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November 11, 1998
ELECTIONS '98
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'Has Bombay lost its soul? I am sure the whole nation has lost it'
How Readers responded to Dilip D'Souza's recent columns
Date sent: Thu, 05 Nov 1998 09:14:16 PST
Dilip's article is indeed very thought-provoking. I am sitting thousands of miles away from my beloved Bombay. The news of such happenings comes as shock and surprise. Here in the US, such occurrences are not common. The other day, there was a house that was on fire, and the neighbours did not open their doors to the cries of help. It led to the loss of two lives. It is the overall attitude of the society, the chalta hain attitude that is to blame. So, life goes on. The Bofors scandal, riots in Bombay, the renaming of Bombay to Mumbai, the prices of onions, losing cricket matches... life goes on. There is a big hoopla about these issues in the press... they talk about it for a day or two... and then it's on to something new. There is no 'life' in people. We loose a cricket match, who cares? And from their attitude, it seems like not even the players care!!! It is a simple conclusion that I draw. In India, people don't live. They merely exist. They are just entities living in a mass of entities, what is labelled as society, without any spark, without fire, without any soul. Others are proud to say where they hail from. Yes, I too say I am an Indian, I say it with pride. But unlike other countries, there is no social spark to back up my statement. Occurrences as the explosion of the nuclear test device, are few and far in between. What is needed is a central focus, be it a cause, be it an object, or be it a sport... Something for the entire nation to concentrate on, for people to talk about, to be proud of. Most other nations have their culture, religion, history, power... Sadly, though we have it all, we don't live. We only exist... Suvrat
Date sent: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 19:34:18 -0500
Dilip, you were frank. Bang on target. I think all of us should do some soul-searching. Changes should occur on an individual basis. Swaminathan
Date sent: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 16:48:21 -0500
Who says Bombay has lost its soul? Bombay never had one for as long as I can remember. It was the same in the early 80s when I was there as a student. The commuters in the local trains are a tragic lot. A quarter of their life is spent on crowded trains. And then what about those guys who consider the locals as their private property? "Reserved seats" they call them. I had the misfortune to be in a fast local from VT. The train had a stop at Vikhroli. Much as I tried, I could not get off. I was physically blocked. My pleadings were of no avail. "Idhar utarna tha to slow local kyon nahi liya?" You expect these people to have a heart and a soul. Hah! I wonder what must be going through the minds of those three who watched the incident. Nightmares? They deserve it. Has it occurred to them that it could have been any of them, and not Jayabala Ashar? In this matter I found Calcutta much better. Even today the young guys stand up to give an older person or a lady a seat. Even today, they stand up to injustice. Even the frail and weak in body put up a brave fight. Those who have stayed at both places would know the difference.
Tapas
Date sent: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 13:31:28 -0800
My heart cries when I read about the Jayabala incident. After some soul-searching, I am asking myself, what if it had been one of those whom I love, what if she had been me?? Shame on those girls who kept mum. Shame on people who do such things on a daily basis in one way or the other. Shame on us as a society who watched a person getting beaten up by goondas and nobody comes forward. Shame on us as a nation. We talk to the rest of the world about our values and social ethics; yet we are the worst enemy of our society. We never keep the meaning of the society in our hearts. Society stands for helping others, maintaining discipline, helping the one who can't help himself. Look what we have done. I wish those women had spoken something. Mukesh
Date sent: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 13:24:18 -0500
Has Bombay lost its soul? I am sure the whole nation has lost it. People are tired of making their own ends meet, and they have no time or energy to spend on others. If someone does have the inclination to help, the 'thought of police harassment and visits to precincts' stops him. I think we all are humane enough to sympathise with others and offer to help, but we are stopped for we are afraid. Would you stake your life to rescue someone on the street or on the subway? Except in movies and storybooks I haven't heard anyone even trying such a thing (barring people that are paid to do that, like soldiers, cops, firemen and the like). It will certainly be different if the victim in question is someone you personally know. I think the problem lies in the way our laws are structured and the way our cops handle such situations. Would I have reacted differently? You are right, I am not sure. If only I knew that I would not be harassed by cops and I wouldn't have to answer their stupid questions, YES, I would have. Suresh
