|
|
|
|
|
| HOME | NEWS | DEAR REDIFF | |||
|
COMMENTARY
|
|
|
'Mature journalism should help douse fires and not kindle them'
Readers respond to Varsha Bhosle's last column
Date: Thursday, February 25, 1999 12:34 AM Varsha Bhosle must resign for blatantly lying in her columns. I read her recent "Dear Readers III" piece, which is full of bullshit. I usually never try to match her writing style. But after she took me to task for my comments about her earlier piece called "A recipe for Talbanisation," I feel the need to hit back in her own style. This is the story. I wrote a comment about her "A recipe for Talbanisation," part of which is as follows and was published in Dear Rediff: "Notice how Bhosle apportions blame on the publishers, Nehruwallahs, Indira Gandhi's admirers, the Congress party, and faceless corrupt politicians for being paranoid about Rushdie's ficitionalisation of politicians. But those who read the book, and I'm assuming Bhosle read it too, would notice too that she rather conveniently overlooked the character of Raman Fielding aka Mainduck, the leader of the Maharashtra Axis, who oh so closely shadows her favourite politician Thackeray!" In her "Dear Readers III" piece Varsha Bhosle claimed her earlier column "A Recipe for Talbanisation" included this paragraph, which I apparently overlooked. This is what she had to say: "I reproduce a paragraph from the article: "BTW, how come you ignore the fact that Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh -- portraying Balasaheb as a "political cartoonist and supremo of neo-Stalinist inner structures of Mumbai's Axis, a lascivious, woman-pawing, goggle-eyed, foul-tongued, slobbering, frog of a man who likes to caress naked men under the guise of kusti" -- is freely available in Saffron Maharashtra? Or can't you absorb that which could make you think?" And then she had this to say to me: "Thick, yes. Blind, too." Perhaps I'm thick, by her standards, but I'm certainly not blind. So I went back to her "A Recipe for Talbanisation" column and read it carefully, looking for this paragraph I supposedly missed. It's not there!!! May be she writes a version for herself and sends another to the publisher. So I call Varsha Bhosle a shameless liar who would do anything to save her face, including cooking up a paragraph to claim the high ground of being fearless and objective in her writing. I'm not going to buy her story if she now says she thought this paragraph was in her column and didn't realise it was left out; she should have checked the published version of her column before she decided to hit out with sarcastic oneliners. I demand an unconditional apology from her to be published in your website. And please publish this one too, so your readers will get a real flavour of what she does. Gopal Ratnam
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 07:28:17 +0530 I do not read all the columns that Varsha writes but the ones that I have read, indicate a lot of hatred and sarcasm about the topic that she addresses. The columns I did read all pertained to the Christian-Hindu tussles in the country. I think mature journalism should help douse fires and not kindle them, I do not see evidence of that in her column which appears to only help harden positions. Shantanu Dutta
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 14:55:27 +0700 After going through columns written by journalists in various newspapers and magazines, I wonder whether they have any relevance to common Indians. The media goes on having debates which have no relevance. I have read lots of columns written on communalism and secularism. What has happened to our secularism? Nothing. India is a secular country. And India is secular because of the common man. Let me explain you this way. I am a Maharashtrian Muslim. We have three neighbours in Mumbai. One is Gujarati Hindu. One is Tamilian Hindu. One, a Goan Christian. And we've never had any problems. I don't think my neighbourhood would have been any better if say we had all Maharashtrian Muslims as neighbours. If people of various faiths and regions can stay together happily, what right do our leaders have to create divisions? I will like Varsha Bhosle to note that criticising the Sangh Parivar does not mean criticising Hindus. In the same way criticising Imam Bukhari or Syed Shahabuddin does not mean criticising Muslims or criticising missionaries (for conversions) does not mean criticising Christians. True, conversion by force should be condemned. But that does not mean one can defend the killers. In the same way, condemning the killers does not mean defending conversions. In fact different political parties use different