Unless you are a Maradona, you require at least 6 feet in height, enormous stamina and an ability to psyche your opponents on the field to win in modern field games like soccer. Indians generally lack all three, which is why they are mediocre in sports, cricket included (Spot the Frenzy, June 12). It is high time we admitted we are not a nation where competitive sports can be nurtured.
K.V. Sadasivan, Bharuch
It’s heartening to see tiny, innocuous nations like Trinidad & Tobago, Ecuador and Ivory Coast compete for the World Cup. And equally sad to find India, a nuclear power with over a billion-strong population, not even at the bottom of the pile of competitions.
K.P. Rajan, Mumbai
Who cares whether Indians play football or not? The World Cup is the pipeline to endless excitement and infects fans regardless of class and country. We too are hooked.
Arvind K. Pandey, Allahabad
One reason for the current state of Indian football is that instead of hiring good coaches at the club level, the clubs’ governing bodies hire rejected players from sporting nations like Brazil.
Aninda Sardar, Calcutta
Apropos Abha Adams’ Soccer’s Better Half. I’ve been given a new TV, the TV room setting has been changed, a dog-walker’s been hired for the evening, the dead Dolby speakers have been rewired and the maid’s been taught to make the perfect caramel popcorn. Am thinking of joining fifa—Football InFidelities Anonymous.
Devna Mehra, New Delhi
Amen! Is the birth-rate going to drop in March-April 2007?
V.J., Hyderabad
Phantom Cross (Jun 12) shows that CMs in certain states have assumed the role of supercensors and are deciding which film should be shown. The Da Vinci Code, considered blasphemous by Catholic groups around the world, has been released even in countries with a Christian majority. The film has a disclaimer at the start saying it’s based on a work of fiction and is not intended to hurt anyone’s feelings. It’s preposterous that Punjab, with less than 1.1 per cent Christian population, should ban the film. Politicians should remember that in the present-age of technology, moth-eaten dogmas have no place. We have a censor board for the task. If they certify a film, there is no reason why it shouldn’t be shown throughout the country, sans any restriction.
M.M. Gurbaxani, Bangalore
Low value investment, easy process, high (naively expected, though) yield—this, in short, is what politicians not known for their brains thought they’d get out of bans. Or the Almighty has answered the prayers of video pirates. One found the book to be an anthology of all mystery styles from Agatha Christie to Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth, and a poor imitation at that, though it sold 60 million copies. The film is worse, as a well-known critic remarked.
K.S.C. Nair, Indianapolis, US
Goa, Punjab, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry: all states that have banned The Da Vinci Code. Incidentally, all are governed by Congress or Congress-supported parties. Surprisingly, the media hasn’t created quite the hullabaloo it has against the non-release of Fanaa in Gujarat. Even the secular parties have kept quiet. Are they afraid of the biggest secular party headed by a Roman Catholic?
D.R. Srinivasan, Bangalore
I think it’s time this whole business of Brahmin, non-Brahmin is sorted out (Pujaris on the G.O., Jun 12). Why should pujaridom be inherited and be passed on only to Brahmin progeny? Such practices are completely incongruous in today’s modern world. If I am a decent human being, and god-fearing to boot, I have every right to prayer, even if I am not a Brahmin. Kudos to the dmk for taking up the issue—and about time too.
Shanker, Dublin
What right do political parties (dmk et al) who are "atheist" in their ideology have to interfere in the affairs of temples? What the government needs to do instead is to increase the salary of all priests in Tamil Nadu, which is very low at present. Nowadays most children of Brahmin priests are not interested in taking on their fathers’ jobs, as they are better educated and moving out. So let them be, and give their jobs to those who actually want to take it up and are qualified.
Shivkumar, Mumbai
I do hope the government declares Brahmins non-citizens of India and grants them refugee status. Give them that, deport them to Kashmir and let militants finish the job that the Tamil Nadu government has started.
Sathya, Sacramento, US
I don’t have anything against non-Brahmins as priests in temples, but what pains me is that it’s being done to appease foreign (read American) ngos. If the TN government is genuinely concerned about society in general, it should do the same in mosques and churches. Why should they target temples alone?
K.V.S, on e-mail
You have my vote. Only Dalits should be allowed to become Hindu priests. All other castes should be barred by law.
