IN the book review of Bad ,Money Bad Politics by N.K. Sigh (A Timely Expose, May 15) s mentioned: "In April 1991 Delhi Police arrested one Ashfak Ahmed Lone, deputy chief of intelligence of the Hizbul Mujahideen, and recovered huge amounts of cash reportedly meant for militants in Kashmir. The case was transfered to the CBI which found that of the conduits was a JNU student), Sahabuddin Ghauri." Now, in a piece he wrote in Times of India on May 8, Rajinder Puri (who was crucial in exposing the hawala racket) d: "While World Press Free-m Day was being celebrated UNESCO (in Paris), Reporters ns Frontiers published a list of journalists imprisoned by their governments in contravention of press freedom. Among the names was that of Shahabuddin Gohri, a freelance journalist and human rights activist who was arrested by Indian authorities in 1991 for allegedly participating and financing a terrorist network in Kashmir.... India was represented at the seminar by Cushrow Irani, editor-in-chief of The Statesman. That few in India were aware of the case became evident when Irani confessed ignorance about it. The CBI deserves congratulations for the skill with which his case has been buried from public view."
This merits introspection by the Indian press as to what it is doing with its zealously guarded freedom. This also means that Sanjay Kapoor’s book may not be quite as ‘well-documented’ as claimed in your review.
C. Antony Louis, Bombay
The Great Divide (May 22) was a very relevant article and was written in a very responsible manner. As a southerner who was educated in the East and been employed for a lifetime in the North, I have experienced the undercurrents of this divide in every single walk of life, both at the workplace as well as outside.
S.N.A. Chary, New Delhi
In Caste is the Vote (May 8), Mushirul Hasan and Saeed Naqvi have tried their best to portray the BJP as an "upper caste Ban-ia party". But unfortunately for them, the BJP crossed that stage long ago. For example, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh has certainly become a mass party and has received the support of all sections of society from all the six regions in the state. With the Ayodhya movement the BJP, for the first time, has broken the well-entrenched caste barriers in Hindu society. This is evident from its showing in the recent polls.
Besides, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is headed by important non-Brahmin leaders who have overwhelmingly won the support of the so-called higher castes as well as other sections. A few Brahmins supporting the BJP do not make it an upper caste party. The Muslim Ulemas and the Christian Church have called upon their communities to vote out the BJP; does this make all Muslims and Christians anti-BJP?
L. Rohini, Tiruchy
This is with reference to Strange Charge (May 1). The bomb blast at cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s hospital was very unfortunate. Politics is a dirty game and, according to allegations made by the Pakistani police, it seems that Khan has a hand in the bombing. Perhaps he wants to secure sympathy by accusing Benazir Bhutto for the gory act of cowardice. The government of Pakistan should investigate the case thoroughly and punish the criminals.
Manash Baruah, Guwahati
If you ask anyone who knows anything at all about Kerala politicians, he will tell you that K. Karunakaran and his politics can be described in one word: foxy. Well, if you and your readers will refer back to your April 24 issue, on page 25 you will find a photograph of Mr K. which uncannily captures his personality.
C.A.L. Mulangunnathukavu, Bombay
This is with reference to your article on election manifestos (Pledges on Paper, April 24). In the accompanying photographs, the leaders of various political parties are smiling while holding their manifestos except the leader of the Congress. Also, the BJP and the CPI(M) have their party symbols on the cover of their mani-festos, while the Congress has prominently displayed P.V. Narasimha Rao’s photograph in an attempt to project him as the most successful leader. But it is evident that the Congress cannot be successful under his leadership.
M.K. Huq, Hyderabad
Kudos to Vinod Mehta for having given a new dimension to the political thinking in his editorial (Tired and More Dangerous, April 24). The diagnosis is very appropriate and had missed many a fertile mind. But if the Congress is in a terminal stage, then other national parties are also malignant and will reach the terminal stage very soon if power is given to them. Probably, the remedy lies in the formation of a group of people with integrity who are above all petty politickings. They should come forward and start the cleansing process in the social as well as the political spheres. Why not start a column for such people to express their views.