ideologies for their own advantage. As far as the attacks on missionaries is concerned, my question is why now? I suspect the Sangh Parivar needed an issue to divide people. And as Sonia Gandhi is a Christian, they could not have a better issue than this. Now this does not mean I am in favour of conversions (or reconversion). It is tragic that political parties are using divisive methods to get votes. But will they succeed? I don't think so. If people are under the impression that the BJP was voted to power because of the Ram Mandir issue, then they are under the wrong impression. People do not vote anyone for breaking mosques. Yes, the BJP did get the publicity out of it. That publicity was useful in giving an impression that there was an alternative to the Congress. People were frustrated with Congress rule. And hence voted for the BJP. Will people vote for the BJP if they do not deliver. I am sure, they will not. So the main issue is development. What the BJP needs to do is deliver. To give importance to development. That will pay. There is always an argument that in India people do not care about development work and vote according to caste, religions etc etc. I do not believe this is true. I will give an example: In the Ratnagiri region, the Shiv Sena had done quite a bit of development work. There is a visible change in infrastructure. And this is done by the Shiv Sena. As a result, when the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance suffered a major set back in Maharashtra, the Sena got almost all seats in Konkan. Non Mahrashtrian readers may not believe this, but Muslims voted en mass for the Shiv Sena. Why? Not because the Shiv Sena promised a grand mosque in Ayodhya. They voted because they saw a change in the attitude of the government as far as infrastructure was concerned. This is just an example that if our politicians give a better governance, people will vote for them. So let us stop this nonsense and start doing something constructive. If people have proper living standards, conversions will not take place, mosques will not be broken, temples will not be burned. As for secularism, we are a secular nation. Neither the Sangh Parivar nor Jamat-I-Islam can divide us. It is not practically possible. Sajid Bhombal
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 12:46:24 +0530 Thanks for having someone who stands up and talks sense, ALWAYS. Though people like us, the Internet readers, see sense and truth in the happenings, it is always not true with our other readers. I am quite sure that we will do our best to spread the misreportings of others. We do oppose violence. But we cannot accept bullshit in the name of secularism. God Save India from future Vatican rule. M S Anand
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 16:22:26 -0500 The total logical blindness of this person never stops to amaze me. While she 'dies' because people make impressions from 'lousy' newspapers, our dear elitist has based many an article, even this one, on some report from some unheard of paper or official mouth pieces of political parties. And she wouldn't budge from her arm chair even for that. Talk about haram ki kamai! I can't believe she is trying to justify the burning of a man and two children, even if he had supposedly committed the 'capital' offence of spreading a religion (maybe I missed the part on how many 'families' the poor kids converted). Wonder if she even bothered to watch the funeral procession of which a sizeable group were poor lepers whom this man had helped, whatever be his motives. Weeping because the person who had saved them from suffering suffered such an inhuman death. To top it all, now she suggests the Pope ordered the killing. I would have laughed if I had not been saddened by the macabre incident behind it. Keep at it, Ms Bhosle. At least we the not-so-elite can get a glimpse of the elite saffron mentality. Rajesh
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 22:31:54 +0500 Varsha's article is trying to instill sanity among people who are influenced by the media who would go to any length to put facts in such a manner to create a sensation. I guess this kind of anti-majorityism happens in India mainly because of the 'missionary school educated' domination of the media and ruling elites. Also there really seems a grandiose plan behind all this as stated by Madhavrao Scindia, that most of the Christian religious leaders are coming up with these fake reports and then the Christian Western world which is losing its dominance over the world is trying to stop the new leaders and powers like India. Lastly, can I subscribe to her articles only, please?
