the ladies have feelings, so... Shall We Leave It to the Experts? (January 14) was a wonderful piece! And yet, it scared me. Arundhati Roy paints a very evocative doomsday picture, but where does it all end?
Priti Damle, on e-mail
Arundhati has proved, beyond any shadow of doubt, that she is the reigning diva of Ansari Road literary salons. The soaring brilliance of her insights and her near-Shakespearean mastery over the English language leave one awestruck. One only wishes she made her point more tersely, in far fewer words. Perhaps she’d do well to hone her precis-writing skills.
Ranjith Thomas, on e-mail
The US foresaw, a long time ago, that it didn’t have to subdue others by annihilating them with bombs, non-invasive ways would do just as well. The victor, after all, is the one who can get the victim to succumb to his ideology. ‘Globalisation’ is a euphemism for that non-invasive war. You needn’t travel to the US any more. America is now everywhere.
Chris Castelino, on e-mail
How hysterical can Arundhati get? I’m all for protest and activism but what good has the Narmada Bachao Andolan done for the displaced farmers except having created a nuisance for others?
Jayakrishnan K.R., Kochi
Arundhati continues to quote facts and arguments selectively. But the redeeming feature of her essay was her admission that she is open to persuasion and change of mind.
C.K. Goswami, on e-mail
Wonderful use of language, but there sure is an uncanny resemblance to the firebrand speeches Mamata Bannerjee uses to whip up crowd sentiment in Kolkata!
Bhismadev Chakrabarti, on e-mail
Arundhati harangues on about experts but hasn’t she herself become one on everything—from big dams to nuclear bombs to globalisation?
Sudhanshu Joshi, on e-mail
It’s sad to see a person like Arundhati buying into a defeatist and apologetic worldview. You can find something wrong with everything in this world, the point is to choose the lesser evils. That’s what people like Arundhati should address rather than indulge overtime in the politics of resistance.
Manish, on e-mail
It’s always with mixed emotions that I read Arundhati’s non-fiction; her mastery of language contrasts so starkly with the banality of her message. Is she aware that more Indians have been lifted out of poverty since the liberalisation of the mid-’80s than in all the preceding years since Independence? On one point, however, she has hit the nail on the head. The order criminalising the hardworking and imaginative entrepreneurs into a patronisingly labelled "informal" sector is indeed a moral outrage. But it’s also poor economics. Harnessing the talents of these people through property rights and access to public infrastructure should be a central plank of policy. Such prescription follows from the most basic tenets of "free-market economics" that Arundhati so disdains.
Shekhar Aiyar, on e-mail
Arundhati Roy is a pessimist to the core. It’s a waste of time reading all her babble.
Ramesh Kumar, on e-mail
Why can’t Arundhati say something different? We all know by now that she is anti-globalisation and anti-progress. She’d rather have people starve than lay fibreoptic cables because it appeals to her romantic notion of what our country must be like. Yes, there are inequalities in our country. But they preceded our joining the wto. Isolating ourselves from the world trade community will be no way to progress; it only reveals the depth of Arundhati’s xenophobia.
Nina Menon, New Delhi
A lot of what Roy says is true. But does she really have to get judgemental about people, governments, communities?
Rajesh Chary, on e-mail
A good article, at least a worthy start.... But if writing as an activist, one has to seek the good and then praise it. As Bob Dylan wrote: "When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain?"
Jack Forrest, on e-mail
Arundhati’s passionate critique of trade and globalisation as tools of western economic imperialism smacks of the same one-sidedness that she accuses the World Bank, imf and wto of. Rather than cloaking all the old cliches in newer words, she should concentrate her effort on suggesting an innovative and collaborative approach to problem-solving by government, business and civil society.
Manish Kapoor, Gurgaon
I just wish Arundhati would make her point using fewer words. I never get past the second or third page of her essay.
Damo Chittibabu, on e-mail
Sunanda K. Datta-Ray has suggested the perfect way to tackle Pakistan (Shut the Door, January 14). Besides trade embargoes and travel restrictions, we should also expose the bbc, cnn and some Indian channels which never present the Indian stand objectively. It’s time we told the West, China and the Arab world that they need our markets and our support as much as we need their technology and their oil—we just have to learn to recognise our clout and use it wisely.
Geeta Gupta, New Delhi
I cannot agree more with Sunanda K. Datta-Ray on the need for caution with regard to a military approach towards Pakistan. Playing our cards wisely will help us in the long term and also gain us backing in the international community. Israel has been going after Palestine militarily for decades but the US now is getting as weary of its strategy as it’s tiring of Palestinian terrorism. We should not let such a situation arise with Pakistan.
