers for the questions, "Why these tests now?" and "How come the prime minister claims that people wanted to ensure the security of the nation?" That the tests had to be conducted is a given. But why now? India needs development of infrastructure. We need to cleanse India of all political goondas. Bribes and corruption need to routed out of India. Communication, education, basic amenities to provide a healthy living, better transport etc need to be provided. Who in the hell asked for assurance of national security? By these tests, we have the whole attention of the rest of the world and all of them know well how a lot of people in India are caught in the tentacles of poverty, and how many of them suffer due to lack of food, cloth, shelter and other basic amenities. None of the commissions or groups or movements are effective in trying to curb population growth, deter people from defecating in the open, from chewing tobacco, spitting in every other place and many other similar things. I hope the "Big Jingoist Party (BJP)" realises the needs, acts properly and doesn't act to just get political mileage. Bala
Date sent: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:44:54 -0400 Excellent and unbiased. I hope Thackeray reads it and realises that Diwali is fine without nukes.
Date sent: Fri, 15 May 1998 06:28:38 -0700 (PDT) Hey, many seem to have gone on a bashing spree of Dilip D'Souza. But I think his article really struck a chord. I, for one would rather that India clean up its gutters and Bombay's slums and Bihar's casteism than build a bomb! Indians get real. Let's clean up those gutka infested streets and those mosquito ridden gutters. Ever checked those Bombay trains? Ever checked the Bandra creek and its awesome smell? Ever got spat on by a passerby with his wonderful spray of pan masala? Ever had to bribe a policeman, politician, school for your kid's admission? Well you gotta be kidding. It's done in Pakistan too!
Shreekar Ranade
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 23:50:25 -0500 Indians have become experts at criticising the government. D'Souza is no exception. But are politicians the only culprits? Where has all the money that was supposed to have been invested in education? How long shall India depend on its worthless sons and daughters who believe that everything that they lay their hands on is theirs? I would feel happy if I saw something concrete happen rather than just the usual rhetoric that we are educating India. In a country which has nothing but diversity, why do we have to criticise the one thing that can bring people to think along similar lines -- national security? If someone doubts my statement about diversity, I would like him to prove that India is united in any way. Fact is even in our political decision making, we are regional at best. No one thinks of the country. So our first task should be to unite India before doing anything else. Jai Hind
Debasis Rath
Date sent: Fri, 15 May 1998 07:34:54 +0800 The best, most honest reaction to the tests. I too was caught up in the euphoria. But since I saw a comedy character called "Seinfeld" replace the Indian nuke headlines on CNN, I realised just how much of a difference we had really made for ourselves. In the twenty-four years since the last test we have achieved nothing in terms of education, sanitation, health care or population containment. A simple case in point -- more motorists have died on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway than have been killed in wars that we have fought. And yet for the last twenty years, I have seen that road being dug-up to make it four-lane. And it'll probably take another twenty, by which time we'll need a twelve-laner! Are we out of our minds?
Date sent: Fri, 15 May 1998 09:18:46 +1000 Did you check with the ganne-ka-raswallah before writing your earlier Rediff articles? I wonder what would the ganne-ka-raswallah have thought of the Srikrishna Commission? Bet his ignorance of it would be as much if not MORE than that of the nuclear blasts. It is rather a matter of shame that when the nation stands as one, when every Indian is proud at the achievement of our scientists and engineers, you come up with this cheap and dirty article. I have a suggestion for you. The next time you pass the ganne-ka-raswallah ask him if he has read any of your articles. If the answer is NO, then STOP WRITING! Madhu Gurnani
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 17:56:56 -0500 Excellent piece. A small ray of sanity among the wild jingoistic chest-beaters. C Unnikrishnan
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 16:19:12 -0600 Although I am probably one of those 20%, who does not support the testing of N-bombs, and agree on most of the things in your article, but I believe you erred heavily when you say that: "In our fifty years, far more Indians have been killed, maimed, betrayed, left in misery by our own government and society than Pakistan and China have managed together." Under an authoritative government, scores of Chinese have been killed because of man-made famine, hunger, executions etc. Thanks to our democracy, we never suffered such massive annihilations.
Ashis Maity
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 17:45:53 -0400 Are you a religious fundamentalist, racist, bigot and Indian hater? You always find faults with Indians. What are you? 800 millions Indians have to follow you, obey you, listen to you or live like slaves to you because you are the only genius with the answers to India's problems or can you solve it? Please, do not tell me that you are an atheist and do not believe in God or Allah. If so, please for few days go to Pakistan and shout the "above statement" and see what happens to you. Kuwait people were living well too. What happened to them? May be next time, Pakistan or any other country invades India, you may be giving a welcome party to them and instruct Pakistanis to do all the things they did in Bangladesh. Sundaram
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 14:46:24 -0700 Mr D'Souza can drink whatever ras he wants and eat paav bhaji and keep quiet. If you carry articles like his, the world will definitely laugh at us. Here is a so-called educated man writing an article disregarding the current security problems the country faces. God save us if we have such irresponsible writing. Your web site is so nice and makes Indians like me proud and I seldom miss reading it. My sincere request is don't spoil it by putting up such articles. A patriot
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 16:30:33 -0400 I have read some your earlier articles, but this article has forced me to put some of my thoughts about your articles. First, I really am surprised as to how could you write such a big essay just on the words of a sugarcane juice vendor. You asked him about missiles, did you ask him about anything except sugarcane juice? I am sure you didn't. If you did that, then I am sorry but you may not have written this one. I think that you are one of those individuals who thinks that they have to protect their family first, providing them food, education etc. Say after some time when you are done with these food and education stuff and suddenly your neighbour walks into your house, YOU WILL START YOUR OLD STORY OF THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE. I think you really have to come out of your small world, and THINK of the whole nation and not the community of SUGARCANE VENDORS AND PARDHI TRIBALS ALONE.
