I write in response to Outlook’s cover story on the seemingly irresistible rise of Donald Trump in the race to the Republican nomination in the US (America Warns You, Mar 21). One fanaticism gives birth to another and this is what we see in the US, Europe and India. In case of Trump, they’re still hypothetical victims, but the threat is very real. But please don’t worry too much about the US; they have enough safeguards in place. Worry about India instead, where idiots are ganging up to split the country and hiding behind the facade of ‘free speech’.
George, London
The non-stop harangues of Donald Trump and the cool-cum-smiley speeches of Hillary Clinton have equally insignificant impact on the American psyche. Americans are not so stupid as to fall into the obvious trap of Trump’s hatred and bluster so easily. They want a president who can steer them to stability and more wealth.
Seetharam B., Warangal
Considering Trump’s image of being a wizard in business, it is surprising how shallow and uninformed he is, especially in foreign affairs. His only weapon is to troll other politicians. This is the forte of demagogues. They pick up the unaddressed anger, grievances and hatred of the ‘silent majority’ and make them their own. Still, Trump doesn’t appeal to a majority of conservatives. Therein lies our hope.
Anwaar, Dallas
Outlook’s cover story was wrong on a number of reasons. Trump has always been against the American empire’s wars of aggression. He has condemned the invasion of Iraq, the mess in Libya and coddling the vile jehadis in Syria. He has said he’d cooperate with Putin, someone the Empire hates, against the ISIS. Significantly, warmongering US liberals are ready to embrace Hillary. America’s NATO allies hate Trump for one reason—he is asking them to take responsibility for their own defence expenses. He says he’ll be neutral between Israel and Palestine, unlike the slavish kowtowing of all US regimes. And his attitude towards Mexicans and the ‘wall’ is in no way different from India’s attitude to illegal immigration and cross-border crimes from Bangladesh. Trump has the support of the working class. They will stick with him the more the media attacks him.
Biswapriya Purkayastha, Shillong
As reported, Trump may not be able to implement all his ideas because of checks and balances. And yet, there will be change, for India might benefit in the context of Pakistan. The US’s opportunistic foreign policies have always encouraged Pakistan against India.
Venuraja Gopal Rao, Warangal
Considering the importance of the post of the US president, Trump’s possible triumph will be a disaster to democracies all over the world.
V.N.K. Murti Pattambi, Pattambi
As an Indian, one should commend Trump for saying honest things about India, while also being wary of him for his jibe about India poaching US jobs. Yes, the axiomatic idea that Democrats are morally above Republicans needs modification. It was under Carter (a Democrat) and his NSA advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski that the policy of encouraging jehadis started, with weakening Russian influence in West and Central Asia. It was under Clinton, another Democrat, that the highest number of sanctions were imposed on India for conducting nuclear tests in 1998. Yet China, practically a dictatorship, got to denounce the tests with Madame Albright.
Varun Shekhar, Toronto
Donald Trump speaks the unspoken desires of common white Americans, resentful of immigrant communities. That’s why he’s so popular. What do average white Americans want? Job security and safety. Trump promises that and so the fact that he lies does not matter at all.
Ramesh Raghuvanshi, Pune
Trump knows how to sell himself. But, with his divisive style, not only educated, liberal America, but the entire world is regarding him with alarm. If he is president, he will either make or break America.
Sanjiv Gupta, Perth
Atul Chordia’s column (The Donald Trump I Know) was a good read butTrump has filed for bankruptcy more than once. Even today, his statement of assets do not stand up to scrutiny. He hasn’t even revealed his income tax details yet.
Hilary Pais, Bangalore
It was sad to read about Sri Sri’s event (also see box) and the environmental damage it wreaked on the floodplains of the Yamuna. Aren’t permissions required to be taken to hold such events at a sensitive location? And if the government permits this, what can one expect of the government?
Kamal Anil Kapadia, MUMBAI
Godmen of a certain kind are having a field day with the BJP in power. The Sangh parivar is labouring to equate nationalism with the majority religion, and in the process, gurus like Sri Sri Ravishankar are being given awards—God knows for what services rendered to Indians! And for one event he organises, all regulations for keeping the floodplains of a major river free of activity become flimsy bits of paper. I wonder if such concessions would have been made if a minority community organised a Kumbh-scale jamboree?
Shiv Mangal, HYDERABAD
Down the years, our political parties, whether in or out of power, have always obliged so-called gurus. The BJP, now in power, is no exception. After Baba Ramdev, it’s Sri Sri who has gathered political heft for having backed Narendra Modi during the 2014 general elections. Payback came this year, on Republic Day, in the form of a Padma Vibhushan.
K.S. Jayatheertha, BANGALORE
Before Sri Sri ‘polluted’ it, was the Yamuna so clean that our liberal hordes drank its water unfiltered?
Mohan, ADIPUR
When arrangements were nearly complete for Sri Sri’s jamboree, the National Green Tribunal had no option but to give the go-ahead. But if it was aware of the arrangements being made on the Yamuna floodplains since December—as it should have been—it could well have acted suo motu to prevent the event. Instead, it sought to blame the NGO that approached it for intervention for not having woken it up earlier.
K.P. Rajan, MUMBAI
You are biased in your comment on and reportage of the Art of Living festival. Did you care to find out the condition of the Yamuna floodplains before permission was given? What about the debris dumped there by the builders of the DND flyaway? What has been your contribution to highlight the pollution of the Yamuna over the decades? It has become norm for the media to take an anti-Hindu stand in order to feel ‘neutral’.