Dinesh Jain
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 08:52:09 -0800 (PST) Indeed god is in every detail and every action/inaction, even of those at the fringes of Hinduism (Bajrang Dal, VHP, RSS). I am glad you realise the importance of the Almighty. While several readers have commented on your rabid writing, I take this opportunity to comment on some of the issues mentioned in your article. Needless to say, your mindset is comparable to the saffron clad, gut-wrenching fanatics. 1. Haraam ki Kamaai -- I am sure this is not restricted to journalists, correspondents, and press bureaus as indicated by you. You are smart enough to know that without haraam ki kamaai India will cease to function. Look into your own backyard and investigate the Shiv Sena. I am sure you will have enough material to write. But you will not do it! First, because you have a hidden agenda of seeking political prominence (maybe, a Shakha Pramukh or a Rajya Sabha seat) through the Sena. Second, the Sena is an outfit of your types. That a Maratha (your country cousin) heads it, you better be quiet. 2. Conversions- First of all, it is essential to understand why people convert. You conveniently ignore the years of tyranny, torture, murder, rape, and casteism imposed on the meek, humble, and downtrodden. Why ignore? Because your conscience hurts. You are unwilling to accept your faults and bear witness to the awakening of the oppressed. The same shroud in which Hinduism covered their atrocities has come to haunt it. Second, in the myriad of issues facing India, is conversion prominent? How can Christians and Muslims wipe Hinduism off India's face? Leave it to the "system," the (problem/issue) will be solved by itself. Finally, if you think conversions are non-threatening, then why write or make it an issue. By doing so, your behavior is identical to the journalists/correspondents seeking haraam ki kamaai. 3. Killing to propagate -- Isn't this conflicting? Your sanction of Staines' murders is apparent of your narrow approach, which in turn is similar to a fundamentalist ideology. Is violence a solution to religious intolerance? If political institutions do what they must to keep their dominions intact, then humanity would have ceased. This boils down to the fact that there is a larger plan in play. It is god's plan counteracting every plan of the wicked and cruel so that you and I (his chosen people) will continue to live. God is in the details after all!!!
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 19:57:49 +0530 I think it must have taken Varsha some courage to write this article. It has raised some very relevant points on the hypocritical manner in which the Indian media has conducted itself recently. Bravo Varsha! B V Raghavan
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 03:56:12 -0800 (PST) This is not just regarding and addressed to Varsha Bhosle but to all Indians who are avidly interested in the current state of India. I have said this earlier (I don't know if it appeared) -- the amount of time and effort we Indians spend on debating and complaining is just so sad. I wish we would realise that most of us who are indulging in such debates are doing so at a great cost to our nation and its people. Do we realise that we are discussing issues which have nothing to do with the development of our country? I live in the US right now and get extremely upset by all the issues of "importance" to us Indians. Why does no one seem to see that we are obsessed by irrelevant issues? Why are we Indians hynotised by our past? Almost all the topics of discussion these days seem to be negative. Why is there so much talk of NOT doing, as in: NOT playing matches, NOT showing movies, NOT converting people, NOT this and NOT that !! Very few seem to be talking of doing anything. All we can do is stop others! All this talk of religion and finger-jabbing across our various religious divisions is taking us nowhere. The world is passing us by. Once upon a time we used to be talking of going into the 21st century, but nowadays we just talk about resolving issues out of the 18th and earlier centuries! When will we grow up? No one, least of all the politicians, seem to be interested in solving the problems of population, education and lack of infrastructure. When I read some of the articles of lack of power (electrical!) and other infrastructure, I feel so sad about India and also angry at all this discussion about religion. I am not an atheist but sometimes I wish were one. Again, I pray to you god, would you take away religion from my countrymen please? It is very nice for us middle-class upholders of morality to debate endlessly while the people who are less fortunate in India suffer more as the intelligentsia debates. What will break the hypnotic spell that these demagogues in politics and media are weaving? And these proud Hindus in the US and elsewhere should realise that these developed nations from where we got the Internet and other such goodies, are developed because they did not spend lifetimes debating! God will only help those who help themselves. (Which our politicians take too literally of course !) I am a Hindu Maharashtrian and am extremely ashamed these days of the antics of some others of my ilk. So are many of my friends back home in Bombay too. The worst blow to my Indianness came when my father, who is 73, has only one son and that too in the US, tells me to make sure I can go back to the US if I come home! And he probably voted for the BJP-Shiv Sena! Mera Bharat Mahaan! Pankaj Mhatre
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 19:11:58 +0800 I am not an admirer of any religious leaders or priests, but I think this column is ridiculous to hint that the Pope is behind the death of Staines! What is the evidence of such a grave charge? Is it not better to keep your columns at a respectable and objective level? George Mani
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 14:06:46 +0400 Funny thing that! You make it sound like the proselytised are poor, wimpy, helpless beings with absolutely no brains of their own. Contrary to what the media will make us believe, tribals do have wisdom too and we're talking about adults here, please. Heck! if they choose to be converted, why blame Staines? I don't think he used a sword to get them converted. Ultimately, it was up to them. Anyway, I can't imagine you soiling your hands among the leper community. Bet you have only held a pen in them. Mother Teresa was no different. She only spoke of Christ even as she helped the poor. Ironic, again, isn't it? That you didn't mention the leper community who will probably miss Staines the most, but of course, again as part of the media, you only take up the cause of those in the limelight.