Date sent: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 12:34:51 -0500
I am from Bombay and have been residing abroad for nearly 2 years now. All my life I took pride on being a Bombayite. I am not so sure whether I should take pride in that anymore. It's almost scary when I think that most people I know of are not so sure as how to react in such a situation. Should we or shouldn't we "get involved"!!!!! Anil
Date sent: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 19:38:52 +0530
For the first time I find myself in agreement with Shri Dilip D'Souza when he says, "The real insult to Hindu culture, and in fact to all of India, is that education has been treated so flippantly over the years, that it continues to be treated that way." If Shri D'Souza had made a proper inquiry about the state of affairs, he would have realised that this happened when it was anti-Hindu men who were in power. And here I do not mean politicians alone, but also those who go under the rubric intellectuals, with whom Shri D'Souza would empathise. It was these intellectuals who have been dominating our academic institutes, and many still continue to do so. The NCERT, which is the premier body that determines the way subjects are to be taught, has been dominated by the Leftists, most of whom are anti-Hindu. In a series of articles, Arun Shourie has written about how such Leftist fellow travellers have allegedly conducted an academic fraud on the nation through the Indian Council for Historical Research. The silence with which these articles have been received by the likes of Shri D'Souza is deafening. At the same time, the accusation of 'saffronisation' of the ICHR has been made from rooftops, including that of Shri D'Souza's. It would be legitimate for the readers of Rediff to ask what the Sangh Parivar has been doing on this issue. Let me begin with the unit I am in charge of, that is the Maharashtra Pranth of the VHP. In a tribal area near Bombay we have a hostel and a school, run through an organisation called Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra. The best tribute that has been given to this was by a Communist activist who worked extensively in the area. She said that while she created awareness of rights and privileges of the vanvasis, the Kendra brought about positive change in the lives of the people. She said she had witnessed an unbelievable and welcome change in the youth of the area. And this Kendra is run with minimum government funds. However, a couple of large temples in Bombay have come forward to grant monetary support from the offerings of devotees. In addition, we run small hostels that provide free boarding and lodging facilities to the poor students of the area. In Goa, we have an orphanage that provides a true home for the children. This orphanage has received national recognition. Shri P D Chitlangia, whose presentation at the education ministers conference was objected by the so-called secularists, has set up more than 1,300 one-teacher schools in the tribal areas of Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The total number of students is around 40,000. This is done through an organisation called Vanvasi Bandhu Parishad (Friends of Tribal Society). This unit relies on no government support. The unique feature of this activity is that the teacher comes from the area where the school is set up. There is no dearth of funds available from socially-conscious Hindus, and the constraint is to get sufficient number of teachers, with the right aptitude. The cost of running each school is Rs 10,000, apart from the facilities provided by the local people. A senior politician from Maharashtra recently said he was not aware that the RSS-affiliated organisations run the largest school network in the country. All these are community-supported projects. I could give many examples of the work done by the Sangh Parivar. At the same time, the Leftist organisations have done precious little, all the time complaining that the government is not doing anything. And it is the governments that they have been supporting which have been ruling the nation until very recently, and guiding its destiny. Shri D'Souza could let the readers of Rediff know about the large amount that has been expended by the government on higher professional education, like medical, engineering etc. Though funds for primary education have been woefully lacking, I do believe Shri D'Souza has been one of the fortunate beneficiaries of the largesse.