Rohit Agarwal, BANGALORE
By organising a world-class cultural event, Sri Sri Ravishankar has earned one more Sri. I request that henceforth his name be taken beginning with three Sris. And since I have great regard for him, I myself add quite a few more Sris to his name.
Ram P, PUNE
Your cover story on the Ishrat Jahan encounter case (And What of Those Bullet-Sized Holes in the Narrative?, March 14) makes me wonder why the girl continues to be political fodder. A magisterial inquiry, an SIT probe and the CBI investigation have shown that she was killed in cold blood. It is only to bolster the fabricated theory of encounter that the bogey of her alleged terrorist links has been raised. So much so that to save her killers, even the word of a convicted terrorist like David Headley is being taken at face value.
Bidyut Chatterjee, FARIDABADCommunal riots and encounters in Gujarat hog the limelight just because some people want to target and denounce PM Narendra Modi. Why else would you spend so long nitpicking about Gujarat when riots and encounters happen all over the country? And how does it matter whether the Ishrat encounter was fake or not as long as it can be proved that she was a terrorist?
M.A. Raipet, SECUNDERABAD
The Modi-fication of America will be complete when Trump becomes the next POTUS.
Richa Juyal, Dehradun
Your articles on Sri Sri Ravishankar (The Un-Godman, March 21, and Poisons for a Party, March 14) presented the truth boldly. Song-and-dance extravaganzas, to my mind, do not amount to culture or spirituality. Ostentatious events of this sort only pollute culture and the environment. On other hand, true culture and spirituality imply compassion for all living beings and, by extension, sensitivity to the environment. But it should be added that such spiritual understanding was never achieved amid a crowd.
J.N. Bhartiya, HYDERABAD
You speak of the degradation of a river by Sri Sri Ravishankar’s event. What was the condition of the river before the event, if I may ask? Sri Sri’s event generated a lot of economic activity: chair suppliers, caterers, labourers, auto and cab drivers, guides—all earned money by providing honest services. Hotels were booked for the event and foreigners who arrived for the event must have gone sight-seeing. Don’t you think all this is an achievement in itself? You mustn’t write commentaries sitting inside your AC offices. Instead, do go out and see things for yourself.
Maj D.K. Dewan (retd), ON E-MAIL
Apropos the interview of Kanhaiya Kumar by Anoo Bhuyan (March 21), it is nothing but the government’s inept handling of the JNU situation that has made Kanhaiya a household name. His release on bail has made his notoriety even more acceptable—as some kind of young radical popularity. Outlook—an old and respectable publication—has also fallen into the trap and elevated this slogan-mouthing ‘revolutionary’ with two whole pages.
MC Joshi, Lucknow
Kanhaiya is for some reason the new rage. He is on every channel and front page, being hailed as a new star of Indian politics. His words were heard in Parliament too, even though some chose to remain silent. And so, a slightly-revived Left has decided to pounce on this, since Kanhaiya is from the CPI-affiliated AISF. It’s useful to remember though, that JNU is not a nation, and the cry for azadi alone is not enough to change the game in real life.
J. Akshay
Kanhaiya Kumar and his supporters say that the ‘azadi’ videos are doctored. If that’s the case, they should stick to that. Why all the op-ed pieces about why barbaadi is a fine thing for ask for? Their opponents should stop fearing them and just get them off the JNU campus. Delhi Pramod Srivastava: The new trajectory is rather simple—criticise Modi and be hailed as a hero. The hype you have generated around Kanhaiya is undeserved glory at best and beyond all comprehension. He asks for azadi from everything except the public funds and subsidies that keep JNU going. He has wrecked ‘azadi’ of its history. Please, intelligentsia, hurry up and coin a new word for this self-indulgent nonsense.
R. Narsimharan, Chennai
Apropos your cover story on the JNU crisis (Divide and Rue, March 7), the fight was not over just a few slogans. It was against the ideology that the faculty inculcate in their students. Young minds are being used for sinister purposes and anything that can stop this descent into anarchy is fine by me. Especially when JNU is a waste of public funds, just like Kashmir.
Rajiv Chopra, JAMMU
Punjab’s decision to return the land acquired from farmers for the Sutlej-Yamuna Canal (Seven Days, March 28) may be populist, but there could be more to it. I am sure that the roads, bridges and other transport infrastructure prominently featured in full-page newspaper ads by the government have something to do, perhaps, with the Badals’ stakes in the transport sector.
Naveen Sood, ON E-MAIL
Your story on Budget 2016 (Has Modi Junked the Gujarat Model?, March 14) shows that Modi has finally realised India is not Gujarat multiplied by 29. During the previous regime, Arun Jaitley never missed a chance to denounce the UPA for ignoring the interests of the middle classes. Now, as finance minister, he has given us more of what he used to criticise. He has continued the tradition of turning a blind eye to what people like us want. All in all, it is a budget high on rhetoric and low on substance.
P.S. Kaur, ON E-MAIL
I must confess that I didn’t even read your story on the spat between Padma Lakshmi and Salman Rushdie (That Lotus Pond Muck on Mt Sinai, March 21) till the end. Why does Outlook have to waste space and paper on these two insufferable, self-promoting hacks?
Biswapriya Purkayastha, SHILLONG
