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May 14, 1998
SPECIALS
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How Readers responded to Varsha Bhosle's recent columns
Date sent: Sun, 03 May 1998 02:24:39 -0700 Varsha Bhosle is like a speeding truck that has gone out of control. Apart from lamenting, criticising and lashing out at the minority community, she offers little imagination, creativity or original input in her writings. The earlier she matures in her writings, the better.
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 10:51:24 -0700 (PDT) I love commenting on Varsha's article and get an incredible kick out of it! Again, another trashy article! Varsha's authoritative comments on India's justice system explain her lack of insight. She is simply a LOUD MOUTH and a fundamentalist! She is also ignorant. She comments on biased reporting in this article -- what hypocrisy! What does she thrive on? Oonchi manzil me rahne wali, tumhe kya pata ke Bombay riots me kya hua? Perhaps none of the local goondas (in turn supported by local politicians) stormed your building looking for people belonging to the "other" community, or none of your neighbours was killed while you watched helplessly. Ask the residents of Bharat Nagar, Housing Board Colony, and Behrampada in East Bandra, who experienced "selective" massacre of both Hindus and Muslims. Children and women, young and old, were forced out of buses, asked to identify their religion, and hacked if belonged to the "other" community. All this happening in Bal Thackeray's locality with his blessings! If anyone has to be blamed for the Bombay riots, then it is the Shiv Sena. Is it not true that the fear of being exposed is preventing the Sena from making the Srikrishna report public? Finally, from all your articles it appears that you consider the Sena synonymous with Hinduism. What a shame! Every article of yours portrays the Sena in good light! If it is true, then why do the Hindus of Maharashtra detest them (as evident from the recent poll results)? The Bombay riots should serve as a revelation to all Bombayites. It should be condemned for stirring religious sentiments and disturbing peace. Varsha, is your next article about the Shiv Sena's hooliganism at the Ghulam Ali show, or are you quietly going to shove this shameful act under the carpet?
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 18:13:29 -0500 (CDT) I'm one of the many Indian students in the US. I'm greatly impressed by your writing and have never missed an article of yours. Though your arguments might sometimes not be sound, your articles definitely entice the reader to proceed further. Your usage of phrases like "pacifist crap" (In the India Should Go Nuclear article) is just wonderful. Congratulations..! A small suggestion: You might want to reduce your tone to keep the "mosies" at bay..:)
Date sent: Fri, 1 May 1998 08:50:04 -0400 There she goes again! This lady (I wonder if I should call her that!) has an ego the size of a Zepplin airship, and is completely filled with hot air. What makes her think she knows and can judge better than the Supreme Court of India? Come on, Ms Bhosle, lie down before you hurt yourself. About the Srikrishna Commission, why doesn't the state government make it public so everybody can take a leak, instead of bursting their bladders with all the 'suspense'. Yes, justice must be done. Not only to the six people murdered in the Radhabhai Chawl case, but also to the the thousands who lost their lives in the Bombay riots, the anti Sikh riots, the bomb blasts, Kashmir, Assam, the Partition... The real culprits? People like Ms Bhosle who fan the flames, and ignite passions just for the sake of something small like writing a 'sensational' article. She criticises The Times of India's editor for carrying a 'biased' article. I wonder if she would register a protest with Rediff's editor for carrying hers. Well, I do. Ms Bhosle has time and again proven that she is biased and lacks even the normal sense of decency in the way she writes and responds to those who think differently. Dear editor, please note: If you would like anyone other than hardcore BJP/RSS/VHP/Shiv Sena supporters to read your articles, this lady needs to be off the list. We don't need minority cards, caste cards, race cards, etc. We don't need Hindutva cards and all-other-religions-are-bad cards. Throw them where they belong -- with the garbage! Rajesh
Date sent: Fri, 01 May 1998 11:38:08 PDT I wonder how such a well-known news network publishes such a hateful article. This is the most unwanted piece of journalism I have ever read. By publishing this, Rediff is creating another SCI on its web page. This lady is a regular reader of SCI, she gets her ideas from SCI, her material from SCI, does her research for topics on SCI, so what she writes ought to be of SCI quality -- by publishing her, Rediff is duplicating SCI. Rediff has gained acceptance of the educated Indian community across the globe very quickly because of its fair reporting. If this path is abandoned, it will lose its readers pretty soon. In my opinion, Rediff has a tough decision ahead, KEEP HER OFF or GO DOWN as yet another useless Web site. Patel D
