I write in response to Outlook’s cover story about the possible advent of a two-fold world order again, involving China, in addition to the US (The New Silk Road To Empire, May 15). Despite the rest of the world evolving in a certain way, there being regional centres of power, America still continues to be at the helm of crucial world affairs. It still has enormous reach, and readily uses its military hardware (for good or evil). China, though strong in many respects, doesn’t inspire the confidence the world’s nations easily repose in the Americans.
India has come a long way in terms of development and especially economic clout, but its awful administration—where power and the fruits of democracy reside only in a thin, creamy layer—and equally terrible infrastructure have held back its progress. Meanwhile, China has stolen a march only by dint of discipline that only a one-party nation can impose on its polity, people and economy. The Americans have realised the Chinese mood of expansion too, and has partnered India in resisting it. Any which way, the coming century should be an Asian century, and India and China should be its two focal points.
Ramachandran Nair, Oman
We witness a historic change destined to transform the world. The developed world which, for over a century has meant the West—US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand and Japan—is being rapidly overhauled in terms of economic size by the developing world. The western view has been that through globalisation the rest of the world would become increasingly westernised, with the adoption of free markets, import of western capital, privatisation, rule of law and democracy. They thought these fundamentals would change little with China’s rise, that China would acquiesce in the status quo. But such assumptions are grossly misconceived. The rise of China will change the world in the most profound ways. For India, it’s a time to be wise. Many believe that at every confrontation, “India seems to blink and then go hysterical”. It’s time to rescue the Indian reading of China from defence analysts, security experts and technocrats. Let us try to make Chinese history part of our curricula. It’s our biggest neighbour; it’s time to break the grim perception it has in our minds. As far as OBOR is concerned, since India lacks the resources to set up a competing network, it may be prudent to participate in those parts of OBOR which improve India’s connectivity to major markets and resource suppliers.
Col (retd) C.V. Venugopalan, Palakkad
China’s economic figures are all smokes and mirrors. For long, it has belittled democratic forms of governance, justifying its style of leadership as beneficial for society. However alluring the achievements of China may be, democracy is best suited for a multi-lingual, multi-faith, multi-ethnic society like India.
Ramakrishna Hosur, On E-Mail
It’s fashionable to talk about China’s ascendancy these days, but the superpower role in international politics is still being fulfilled by the US. China remains a bristly predator and thus has little credibility, as do its products and brands. That said, one thing is clear—India will be irrelevant in the world arena, thanks to our myopic politicians.
D.K., On E-Mail
China has developed on the shoulders of borrowed western technology. An expansionist power, it’s asserting itself too early and has a long way to go before it can dominate its neighbourhood, forget US and Europe.
Jitendra, Delhi
With the isolationist government of Donald Trump, America will fast lose its influence over its old allies. Look at the exchange they have over the funding and operation of Nato! South Korea, Japan—they are all important trading partners with the US; what does Trump have to say about trade ties with these countries vis-a-vis China? Actually, the US-China trade relations make China America’s truly significant partner. The US has capital investments in other nations, leading them to feel they have a stake in the US. But how much does the US government earn from private investments in other countries? Also, why can’t India and China resolve their old disputes for mutual benefit?
Aditya Mookerjee, Belgaum
“With policies like Aadhaar for cows, there’s little hope of a greater global role for India.”
Dinesh Kumar, Chandigarh
This refers to your interview with Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq (‘Kashmir could lead to a nuclear accident if there are no talks’, May 15). There is little chance of violence and stone-pelting ending in the near future even after the army chief’s stern warning. The only ray of hope is in CM Mehbooba Mufti’s recent statement acknowledging that only PM Narendra Modi can resolve the conflict between India and Pakistan, thereby ending the stalemate in the Valley. It’s high time New Delhi resumed talks with Kashmiri leaders to restore normalcy.
K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad
B.N. Roy is way off the mark in his letter about China and the UN (The Curious Case, May 15). The United Nations was founded after the end of the second World War. To become permanent members were the US, Britain, France and the erstwhile Soviet Union, leaving the fifth slot vacant. The US, along with France and Britain, were in favour of getting Formosa—now Taiwan—to fill that place. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru suggested that the slot be filled by mainland China, which is PCR.
Mani Sheshadri, Chennai
This refers to Six Point Nothing (May 8) by Sachin Nirmala Narayanan on Chetan Bhagat “literature”. Bhagat’s novels are stuffed with the escapism much sought after by the stressed out and the langourous. Literature enlightens and unravels the minute nuances of thought and human conduct—frailty and stupidity, utility and futility, evil and virtue, mystery and destiny—all aimed at refining human nature and subduing the savage in man, besides jettisoning hypocrisy.
J.N. Bhartiya, Hyderabad
Your cover story on AAP (Error in the Machine, May 8) was topical and informative. Arvind Kejriwal and AAP came to power by capturing the imagination of those who were fed up with the deeply ingrained ills in the system of governance. They were seen as crusaders who carried the hope of a new India free from corruption. And they did manage to ensure the lowest power and water tariffs, besides increasing spending on education and healthcare, and bringing down corruption among government officials. So how did they become unpopular? Because, instead of focusing on his strengths, Kejriwal was busy blaming everyone else for his failures—the Centre, and now even EVMs. What can be the fate of a ship whose captain blames the wind and the waves? It is the dharma of the captain to take the ship across troubled waters and reach the cargo and the passengers to their destination safely.
