Apropos the cover story, Widening the Gulf (September 18), the statement made by the Iraqi ambassador to India that "the Kurdistan Democratic Party sought President Saddam Hussein’s help to counter the Iranian aggression which began on August 17..." is false and baseless and seems to have been made to divert public opinion. Not only are the references to the ‘Persian Gulf’ incomplete, but the map published included ‘The Gulf of Dhahran’, which does not appear in the most credible geographical documents. Using fabricated places only brings about more confusion and chaos.
Ali Piri, Press Attache, Embassy of Iran
Your article The End of the Yatra (September 18) only goes to illustrate that the BJP and its traditional leadership are too addicted to principles and morality to thrash out a crisis that hews the party in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh etc. How could party colleagues tell L.K. Advani that the judge’s order had changed nothing—that the party still had faith in his leadership? Are they any better than Congressmen? How will people have faith in a party where the leadership is in question not only in Justice V.B. Gupta’s court trying the hawala case, but also in the crisis-ridden Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh units? Advani did catapult the party from two MPs to a gargantuan presence in Parliament. But under him, the BJP came to be bullyragged as communal and fascist by the media. Now, the moral blow dealt by Gupta’s order has resulted in the party being being treated as untouchable in Parliament.
Kripa Shankar Mishra, Jamshedpur
The article More Grey than Green (September 18) highlights the step-motherly treatment meted out to environmental issues by policy-makers. Environmental concerns are being swept under the carpet in a mindless pursuit of mega projects which pollute the neighbourhood. We need a forum along the lines of the Environmental Protection Agency. This US agency has teeth and can impose fines and even stop polluting units from operating. In India, the state and the Central Pollution Control Boards are mere paper tigers and only an active judiciary is coming to the rescue of the environment from industries which do not follow rules in letter or in spirit.
D.B.N. Murthy, Bangalore
The September 11 cover story, Sex in the ’90s, was informative and bold. This subject rarely gets ‘exposure’. As Woody Allen once said: "Sex is the most fun I have ever had without laughing!" Ajit Ninan’s illustrations were innovative. Any more bold topics to follow?
N. Ramesh, Secunderabad
With your exhaustive survey on sex, we are globalising not only in business, but habits and beha-vioural patterns too without waiting for the foreign partner.
What was missing was statistics on awareness about sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The survey may increase the fantasies of people, but has parallel dangers. The earlier we take preventive steps, the better, or we will drown in our own fantasies.
Dr S. Bafna, Madras
I congratulate Vinod Mehta for bringing the taboo subject out of the closet in a puritanical modern Indian society; more so, for publishing it. The statistics were mind-blowing. Sudhir Kakar’s article, Virtue and Pleasure, was very interesting. The editor has preserved his knack of publishing such hot articles since he left Debonair.
N. Bhatnagar, Calcutta
There is not an iota of doubt in my mind about the kind of time and money that must have gone into the survey. But what for? This effort could have been channelised to collect data on a slackened social cause (Bhanwari Devi’s case, Nari Niketan inmates’ allegation), or to discuss the flaws in our democratic system thus bringing it in the public eye for speedy action instead of discussing what part of female/male anatomy tantalises the other sex the most. Your previous sales records must have been broken but at the cost of many impending issues.
Such enticing cover stories would look better in Debonair. When it comes to an esteemed magazine like Outlook, perhaps the readers deserve better.
Simi Ratra, New Delhi
Your September 25 cover story, What After Thackeray?, was most comprehensive and fair. The Shiv Sena supremo wouldn’t be where he is if he had not been able to win the trust and affection of the people of Maharashtra. The tendency to ridicule and mock him is common among so-called liberals. It would be better if they tried to understand what makes him tick.
S.R. Desai, Mumbai
I am sorry about the fact that you have wasted precious time and valuable space for a cover story on a man whose party’s cadre ransacked bookstalls and destroyed copies of Outlook when you exposed stark realities on Kashmir in your launch issue.
U.S.Iyer, Bangalore
If anything, Balasaheb Thackeray’s ascendancy in Maharashtra politics and his subsequent pivotal role in shaping the political formation in the state points to the unsavoury aspects of a political culture taking deep roots in the state. No wonder, the Shiv Sena supremo gives the impression of being a law unto himself, with no obligation to respect even the rudiments of the political process befitting a democratic set-up.
Debasish Dutta, Uttarpara (West Bengal)
The tiger is not ageing. In my close encounters I have found him wilder in his speech and more active in his deeds.
Prakash Kothari, Mumbai
I am grateful to you for carrying a piece about our collection of songs in English, Raindrops and Rabbits in Swadeshi Ditties (September 11). The recognition for our work means a lot to us. I would, however, like to clarify that I didn’t compose the songs in the collection. They have been passed down by word of mouth by school teachers for over 60 years. Vijji Cheyyur arranged the music for the existing tunes, many of which were learnt from Ivy Fernandes, Jer Garda and Cheryl Ferreira, all Bombay-based teachers. We merely collected and recorded the songs.
Rukmini Ramachandran, Principal, Supraja Montessori School, Madras
After reading the anecdotes quoted from Vengala Rao’s book in Skeletons in the Closet (September 11), any sane person would discard the book as mere trash. Vengala Rao has wantonly tried to tarnish P.V. Narasimha Rao’s image to boost the sale of his book. What was the pressing need to talk about Rao in Meri Jeevitha Katha? After reading the book, most of us felt only sympathy for Vengala Rao’s futile attempt. We thank Outlook for saving us the effort of buying the book.
Aparajith A.R., New Delhi
The article, The Saleable Sex (September 4), was one-sided and portrayed indifference. To characterise my book, Wych Stories, as nothing more than ‘bathos and sleaze’ is unfair. Where are the passages to substantiate that? Has the book even been read by the writer? The passage quoted tilted the direction of the story and did injustice to the book. A magazine must have well-researched and balanced articles. An indepth review of my book would be welcome.
Kusum Sawhney, New Delhi
In the book review, A City with a Heart (September 18), Vinod Mehta seems to be following in the footsteps of pseudo-progressive hacks by empathising with "the best, most progressive Urdu and Hindi literary talent". It’s true these gentlemen were "corrupted into churning out mindless stories". But who (or what) prevented them from refusing the film offers? What’s the point of crying rape after having prostituted their art? As for the late Rajinder Singh Bedi’s lament about being trapped in the ‘golden cage’, why didn’t he quit? Was he held back because of money? Or was it that in his heart of hearts, he acknowledged the virtues of compromise?
With Dastak, which won the President’s Gold Medal for Best Feature Film, Bedi made a compromise at the altar of box-office acceptability—with a two-second almost-nude shot of Rehana Sultan. His central character in Ek Chadar Maili Si compromises and marries the wife of his dead brother. Being progressive is okay, but don’t forget that the progressive in this accursed country have failed to provide food to the poor. All they produce is hot air.
Anmol Purohit, Mumbai