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 12:25:59 -0700 Mr Editor, Though sometimes I think Varsha Bhosle exaggerates, this article is really fitting. Some reporters (pseudo-intellects or pseudo secularists -- whatever you want to term them), especially from the Times group, really portray Muslims ("minority community") as an oppressed and troubled community. We all know that that is not the case. So much liberty has been given to the Muslims that they think they can get away with any hideous crimes. And surprisingly, it is leaders such as Javed Khan and Abu Asim Azmi who help the criminals go scot free. And what do reporters like Punwani do? They present the criminals as heroes of some kind, or justify the controversial verdict, as in the case of the Radhabai Chawl. Have they ever reported about the shattered lives of the victims? No, as Varsha pointed out, once it becomes a HINDU-MUSLIM matter, the real oppressed are shown as part of the casualties of war, and the criminals as innocents for lack of evidence. This only generates more hatred towards the 'minority community'. The leaders and judges should realise that. Purvesh
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 14:57:15 -0500 According to Varsha, all the problems that arise in the Indian soil is because some Muslims messed up somewhere. Varsha needs to stop seeing Indian Muslims as foreigners and look at them as just Indians. Be a little broadminded. If the violence didn't rise from the Babri Masjid demolition, what was the real cause? If the Sena or BJP is not worried about the Srikrishna Commission, why don't they make the report public? Be it a Muslim or Hindu, any violence should not go unpunished. Mansoor
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 10:26:44 -0700 Once again Varshaji has hit the nail right on. Kudos to her. The only reason I read Rediff is for her articles. I think she is the only columnist at Rediff who makes sense. Others are a bunch of "pinkos". I hope Rediff does not succumb to the whims of pseudo-secular readers who keep urging it to get rid of her. Pritesh Dagli
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 11:59:40 -0400 Keep it up, Varsha. If not for you and the cricket chat, I'd have never visited this site so many times. Do not worry about pseudo-secularists and their reactions to your reports. Ajay Ghatge
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 09:40:44 -0700 Good article. Call it 50 years of Leftist rule. Will take another 50 years of nationalist rule to dismantle this Leftist ("liberal") political, judicial & media structure. Narain
Date sent: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 12:20:13 PDT I hope this is the last of your masterpieces expressing hatred for MUSLIMS. I think you are better suited to write either in the Sena mouthpiece, the BJP web site or the VHP's newsletter. This kind of article will further divide the already-divided communities and could lead to a civil war. I wonder how such a popular media as Rediff lets this kind of people write. Would Varsha have been happy, if the SC had found all the 11 Muslims guilty? Now that they have been acquitted, she writes the worst hate-provoking article I have ever read. Journalism should be more objective and rational. Regarding Teesta Setalvad's article, I just have one thing to say: In your own network dated April 29th 1998, Dilip D'Souza has written that the Srikrishna Commission has conducted every interview publicly, all their proceedings were public and this report is public property. So, for a person who is in the media, you should know better. I think you are the worst thing that has happened to the Indian news media. How conveniently you quote the case of OJ, who had too much money with him to defend himself. There were zillion incidents during the Bombay riots, where your *pals*, the *sainiks*, burnt, butchered, beheaded and raped thousands of Muslims. They were so inhuman and crude that they did not even spare the Muslim beggars on the street. If you think you are really sincere in your efforts to better India, I challenge you to write articles on:
1. Why the Sena government is not tabling the Srikrishna report.
Regarding the *Tailpiece*, your tirade against one of the readers who responded to your article. It clearly shows total lack of maturity on your part. If you can't take criticism without demeaning the critic, you better stop writing and take up SENA/BJP politics. Lastly, in honour of your great work, I would like to award you the honorary title of 'A Product of SCI'. From now onwards, please use this title next to your name. A request to the Rediff editor: Sir, please think twice before publishing this lady's article -- your network's survival is in danger.
Date sent: Sat, 2 May 1998 16:14:40 -0700 The hypocrisy that Varsha refers to in her column does have a good side -- it serves as a wake-up call to those Hindus who were under the spell of pseudo-secularism so far. For this to occur, it requires the response of some journalists such as Arun Shourie, Anwar Shaikh, Koenraad Elste, Dr David Frawley, and, of course, Varsha herself. Other Rediff commentators who are not afraid to call a spade a spade, who are definitely objective (not "Hindutvawadis"), are Shenoy and Srinivasan. This limited response to thousands of pseudo-journalists and newspapers such as the ToI has served to wake up the nation in just a few years.
Date sent: Mon, 4 May 1998 10:44:58 -0700 (PDT) I wonder why Rediff is promoting communalism. Any idiot who reads Varsha's article would ask the same question. The judiciary may have been wrong in the Bombay case, but let me ask Varsha one thing: Bal Thackeray was accused of so many things and even had warrants issued against him -- but why was he never arrested? It is very well known that the Bombay riots were instigated by Shiv Sainiks. So why is Varsha defending the Sena? Come on, please don't take advantage of the freedom of speech so much. Who knows, Varsha, you might be the next victim of this. In a country where Muslims are nothing but vote banks, I wonder what is expected of them. One last thing for the Rediff people -- please don't let Varsha use your site for cheap publicity.