B. Unnikrishnan, Kochi
This refers to Veil Can’t Hide This Sorrow (May 1) on triple talaq. Members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board are being adamant on their stand in favour of retaining the practice even as woman after Muslim woman is coming out with stories of how they were made to suffer by in-laws misusing the triple talaq provision. Only a fool will deny that the way triple talaq is being practised in India, under the patronage of the clergy, has turned the lives of many Muslim women into hell. However, in the form prescribed in the Quran and the Sunnah, talaq is still the best way to end a marriage in case of dispute.
Aleem Faizee, On E-Mail
Pakistan is only bringing shame and disgrace to India. It is waging proxy war on our country. It exports terrorism and prints counterfeit currency, besides helping stone-pelters and separatists to create chaos and disturbances in India. Unprovoked firing and shelling across the border also continue unabated, and our soldiers are being beheaded. Even women and girl students have started pelting stones at our valiant soldiers. All this happens because we are taking it lying down and not retaliating properly.
Are we afraid of facing Pakistan, which is just one-fifth the size of India? This tarnishes the image of the BJP in general and PM Narendra Modi in particular. We must explore options to bring Pakistan to its knees without waging war as both countries are nuclear powers. Instead of asking the US or the UN to declare Pakistan a terrorist state, we should declare it ourselves and act accordingly.
Let’s cancel the Indus Waters Treaty to teach them a lesson. Let’s appoint Dr Karan Singh, son of the erstwhile Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir who signed the treaty of accession with India, as the main spokesperson on Kashmir. Let’s withdraw the most-favoured trading partner status we have given Pakistan without any reciprocation from it. Let’s snap all links with Pakistan, as it is in economic doldrums and will not be able to withstand it.
S.P. Sharma, Mumbai
Dear Editor, Outlook
This is in reference to your cover story Ugly Fraud in Fairness Tube (May 1). We are extremely surprised and disappointed to find that a reputed magazine like Outlook ran the story based on a sub-judice consumer case, with only one-sided inputs by Paras Jain and Nikhil Jain in reference to our brand Fair and Handsome, and without referring the matter to us. Surprisingly, you claim Emami did not respond to Outlook’s e-mail query even though no one from Outlook had contacted us for this cover story.
The article contains many invalidated and incorrect information regarding the case, which seem to have been provided to you by the complainant, to mislead the readers by creating a false impression of having won the case. The half-truths of the case, thus represented in the article, have greatly damaged the image of our brand. Emami has not paid any money to the consumer court or pulled out any ads as claimed by the Jain brothers, since the appeal was admitted by the state commission and was under judicial consideration.
To apprise you of the current status of the case: the judgement of the District Consumer Forum (on which your article is based), which had held the Fair and Handsome advertisement as misleading, has been set aside by the state commission by a judgement dated May 1, 2017. This judgement has been passed on the following grounds:
(1) The state commission felt that the district forum was not right in arriving at a conclusion that the advertisement is in contrast to written statement by considering only a few lines of the written statement out of context.
(2) Reports from reputed labs and research agencies (like IMRB International) have been ignored while giving the finding.
(3) The state commission held that the complainant has also not produced any expert evidence except his own affidavit by stating he had used the cream and it had no effect on him.
(4) The complainant has also not appeared before the district forum, nor was the product in question produced before the district forum.
(5) No evidence was filed before the district forum by the complainant about the condition of his skin prior and subsequent to the use of the said product.
In view of above discussion, it was found that while passing the impugned order, the district forum has not considered the entire material on record. Therefore, the impugned order has been set aside and the case has been remanded back to the district forum. We request you to kindly publish a corrigendum to this effect in a prominent position so that your esteemed readers are aware of the correct scenario and not misled by incorrect and outdated information shared by biased individuals.
We feel that, as a neutral, fair and unbiased publication, you will appreciate our position and concern. We solicit your cooperation to project the case in a rightful and fair manner.
Mahasweta Sen, Head (Corporate Communication), Emami, Calcutta
The correspondent replies: The orders passed by the district consumer court clearly stated that Emami’s claim of “fairness” was a “misrepresentation to the public at large”. The district court had ordered “Emami to pay damages of Rs 15 lakh”. That Emami eventually chose not to pay, whatever the reasons, constitutes no inaccuracy on our part. The court also asked Emami to stop misleading ads. A copy of the order indeed bears these out. We first made a telephonic inquiry seeking comments at +91-33-6613 6264 and were referred to the e-mail address corporate.communication@emamigroup.com, but failed to get a response. The relief given to the Emami group by a higher consumer court on May 1, cited in your letter, was granted after our story was published.
The profile of Mr Ramesh Chauhan, founder of brands such as Bisleri, Maaza, Thums Up and Gold Spot, which appeared in the April 3, 2017, business special issue of Outlook magazine (India’s 50 Greatest CEOs Ever), mentioned the net worth of Bisleri to be Rs 1,200 crore. The company, however, disputes the figure since it does not release net worth estimates to the public. The story also inadvertently mentioned that Chauhan sold his brands to Pepsico, which is incorrect. He actually sold his brands to Coca Cola. The error is regretted.