Congrats, Outlook, on 11 successful years of covering a happening India! Wishing you more future successes!
Akhil, Chicago
Vinod Mehta, in his editorial Wonderland’s Warts, asks: "What is Outlook doing to help Amma? Not much, except present her story to you. Again. And again. And again." And what can the reader do? Not much, except read her story. Again and again and again and again. Mr Mehta, charity begins at home. Why don’t you do something before asking the Great Indian Middle Class to do something?
Chanakya, Dubai
Sonia Gandhi, ‘The Quiet Italian’? More likely ‘The Silent Dictator’.
Srikanth Seshagiri, Chennai
Kanti Bajpai’s Fission and No Fizz was a convincing analysis of how the bomb failed to achieve anything substantial. For all one knows, Pokhran-II was a well-planned move to intimidate Pakistan and to glorify Vajpayee as a leader with guts. It was also a good propaganda vehicle for the nda to project itself as having started with a big bang. What it did not reckon with was they’d end with a whimper.
S.P. Khanna, Faridabad
I enjoy reading Outlook, the only Indian magazine which presents reality as it is, warts and all. But I hope you remain liberal in the true sense of the word rather than just be pro-Congress. There is a difference between the two, and your readers know that.
Pravin, Seattle
Outlook deserves all the kudos for completing 11 years. Vinod Mehta’s socialistic sentiments in his editorial Wonderland’s Warts too are laudable. He’s right to point out the glaring class distinctions in our country. But does he realise who’s responsible for this? Not for him to reason that out. The erudite editor sounds gleefully childish while saying some of his readers disagree violently with his editorial stance and doubts whether he’d ever change. Why should he? He’s just a crony of our Machiavellian politicians whose populist diktats have greatly harmed the hard-working middle class. And do his socialistic views sit well with his act of making a 70-year-old lady press his feet?
M. Mukherjee, on e-mail
"The Hindutva-wallahs had no idea that an Italian novice would be running rings" around them, says Mr Mehta. How true, it does show what an open, receptive, trusting people we are. Of course, brown sahibs like Mr Mehta are too busy admiring European openness and liberalism to take note. Just that with the anti-immigrant backlash there, he and his ilk are at a loss to explain whatever happened to that liberalism and openness.
Raj Shah, New Jersey
Sonia Gandhi’s "inner voice" has spoken again, relayed now by Vir Sanghvi (The Quiet Italian). The cryptic message this time is that she should soon fulfil "her destiny as part of the dynasty she married into". Decoded, it means that she stands ready now to take up the prime ministership of India when Manmohan Singh, like the proverbial worm (no disrespect meant), turns because he can’t stomach any more humiliation and resigns. Sonia, "the grassroots person"? Does it mean she looks at the grass in the lawns of her Fort Ten Janpath sometimes?
Atin Gupta, on e-mail
Sonia couldn’t have found a better spin doctor than Sanghvi. Bofors and all her unsaintly deeds swept under the carpet, every decision or action of hers is attributed to a saintly motive. And to think the writer is an "esteemed journalist". Even Bush-friendly journalists in the increasingly partisan American media don’t airbrush their hero like this. No wonder the current dispensation is getting away with murder.
Navdeep Hans, Delhi
In matters of corruption, the bjp and Congress are two faces of the same coin.
Aziz, Pune
Sonia has one original achievement to her credit—her daring lie. When she declared "We have 272" in front of the television cameras.
V.R. Ganesan, New Jersey
I don’t agree with Pavan Verma’s assertion (Living Statues of Liberty) that the middle class is losing its Hindutva leanings. I just see a lot of hidden anger at the multiple bomb blasts.
Selvan, Boston
Kanti Bajpai is spot-on when he says it’s not the nukes but our economy that makes the world take note of us (Fission and No Fizz). But with a nuclearised continent—China, Pakistan, North Korea, and perhaps Iran and Japan to follow—it seems ours turned out to be a well-thought-out strategic decision. You might not countenance nuclear weapons, but they are important given the neighbourhood we’re living in. Yes, low-level insurgency/terrorism is sapping our vitality but with or without the weapons that’s a war we’d still be fighting. Our weapons status at least minimises the chances of having a conventional war. And while I fully endorse the view that it’s the economy that will give us place on the world stage, I beg to disagree on the point that being officially an N-weapons country would have accelerated our quest for a permanent seat in the Security Council. None of the Big 5 is going to let in any newcomers, especially with a veto, in a hurry.