T.R. Ramachandran, on e-mail
It’s unfortunate that India’s actions depend on US whims. Americans would make a buck even with the devil. India should create market alliances with Russia and China. A market of nearly 3 billion people can beat the West in 15 years. By leaving commerce in private hands, the government should double its spending on defence to back any trade negotiations with a strong military machine. Only then will India be a superpower. Trying to become America’s second fiddle will lead us nowhere.
Avi Ach, on e-mail
Excellent analysis by Datta-Ray. Pakistan is harming not only India but even Islam. It has raped Muslim Afghanistan twice (with US help) in the last 20 years; turned Kashmir into hell and subjugated the ethics of Islam to the treachery of politics. That country has to be boycotted completely.
Parjan Kumar Jain, New Delhi
Country Roads, Take Me home (January 14) did bring us good cheer. It sounds too good to be true. Thank god you are warming up to the A.B. Vajpayee government because I sure as hell was getting disillusioned with its performance. Thanks for restoring my faith. If the project succeeds, Vajpayee could go well down in history as the father of a "truly modern" India.
Rajesh Agrawal, on e-mail
How come so much is happening in this sector and the newspapers didn’t have a word about it? Or is reporting on 9/11 and the war overshadowing all else?
Manju Nath, on e-mail
It is a matter of pride and pleasure that Ritu Beri has carved a place for herself internationally but did you really have to proclaim her success with a picture of a semi-nude model?
Leena Singh, Dhanbad
Outlook should stop using thinly-veiled photographs to increase sales. And why should you have a picture of a nude model to highlight Beri’s success but have a fully clad picture of India’s only Penthouse pet?
Percy, Bangalor
Apropos Sting Mantras (January 14), the question remains—what are we to make of the end-justifies-the-means brand of Tehelka journalism? As children, we were lectured on using the right means to achieve the right ends. Then we grow older and learn that even the good guys sometimes use less than fair means to beat the bad guys. Which leaves one a little confused—should crusaders shoot for the ideal of the noble warrior, or must they resign themselves to winning battles by dubious means and live in a moral greyscape?
Vijay Menon, Chennai
Prem Panicker’s Wicked Wicket (January 14) was a pleasurable read about the ups and (mostly the) downs of Indian cricket in the last year. It’s an indigestible fact that despite a top-quality batting line-up, the team is always lagging in almost every Test or odi outside the country’s boundaries.
Chaitanya Trivedi, on e-mail
The piece on the Gujarat earthquake (One Year Later..., January 14) took my breath away—absolutely stunning reportage, with emotive, brilliant, unbiased, critical writing. These kind of pieces make your day. This is what first-rate journalism is all about. Keep it up, Outlook.
D. Purkayastha, Rochester, US
Apropos Madhu Trehan’s Patriotism, A Dirty Word? (December 31). We live in a democracy and to feel patriotic or not is up to an individual; it cannot be thrust upon a person. I don’t think one has to die for one’s country to prove one’s patriotic credentials. Having respect for the country’s laws and living within their bounds, being upright and honest citizens is also being patriotic, according to me.
Arunkumar Narayanan, on e-mail
Please note that five out of the 10 Things to Cheer about 2001 (January 14), namely, Space Imaging, Foreign Policy, Biotech, Highways and Software, happened because of the positive policies of the bjp-led nda government. Is Vinod Mehta changing his colours or was it an editorial misjudgment?
R.S. Anand, Ghaziabad
Wow, what an issue your year-ender (January 14) was! It was good to see Outlook in this new optimistic avatar, even if it is to be just once in the year.
Amandeep, on e-mail
While everyone was busy writing how dreadful year 2001 was for the global economy, international peace and the world in general, you went ahead and dedicated a 150 pages to 10 things to cheer about. That’s what the spirit of life’s all about...being positive.
Abhinav Goel, New Delhi
Your New Year issue was great. It had 78 pages of ads out of a total 160, Phew...that sure must be some kind of record.
Prakash Jaisingh,on e-mail
Your yearend issue was one of the finest recaps of 2001.
Prasad Satkalmi, Baroda
Vinod Mehta must be the leading apologist for Musharraf and the country he leads (Wanted Cool Heads, December 24). Everyone, including Uncle Sam, is aware of Pakistan’s duplicity, except poor Vinod, who seems out of sync with the rest. On top of that, he publishes Mariana Baabar’s one-eyed views portraying Pakistan as the aggrieved party as if they were God’s truth! Good one, Vinod. If this is what breakfast with the smooth-talking, well-dressed Musharraf does to an intelligent man like you, God help India.
Dilip Mahanty, Sydney, Australia