Ashok Chowgule
Date sent: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 16:16:33 PST
Dilip, Excellent articles in a series. Article on education followed by the Jayabala Ashar incident. As opposed to some of the loose-mouths who write nothing but trash, I think you are one of the few sane people to carry the light of Indianism on Rediff. I almost stopped reading Rediff, thanks to some loose mouths, eg Varsha. I tried my best to express my opinion, but she has the upperhand. She is a journalist. I think your article was one of the best-written I've read in a long time. We need to move this country into the 21st and NOT 1st century. We cannot do that by forcing the teachings of one particular religion on all INDIANS. For those of the readers who questioned your lack of response to what is happening in Christian schools, I have only one answer: they are CHRISTIAN schools, they are not public schools, funded by the tax money from HINDUS/MUSLIMS/CHRISTIANS/SICKS/ETC. For those who want Sanskrit/Vedas/ Saraswati Vandanam, there are plenty of "Saraswati Shishumandirs", run by the RSS. Note this: they do all that Mr Joshi wants to be done in public schools. All religious schools teach their respective religious stuff, so why complain only about missionary schools? Why not about "Saraswati Shishumandirs"? The issue here is only about secular India's public-funded schools. One can open his/her own religious private school and teach whatever he or she wants, there is enough freedom within our Constitution for that. For the past 50 years, the Congress turned a blind eye towards the education system, and now we have somebody who wants to do something good, but unfortunately with a BIASED eye. The RSS/BJP/VHP are trying to saffronise this country, but unfortunately they are underestimating the power of the people. Indians are smart, they tolerate things only to a certain extent. I am sure the next assembly elections will show this clearly. The RSS and its clan thinks they can change the history (already done in UP and Rajasthan) and convert all Muslims/Christians or kick them out pretty easily. Come assembly elections, they will see it with their own eyes. Chaman PS: Dilip, don't get discouraged by the responses of a few fanatics and their clan. Keep up the good work, we need more from you.
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 14:36:56 PST
Dilip wishes to know how learning Sanskrit is going to help us with additional blackboards in schools. I think of several uses for learning Sanskrit. For one, it will teach the child that all subjects are not easy. It will also show that ANY subject under the sun can be mastered -- with effort. In real life one must continuously educate himself/herself. Learning Sanskrit will equip a person with a healthy attitude that ANY subject can be learnt. Secondly, as a side-effect, some students may actually start studying the Hindu scriptures. The society that was present in the Ramayana and Mahabharata is quite different from the present-day Hindu society. They would then realise that societies change over a period of time. Acceptance of change, it seems to me, is a very healthy attitude. Thirdly, Muslims and Christians in India would realise that they are the beneficiaries of the Hindu tradition. The Hindu past belongs to them as much as it does to the Hindus. They would see themselves not as some remnants of an alien invasion, but a part and parcel of a single whole. In effect, these segments would see themselves not as 'minorities' but as variations of a larger society. They would learn to see fellow men as human beings -- not as 'heathens' or 'infidels'. I am stopping here. I think I have made my point clear, Dilip. Indian education over the years has overloaded the society with dimwits armed with degrees. What we need from education is the creation of individuals with healthy attitude -- those who know HOW to learn. Krishna
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 03:01:25 IST
Dilip, you got me this time. The blackboards, toilets, teachers, etc... are things to do with money. The current issue is about policies. Can't you just stop mixing emotions with realities? If the government forces teachers to attend schools sincerely they lose their votes. Do you understand what that means to an MP? Or do you understand what kind of appeasing systems have been created in this country? Have you ever got a chance to compare individuals brought up in gurukulas and your secular schools? I found the former have greater integrity. Don't come back with another stupid column without doing some research. I am not talking about the grave statistics you show every time. Everybody knows them. I don't need to read your column to find out how many are hungry, how many schools are without blackboards. And you think teaching gals on house keeping is wrong. This is the case of people who try to hide their shadow of realities. First the case is, why do only women need to do house-keeping? That's something that needs to be asked by 'sexual equality' NGOs. (You find more sexual equality only in educated populace). But most of the women end up as housewives (whatever may be the reason), so they need to know house-keeping. It's good for them. Or consider this. Knowing house keeping won't stop them from climbing to a company's board. Even in the US, which our country is fond of, women do more house-keeping than men, even in the case of working women. They don't have any prejudice. Let me tell you what. You write columns on the wrong aspect of the main issue. The dropouts, blackboards are never discussed at the education ministers conference. It's more on guidelines. I suggest you do one thing. Read Saisuresh Sivaswamy's column on this issue. Subba |
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