B Sreedhar
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 13:22:58 -0700 Firstly, Mr D'Souza is a big bore to read. Secondly, if not much has happened since the 1974 explosion -- it is because the BJP has not been in power. Just watch the next five years, God willing!
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 15:33:02 -0400 I happend to read your column. Excellent thinking. Frankly, both of us are of the same opinion. Perhaps your pen power has enabled you to come out with these thoughts in a very coherent way. I'm in the USA right now, and believe me I've forwarded your column to as many thoughtful Indians out here. The need of the hour is not patting one's own shoulders. The corrective action... I leave it to the individual.
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 12:17:22 -0700 Excellent column on India's nuclear fiasco by Dilip D'Souza. I share his view point. It's sad to know 98% of Indians think it was good idea. I guess he and I belong to the 2%. But, numbers don't win an argument, truth does. Anurag
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 23:16:31 +0530 I think that the person in question is really speaking emotionally because of the hullaballoo created by the tests. He feels the moot questions remain unanswered. But let me ask him what happens when the jingoist and hegemonious nations heap their threats on us, force us to follow their ways -- their methods and in turn command us to run our country the way they want to? The fact that India exploded a nuke indeed made a statement that India has the requisite capability, and the power of self assertion. Here we are not talking of a national political field but of a global agenda. Sensible and impartial people respect the strength of purpose. Do you want another 1962 (remember China) again? Haven't we learnt enough hard lessons that we conveniently want to forget them, and think that we are safe? I STRONGLY BELIEVE that safety and security are paramount to any nation's interest and without it we are like the wingless bird who wants to fly, but is helpless and is only dependent on others for pity. How many times do you want others to come and loot you and make a consistent mockery of your system? If you talk of the pathetic scene inside the country, then why curse any particular leader? The whole collective scenario is the result of not one or two people but of a whole nation. Why can't you or me or anyone decide to do something personally rather than crib about the whole issue time and again? Here the people need to be educated and since we Indians are a shy lot, we don't DEMAND our rights. Let me not get in that detail. It's only that the explosion of a bomb and the social issues just simply cannot be linked together. There is a big difference when it comes to these divergent issues, and one can't blame any particular person or institution for the present state Manish
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 11:03:07 -0500 An intelligently guided voice espousing reason and morality, instead of governmental dogma and insanity.
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 11:48:40 -0400 The Zen Of Ganne-Ka-Ras And Nuclear Explosions was truly an echo of my sentiments. What we need today is not nuclear bombs but eradication of poverty and illiteracy. Each citizen of India should not be struggling even for basic daily necessities. I love my country and I want to see the Indian flag flying high. But I want it that way by means of peace and amity. There is nothing that Indians cannot achieve. But it should not be this way, which is the path to destruction. Let us look around and first help all those people who are suffering. People who have no roof on their heads, people who are starving, people who are sick, people who don't have another change of clothes. Let us look at more pressing problems such as a weakening economy, unemployment, deforestation, social evils, corruption, casteism and all other chinks in our armour. Achieving all this would be the best tribute we could pay to our dear Motherland India. Let us solve all this and then think of nuclear bombs. Mera Bharat Mahaan. Jai Hind.
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 11:30:55 -0400 I totally agree with Mr Dilip D'Souza. Can anyone give a sensible answer to the questions raised in the article. "What good have the nuclear tests done to the country? Has it led to a better standard of living for her people?" I agree with the views of some statesmen when they said, "Conducting nuclear tests is no way of manifesting a country's greatness. It has led to a lot of tension around the area." I was watching the news cast on NBC when they showed clippings of Pokhran town. The only thing that caught my attention on seeing these clippings were the dirty and narrow streets, the dilapidated houses, those skinny innocent people who have been taken for a ride by the government. These people are right now basking under all the international attention, giving them momentary respite from their daily bickerings. But they would soon realise the hollowness of the whole affair. Putting myself in a foreigner's shoes and thinking from his point of view, I would mock at the situation -- a poor standard of living and claims for nuclear superiority! Wake up, guys!
Karhik Bindiganavle
Date sent: Thu, 14 May 1998 09:59:53 -0500 I agree that we have millions of poor people around us but show me another country without poverty. The problem with your column is that it lacks basic "logic." If you think the guy selling ganne-ka-ras can talk to you about national security, you are expecting too much. If he did talk, he would not be selling that on the streets anyway. Dilip, come back to reality, a country cannot wait until every citizen is above the poverty line to start thinking about national security, it may be too late. Rajesh More letters on Dilip's Zen column next week! |
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