Kumar, Chennai
Kanti Bajpai doesn’t have to work too hard to show where he figures on the stupidity index. Had India not done the ‘bomb’ thing, nobody would have given a toss about her, and her economy would not have got the fillip it received. The fact is, with her new nuke status, India is looked at in a new light. Before the bomb, we were seen as a nation of naked sadhus, snake-charmers and bullock carts, along with the starving, emaciated, backward masses living in unimaginable filth and squalor. But since the bomb, they saw a different land, a land on the move with an educated and growing middle class, a land whose economy was revving into high gear—where they might want to invest and make money.
B. Ramdeo, Springfield, US
Three cheers to your marketing department. They sold the 11th anniversary issue superbly. I was surprised to receive the issue, at a premium rate of
Rs 20 at that, with nearly 60 per cent (82 pages precisely) of ads! I expected more coverage, more in-depth stories. I’d also have preferred more multipage stories than multi-page ads. Surely, Outlook readers want better value for their money than the ad magazine that they eventually got.
Dr A.L. Moorthy, Delhi
Splendid 11th anniversary special. I remain, faithfully yours, waiting to grab my copy of the magazine, week after week.
Vineet Bhalla, Bhilai
Eleven glorious years down the lane and Outlook’s come a long way on the road to path-breaking journalism. Here’s wishing you all the best.
V.K. Tangri, Dehradun
Eleven years of atrocious journalism is something to celebrate, eh? Vinod Mehta should be grateful to Congresswallahs and Madam for resurrecting his failed career. Shame that he should attach an intellectual tag to himself... who gave it to him, I wonder? Madam?
Srinivas, Lucknow
Even while acknowledging the risks and limitations being faced by television journos, Barkha Dutt’s justifications (India, In a Minute) sound woefully inadequate considering the absolutely mindless sensationalism, voyeurism and yellow journalism which masquerades as most of TV "news" reporting today. More than television reporting being responsive, robust and fearless, which is all very nice, it needs to be more responsible, relevant and sensitive. We don’t need the luxury of 24x7 news. We can make do with even 6x7 but give us some real news.
Rahul Gaur, Gurgaon
I certainly agree with Ms Dutt on one point—that TV journalism is something we can’t do without in the coming years, especially when it involves bringing people to account. But how about some accountability on the part of the media? Every channel seems to have its experts, its breaking news, its exclusives. Are we that dynamic as a nation? Or are we being fooled daily by boom-pronouncing journalists who only care about their channels’ trps?
Aninda Sardar, Calcutta
How come Outlook forgot to profile the fodder scam minister who, having misruled Bihar for 15 years, has risen Phoenix-like to become a world-class management guru? His is the greatest achievement India has had, after the nuclear test.
Raj Bharadwaj, on e-mail
Right from Jai Prakash’s eyecatching miniature art on the cover to the splendid content inside, Vinod Mehta’s Outlook bespoke class. Unbiased reporting combined with reader-friendly, tongue-in-cheek language makes Outlook a pleasure to read, always.
Sharada P. Rao, Bangalore
Congratulations to Team Outlook for bringing out a masterly issue to mark the publication’s 11th anniversary.
Anjum Husain, on e-mail
Outlook talking of Friend or Freud? What a surprise!
Ramana Murthy, Hyderabad
Nothing wrong in seeking or and following a good guru. But where do we find one?
M. Vijayakumar, Bangalore
Gurus have done more harm than good. A guru has to be selfless, devoted to the poor, living with them, not on any sprawling ashram campuses bestowed as dakshina. Show us one such guru and perhaps we’ll follow his precepts. No point seeking one in the media because true gurus would neither want publicity nor would the media go to them.
Nasar, Raleigh, US
Mortal gods like Sri Sri Ravishankar have neither made any original contribution nor said anything new. All they’ve done is smartly repackage age-old Indian practices and present them to gullible masses. In a nation of unsatisfied and disgruntled people looking for salvation, these ‘gurus’ find unsuspecting prey. For the West seeking the exotic East, they appear to be an embodiment of the rich Indian culture.
Rohit C.J., Cochin
Amitabh is dear to all of us, from children to old men (The Trouble With Being Reborn). And it’s not just because of his acting but also because of his engaging personality and unassuming nature.
C.M. Kelawala, Ahmedabad
It’s funny when we as Indians look at people from other countries and smile at their ignorance about our land and its people. We realise that the world for them begins and ends with their own world. But what do you do when a Jerry Pinto fails to recognise some of our Bengali or South Indian actresses.