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 11:57:34 +0530 I accidentally stumbled upon this column and was surprised, amused and impressed, all at once. Surprised because, I thought for journalists it is always fashionable to write articles on 'secularism,' 'Fascist Sangh Parivar' and 'increased atrocities on poor minority communities' and here is one who is absolutely not fashion conscious (a woman that too!). Amused by the articles which do not hesitate to use the language and style which sometimes can resemble downright the language you hear on railway station platforms/ markets, yet impressed because of the bold stand you took which I know can cause a deluge of abuse. I also noticed the readers who branded you as 'Fascist' and 'mouthpiece of Hindu organisations' hardly had a single fact to support their arguments. Reading several columns in Rediff, it is becoming increasingly clear that journalism is no longer as sacrosanct as it is made out to be. Corporate publishing houses can easily sway public opinion by selective, sometimes even covered up presentation of facts. It reminds me one of the greatest movies of all time, Citizen Kane in which Orson Welles foresaw this some sixty years ago. In that movie Kane, a corporate publisher, says: "What do the people think?! Why, they think what I want them to think!" How prophetic! Girish Sharma B
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 11:38:35 -0800 So now we must let this lady decide which newspaper reports we are to believe and which ones we are to scoff at. So, while the TOI is a rag hell-bent on distorting the facts in order to establish the BJP's guilt on the front page, Rashtradeep is a newspaper committed to reporting facts that are the whole truth (of course, we must also redefine "truth" to suit our lady's likings) and fie on those who dare to think otherwise. Reason and rationality have never been associated with the motley group that this person represents and she strives hard to prove that. Well done!! Sanjeev Radhakrishnan
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 14:18:47 -0500 You are one hell of a journalist. And you know what, today's (and tomorrow's) media (especially English) need someone like you. I don't know how WE are going to stop the false propaganda of these 'secularist' pinkos (I like that word of yours). But it's due to a few handful people like you that we can get to know the truth uncovered. Keep it up Varsha!
Ashish Mujumdar
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 11:11:38 PST Varsha keep up the good work. I really like the way you write and also about what you write. We need more journalists/people like you. Kedar Sathe
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 10:55:49 PST This is my first ever response to any of the columns on Rediff. It's one of the nice articles I have come across.
1. It's thoughtprovoking.
Sometime ago I read about the rape of a 'nun' on Rediff. One thing that surprised me, is that the report said that the nun has apparently burnt the clothes, as she was in trauma. Something really sounded doubtful there. Destroying the evidence? For what? Just to give the rapists a chance to survive (If at all there had been a rape)? I feel most of these attacks and so called rapes, were nothing but cheap political tricks. About the claims made by some missionaries that they were there with the sole purpose of serving humanity... I sincerely can't buy that. Like many other friends, who belong to the so-called "upper castes" (I prefer the word 'less privileged'), I grew up in an environment, where I used to see two buses, full of nuns/sisters in my colony, every weekend. They used to gather the tribals, workers and their families and it's everyone's guess what happened next. A hungry stomach cares more for the immediate food, than for religious ethics. And there are too many out there to cash on this basic need of people. They did cash on it in the past, and they are doing it at present, and I am sure they will, in the future too. I know so many of my own friends, who enjoyed the incentives by being converted Christians, and the luxury of reservations provided by the Godly government for the suppressed classes. Two birds at one shot.. The saga goes on and on... Once again, thank you so much for such a nice and candid article. Keep it up. Capri
|
||
|
HOME |
NEWS |
BUSINESS |
SPORTS |
MOVIES |
CHAT |
INFOTECH |
TRAVEL
SHOPPING HOME | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | HOTEL RESERVATIONS PERSONAL HOMEPAGES | FREE EMAIL | FEEDBACK |
||