Date sent: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 21:05:30 -0500 In support of Varsha's arguments, I would like to add the following regarding the ancient Vedic culture and Hinduism. Eating meat was permitted in the ancient Vedic society. But the famous Manu encouraged vegetarianism on the grounds of non-violence. The milk cow was called aghnya. The economic benefits of selling milk was the reason in advocating against cow killing. Thus the Western's worlds belief that cow is considered holy in India is utterly false. The tradition of not eating beef came much later to Hinduism. Ramsundar Lakshminarayanan
Date sent: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 19:15:24 -0400 Respected madam, I am an avid reader of your columns and a fan of your journalistic abilities and forthrightness. But in this particular column, I feel the issues of vegetarianism and the VHP's principles have been mixed. I am myself a pure vegetarian living in the USA, and the VHP's stand of banning cow slaughter and many other issues that you raised don't hold water for me. But at the same time, millions of vegetarians follow this practice for own personal and moral reasons which I agree are debatable. But I do believe in them totally, though I don't act like a fanatic on the issue. Also, I understood from your column that being vegetarian is hypocritical (correct me if I'm wrong ); you gave reasons like cutting trees for paper. I believe you are missing the point. We as human beings have set some moral standards for ourselves. As a civilised being, the effort should be made to draw the line somewhere. Just to give an example, it may be 'immoral' to commit adultery, but it is not immoral to have sex with your partner. The idea here is not to totally stop living and not eat anything (plants are living beings, too), but to at least stop the very tangible overstepping of human sensibilities like killing a live animal and eating it. We are misusing our intelligence as humans and have built huge slaughterhouses to kill animals. Our position in the nature doesn't allow us to do that. Nor should our morality. Venkat Mylavarupu
Date sent: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 19:14:10 -0400 Killing of animals is not required for the survival of human beings. I don't want someone to kill me for food and that is why I don't prefer killing animals for my food. Will Varsha cook her children if she is feeling hungry? If yes, then I think she has the right to oppose the ban on killing animals. Otherwise, not. Gaurav
Date sent: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 14:58:14 -0700 Excellent article. No wonder Varsha has a fan following on the Internet. The attempt to reach the actual roots and define true Hinduism for the all encompassing religion it is is a magnificent effort. Her urging the people to focus more on social doctrines induced by a religion rather than its ritualistic tendencies is the right path to the revival of Hinduism. Gunja
Date sent: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 15:10:07 EDT I feel sad when I see India neckdeep in all sorts of trouble. But I feel it even worse when I see intelligent journalists like Varsha write articles on petty things like cow slaughter. Please don't write articles just for the sake of writing, Rediff... don't you edit articles before publishing them???
Date sent: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 11:01:19 -0700 I thought the article made some good points until I came to the tailpiece. What is this deal with Rediff about Indians living in the US? It seems like this author, too, has a problem with opinions that emanate from US-residing Indians. And the author thinks her knowledge of Sanskrit is "way" cool compared to her (US-based) detractor! So what? A vast majority of Indians (living anywhere) don't care a rat's behind about Sanskrit. One should be immensely desperate to imagine that such people are illiterate.
Pradeep
Date sent: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 19:09:18 +0100 Varshaji, You ask is nationalism the burden of Hindus? My rural background and experience with different sections of people can answer it to some extent. The Hindus are not one, neither do they have a sense of oneness. In Andhra Pradesh villages, Maadigas (Dalits), Maalas (converted Christians -- Dalits, long ago), Muslims, and several other sects live in absolute poverty (and they are all equally un-hygenic). Of all these, Dalits are singled out by the upper caste Hindus (Brahmins, Vysyas, Reddys, Kammas, etc.) and openly declared untouchables. In my village, they cannot drink water from the only one available well, they cannot enter the Ram temple, they cannot even sit on the bench in a bus stand if an upper caste person is next to them. Many upper caste Hindus need services like supplying drinking water from the well which is more than half mile away from the main village. For this, they prefer any other upper caste person, followed by a Muslim, followed by a converted Christian, but never a Maadiga. A genuine Hindu, who truly believes in the religion and accepts fate as his destiny, cannot be preferred to a Muslim or a Christian by other Hindus. India is still rural in its composition and I imagine a similar situation everywhere. Half the "Hindus" in India have good reasons to be indifferent to any Hindu movement or foriegn Muslim infiltration. This half had no problems when Muslim rulers raped upper caste Hindu women. They had no problems when the Britishers depleted the national resources and oppressed India's freedom. Neither had they any benefit when India achieved freedom from foreign rule. Then why should they take any responsibility towards national interests? Why should they respond? Islam teaches brotherhood among Muslims. A "Pakistani" says he is a Muslim first and Pakistani next. A Muslim shows all respect and passion a human deserves to another Muslim. Then, how can you question an Indian Muslim on accommodating a Pakistani Muslim? To answer your question in a straight forward manner, "Yes, nationalism is the burden of upper caste Hindus alone!". Bhaskar |
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