T.S. Raghu, Boston
The bpo industry has no doubt reduced unemployment, but has made youngsters forego their college education by luring them with five-figure salaries (The Night Errant). Before Independence, we Indians worked for the British with no financial gains; now we work for the Americans and the British jointly, with enormous financial gains but with severe loss in the quality of health. Working continuous nights has made these youngsters health wrecks, with backache, insomnia, eyestrain and headache. By 2010, the bpo industry may or may not grow, but we’ll sure have a sickly generation.
Dr S. Devaji Rao, Chennai
Many of the things Naresh Fernandes points out in The Big Sellout are indeed ugly truths of the "most unequal society in the world". However, I can’t help but notice the anti-American slant in the "big bad American invented evil mall". Of course, American malls have their critics in the US, but the ultimate success of the mall is the convenience, comfort and prices that are often cheaper than what traditional stores offer. Coming back to India, I don’t know why malls have to be an either/or proposition. What’s wrong if the middle classes hunger to have a "bubble" in the midst of chaos? A "climate-controlled oasis" in cities full of pollution, dust, heat—as long as it’s zoned sensibly? The issue is of planning, regulation and enforcement.
Nirmal, Coimbatore
Malls in the US have 2-5 big stores and 50-odd small ones. The backlash from the small traders is not so much against malls but far more against discount retailers like Wal-Mart.
Ravi Narayan, Fremont, US
Amitav Ghosh, like nearly all the Indo-Anglian writers, is a man of straw of whom in a few years no trace will remain (The Spiral of Reason). A book by Rushdie—some decent chapters in Satanic Verses—and Rohinton Mistry’s novels are all the serious and memorable work Indo-Anglians have produced. The rest is pitiable tosh—cheap money-grubbing waffle of the St Stephen’s toffs.
Anil Narlikar, Pune
And The Winner Is... Strange you should discount Tarun Tejpal’s Alchemy of Desire. It’s one of the best takes on India of the late ’80s and ’90s, of typewriters, jalopies, journalism, eating paranthas at a roadside place, of owning a Maruti Gypsy etc. Also one of the best recommended books; Naipaul himself said it was one of the finest novels to have come out of India.
Vijay Shankar, Bangalore
Outlook’s done great service in making Free Speech almost free, and merci for that.
Raj, Dendukur
The single-most achievement Outlook can boast of is the open debate it encourages on its Letters page.
Ameet Bhuvan, Bhubaneswar
I was astonished to read the article Sour Endnote (Oct 16) on my candidacy for the UN secretary-generalship. Given that it is so obviously single-sourced and malicious, as well as resting on unverifiable hearsay, I would not have reacted, but I realise my not doing so would be unfair to a journal that I hold in high regard and which has chosen to give this farrago of gossip and misrepresentation editorial sanction. I’ve never been remotely "petulant" in my candidature. My conversations and communications with Nick Burns in particular have been entirely pleasant; I am proud to count him as someone with whom my personal relationship will continue beyond the immediacy of this campaign. The insinuation that he considers me a "political lightweight" is without foundation. No such thought or phrase was ever expressed by him in any of my conversations. Instead of putting in his mouth words he never uttered, you could have quoted his public expressions of regard for my record, my candidacy and my campaign. Worse, your correspondent’s statement querying my remaining in the race is bizarre, because his argument would make any election unnecessary, since apparently only the ultimate winner should compete in any race. I’m inured to the petty jealousies which have so often undermined India’s ability to advance its interests in the world, but perhaps the real question to be asked is what sort of handicaps an Indian candidate must have laboured under if "sources" in his ministry of external affairs tell such stories about him to the press.
Shashi Tharoor, New York
Our correspondent replies: Outlook’s story is based on extensive, multiple and reliable government briefings. All details in the story are true.
Your article The A,B,C Abyss (Sep 25) is an eye-opener. States like Bihar should feel heartened that a sound base is in place and all they need to do is bring discipline and commitment into the system. A large number of Bihari students in iits-iims, a large workforce in the ias, financial institutions and global organisations corroborate the fact that the land of Buddha has not lost its desire to excel. What it lacks is good leadership and a visionary at the helm to drive change.
Sanjeev K. Sanju, on e-mail
When it comes to running with the Islamic fundamentalist hare and hunting with the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant hound, there is no one to beat ol’ Musharraf (The General Gets Specific, Oct 9).
Dev K. Vasudevan, on e-mail