Ramdas Bajjanbhai, Uganda
The blackout of Fanaa in Gujarat is unjustified (58% Are For Aamir, Jun 12). Aamir spoke about rehabilitating the displaced, not against the dam. If his film is being punished for that, it just means that all those who do not vote for the bjp in Gujarat can’t run their business in the state. Next they won’t be allowed to vote and, who knows, they may be asked to leave the state. The bjp in the state is helpless against the autocracy of CM Narendra Modi. And the bjp at the Centre is too busy grappling with saving face post the Mahajan imbroglio to bother with the state, even if it might not agree with what’s happening.
Romi Singh, Indore
Dear Aamir, I was really impressed to see you become a real-life hero in the Narmada battle. Your film Rang De Basanti too inspired many of us. But why have you and others in the film industry kept quiet on reservations? I definitely hope your fight for justice is not against a single state or a party but is pan-India and against all political ill-will. We are all waiting for our hero to support us in this battle between suffering students and votebank politics.
A.N. Paranjape, Bangalore
One positive outcome of all the anti-Fanaa mayhem in Gujarat is that Aamir has finally spoken on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. He visited Jammu (a safer place than Kashmir) with other Pandits like Anupam Kher and Mahesh Bhatt and "vowed" to espouse the Pandit cause. Carry on, Gujjubhais. Perhaps Aamir could take up the cause of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims next. And the plight of Bangladeshi Hindus thereafter.
Anand Vaidya, Leicester
My goodness! Three stars to Fanaa? Agreed that the issues it tackles are lofty, but that does not a good film make. It’s the same done-to-death storyline: lover returns after seven years to find his girl has had a child, a cliched climax and even a stereotypical ‘nanajaan’ who dreams of Azad Kashmir! Yawn. And is this the superb role that tempted Kajol to make a comeback?
Ashley, Mumbai
Fanaa means finish. And the film is quite finished as it did not turn out to be the crowd-puller it was expected to be, riddled as it was with rhetoric and a naive storyline. But your review bestows three stars despite its well-founded criticism about the script being inconsistent, contrived and full of cliches. Wish The Da Vinci Code fared better than the two stars you gave it.
Raj Bharadwaj, Mumbai
Saying no to Musharraf was a brave act on Amir Mir’s part (Opinion, June 6). Hats off to this young Pakistani journalist for his uncompromising stand on democracy and freedom of speech which he inherited from his father. Reminded me of a famous couplet by shair-e-inquilab Hazrat Josh Malihabadi, "Suno ai bastghane hasti/ Sada kya aa rahi hai aasman se/Ki azadi ka ek lamha hai behtar/Ghulami ki hayate jadawan se (Listen o inhabitants of this earth/To the voice that’s coming from the heavens/A fleeting moment of freedom is better than an immortal life of slavery).
H.N. Sinha, New Delhi
I’m not sure if Amir Mir is being brave or foolish. But he could have refused the award when it was announced rather than arriving at the venue and creating a scene. He could have followed that up with a piece on why he refused the award. Courage and perseverance are all very fine, but martyrdom won’t achieve much in present-day Pakistan.
Hemant Shah, Arcadia, US
In Fali S. Nariman’s column The Custodian of Conscience (Jun 19), Karnataka Lok Ayukta Justice N. Venkatachala’s name went as Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah. We deeply regret the error. Our profound apologies to Mr Nariman and the two justices.
P.M. Bhargava’s criticism of the National Knowledge Commission’s public statement on reservations (In Full Knowledge, A Dissenting Vote, Jun 12) seems misguided, considering that a high-profile advisory body like the nkc that deals explicitly with higher education would have come under far more criticism for not making one. A comprehensive review of all aspects of education would take months, by which time the impact of any ‘well-deliberated’ statement made by the nkc would be negligible. The evidence suggests that the nkc acted appropriately by seizing the moment to make its point of view clear to the government and the nation. Most importantly, the nkc statement and the subsequent resignations of Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Andre Beteille served the purpose of bringing focus and clarity to issues being debated in the public domain.
Tanya, on e-mail
Good to know that there are members with empathy in the Knowledge Commission.
Prasanth, Kochi
Bhargava’s opinion makes one point clear: that the working of the nkc, unlike other government departments, openly debates their opinions.