Virendra Singh, Indore
Congratulations on getting issued just before the election the election results nearly right. Of all the publications carried opinion polls, Outlook’s forecast was the and parcel of elections and as closest to the final result. It was courageous of you to have attempted this exercise, considering that you are a new magazine and your credibility was at stake. By the way, I entirely disagree with the Press Council’s guidelines the Press Council’s guidelines issued just before the elections, advising the media to keep away from opinion polls. These surveys are part and parcel of elections and as long as they are conducted by reputed organisations well-versed in the techniques of opinion polls, they are very welcome.
Yugesh Singh, New Delhi
Going through When Lyric Becomes Line (April 10), I have to say that Manjit Bawa’s unique style of painting is very suitable for his Krishna series. He paints Lord Krishna, cows, and these paintings are spontaneously fantastic but his other social themes are not so pleasurable.
Akhil Pradhan, Dhenkanal
Indian democracy took 50 years before its netas and babus realised the absolute supremacy of the law and the consequences for disrespecting it. In so many ways, the nation could have been spared so much pain, were this to happen much earlier. Like they say, there is a time for everything.
Corruption now feels and sounds more obscene in India. However, in the Indian context, bribes, scams and fraud should only be one of the major factors deciding the level of public outrage against corruption. Wealthy, developed nations have also got a fair share of corruption in high places.
However in India, where over 400 million people live precariously in terms of basic survival needs, corruption must take a more serious dimension. The pertinent questions to ask of those found guilty of corruption are: while pursuing nefarious personal objectives, how much work of desperate nature was cast aside while a mass of humanity was thrown into a five-year limbo? How much public money was squandered in enhancing personal egos and comforts by abusing official privileges?
In that context such acts of omission and commission need to be looked at as criminal negligence and must not be confined solely to the political arena. Equality before the law is the crux of the issue. The principle is defined with clarity, in the Constitution of India.
Prakash Menon, Singapore
The absurdities of the Goenka school (A Lesson in Luxury, March 27) really make one wonder about the effect this emphasis on superficial traits would have on the children’s psyche. It seems that the phenomenon of two India’s moving towards the 21st century is a fact. Some get pink-tiled bathrooms and air-conditioned classrooms while millions are deprived of childhood.
Talking about the deprivation of children sounds hyped and cliched, yet each one of us is responsible for their existence and their destiny. Are we really as progressive as we visualise ourselves to be? Isn’t it a paradox that in our blind pursuit of all the trappings of modern living we are losing out on something so fundamental—the fact that the most precious and fragile creations of mankind are condemned to a wretched existence by a mere accident of birth.
Sarvar Abbi, New Delhi
After reading the excerpts of Phoolan Devi’s autobiography, hoolan Devi, ("They passed me m man to man, blindfolded", y 15) I felt very guilty—or to more precise, kind of ashamed of myself. How easy it or us to pick up our pens and down our remarks, comments and pass judgement on lives of people without en being able to fathom a minuscule percentage of their truma. The sympathy wave for Behmai widows seemed to riding high on the emotions the populace. After reading nauseating, vivid description of Phoolan’s rapes, I could the pervasive decay rampant in our society. She was illterate and perhaps this was reason for her ‘lenient’ revenge, a literate woman could have done worse.
Simi Ratra, Meerut
Apropos your cover story (Election ‘96, May 1), the intellectuals in this country have been disdainful of the democratic system in general and of politicians in particular. These so-called intellectuals have never shown serious concern for the burning issues of the day, be it communal riots, Bofors, the stock scam or national security. They have limited their involvement to issuing a few statements for media attention. For them it does not matter whether the Left or the Right comes to power at the Centre, as they have nothing to lose.
As a class, these intellectuals are amoral. They have always shirked responsibility. In this year’s general elections, which were characterised by a cynicism of a very high order), they should have taken the lead in infusing fresh spirit and energy into our democratic system. But as your correspondent rightly observes, it is the rural masses who have kept the engine of democracy running in our country.
R. Ramaswamy, New Delhi
In his letter (April 24), Bishop M. Ezra puts up a tall claim for conversions when he says Christian education liberated people from a 3000-year-old system. In fact despite its laudable traits, Christian education is far from a success in the western world. And in India where different communities are trying to harmoniously coexist, there is no room for proselytising activities, which create social tensions and provoke a backlash.
Vivek Vichare, Pune