Rajeev Sinha, Gurgaon
If, as Bhargava suggests, he does "respect the nkc chairman’s prerogative to do as he considers appropriate", he’d have done well to consult him before going public with his "dissenting vote" that does more to tarnish the image of the nkc than to clarify any distinct point of view. It is disappointing to see a group of brilliant minds with considerable potential to bring about reform publicly falling apart due to what appears to be essentially an inability to communicate with each other before communicating with the nation.
Megha Aggarwal, London
Bhargava’s piece seems more bent on enlightening the public that the nkc is not functioning acceptably, as defined by this more-than-knowledgeable member. If he is eyeing the nkc chairman’s post, if not a central ministership, I’ll vote him as very intelligent. What better chance to get noticed by St Sonia and Co?
Ramesh, Hyderabad
Bhargava seems to do some ex-post I-am-still-here-and-relevant type analysis. The real question is not whether reservations make sense or not (they probably do), but why we could not have had some significant debate on a subject which affects the future of the nation? And a knowledge commission which merely hangs around to do ex-post rubber-stamping is a big waste of time.
Sundar, Madurai
People like Bhargava will ensure that we don’t produce a Nobel winner in science in a hundred years.
Manoj, New Delhi
Do we really need a knowledge commission to identity these ‘13 areas of deficiency’? Any idiot with a glass eye and wooden ear can figure that out. Frankly, it is the total failure of government at every level to provide basic amenities, whether education, healthcare, employment, roads, housing or electricity, that is responsible for the present mess. And the only quick-fix these morons can come up with is reservations for obcs. And they call this a representative participatory government!
Bodh, Springfield, US
Fabulous piece. More power to you, Mr Bhargava!
Meenakshi Sharma, Los Altos
The model for everyone to follow is the one followed by the only remaining superpower in the world—free market.
Arvind, Rochester, US
In the article The Masks Are Back, Veerappa Moily says, "Look at the south. Is there any reason to doubt the efficacy of reservations?" I don’t have the stats but the number of upcountry boys and girls working in Bangalore and satisfying the merit norms of IT firms is substantial. If there was no reservation in Karnataka, perhaps more local boys and girls would have been recruited by IT firms. Moily should have done his homework before making such sweeping statements. Enough damage has already been done to hundreds of brighter Karnataka candidates for many years because they were denied seats at the cet level and had to move either to other states or abroad.
B.G. Subhash, Bangalore
Moily’s statement makes me worry. The future of our country is in the hands of people who’re in responsible posts and do not have a basic idea of what managing a huge population is.
Akshay, Bangalore
Prem Shankar Jha in The Vicious Cycle That It Is says that iim-b students belonging to the sc/st category failed to appear in special classes organised for them for fear of disclosing their identity. But he does not say how they have fared later. Were they actually "bunched at the bottom" as he apprehended? And doesn’t it show that the private sector has failed to demonstrate that if a person is well qualified, he won’t be discriminated against for being born to a lower caste? Unfortunately, this is the reality. Which is why there is now talk of reservation in private sector. And why does Mr Jha assume that a "higher IQ" is the preserve only of the upper-caste students? IQ and marks-based merit are two different things.
Virendra Kumar, Meerut
"Should his sons suffer because of the accident of their birth?" asks Prem Shankar Jha. Good question, sir. Well, the Dalits and the backward castes asked the same question for centuries. How come nobody in the mainstream did anything significant to help them find an answer? It is just reverse discrimination in operation. You’ll just have to wait till the cycle gets over.
Arun Kirushna, Chennai
Eyes, Ears and Minds Closed, indeed. How long before Vinod Mehta & Co suggest that Karan K3G Johar reserve one-third of the roles in his next multi-starrer for "disadvantaged castes"?
Dr Animesh Tripathi, London
Manmohan Singh to Bush: I say, we are sending Indians to the Moon next year.
Bush: Gee, really? How many?
Manmohan: 100. 25 obc, 25 SC, 20 ST, 5 Handicapped, 5 Sportspeople, 5 Terrorist-Affected, 5 Kashmiri Migrants, 9 Politicos and if possible, 1 Astronaut.
Tarun Vijay, on e-mail
