Your south special (Deccan Rising, Jul 16) was a delight, especially since I am a south Indian. Please keep us in mind in the future too, and not restrict us to being special cases.
Chandra Rekha, on e-mail
Thanks for an interesting coverage of different aspects of south India. The Dakshin is indeed rising. And not just economically. South Indian cinema too is fairly distinguishable from the rest and many of its luminaries like mgr, ntr and Jayalalitha have risen in politics as well to become chief ministers. Film stars from other states who entered politics never tasted their kind of success. If ever a film star was to become the prime minister in India (like Ronald Reagan in the US), he or she would most likely be from the south.
R.N. Kohli, New Delhi
What premonition! Dakshin Rising, indeed. In international terrorism.
S. Vaitheeswaran, on e-mail
I’ve been reading Outlook right since its inception and must say your ‘Dakshin Rising’ issue is the worst ever. You focus only on the good that is apparently happening in the south, choosing to forget or push under the carpet all the ills that plague it. Indeed, these are the very weaknesses that blighted the northern half of Shining India and it will be sad if the south went the same way. If we took our blinkers off, we’d readily see that the southies are no different from their northern counterparts: in aggression, corruption and obfuscation, all of which have been instrumental in holding the nation back.
Sharat Chandra, Kalpakkam
Ramachandra Guha’s thesis (The Better Half) can only be characterised as wisdom in hindsight. The most important reason for the resurgence of the south in the last decade or two is the coincidence of the east and north falling prey in those years to insurgency and mafiosi rule in Bihar and UP. Laloo and Mulayam perhaps deserve far greater credit for the southern revival than anybody I can think of in the south!
Binay Kumar, San Francisco
Being a historian, Guha has failed to explain why all industry today is going south when once it went east and later to the west. The fact is that in India, investments depend on governments and the banks they control. If earlier T.T. Krishnamachari destroyed the natural advantage of the east by wasting billions of rupees to subsidise the transport of vital raw material from the east to the south and the west, since the ’50s, industries were located in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Mysore and Haryana to satisfy the whims of the politicians there. Marathi and Gujarati politicians—C.D. Deshmukh, Morarji Desai, Y.B. Chavan, S.K. Patil—took away all the banks from Calcutta to Bombay. Industries were encouraged to locate from the east to the south or the west, else they wouldn’t get licence-permit-quotas, loans or contracts. Consequently, all industry became sick in the late ’60s. Since ’85, south Indian politicians have been controlling the ministries of industry, finance and trade, be it Karunakaran, Maran, Chidambaram or Ramadoss. So now industry, as well as all the money, goes to the south. For example, Chidambaram gave only Rs 25 crore for the flood control of the entire eastern region but, when it came to the water supply of Madras, he loosened his purse-strings and allotted Rs 2,500 crore or so. Is it surprising then that the south should prosper at the cost of other parts of India?
Dipak Bose, Calcutta
I normally do not agree with Guha on anything under the sun but fully endorse this observation of his—"Rice-eating societies are more peaceable than wheat-eating ones. "
Shriprasad, Hyderabad
What Guha does not see is how much other south Indians loathe Tamils. The Malayalee’s worst nightmare is being ruled by Tamilians. For all their linguistic closeness, or perhaps because of it, the two despise each other.
Parbat Laldeng, Denver, US
Contrary to Guha’s assertion, education flourished in the south precisely because of less linguistic diversity, not more. In the south, you speak your mother tongue, and English becomes a second language; not for a Bengali, Oriya or anyone from the north. English at best becomes a third, or fourth language, after Hindi. This is why southerners in general are more fluent in English than their northern counterparts.
Francis Minj, Berkeley, US
I like the way Guha uses the terms "intelligent and open-minded" antithetically against "short, dark and vegetarian". In any other civilised country, your readers would’ve abandoned you for such racism.
Rohan Soares, Mumbai
You might choose to call the south The Better Half but there are a lot of similarities between the two. There is a Karunanidhi for Laloo and Mulayam. Mayawati’s diamonds lose their sheen before Jayalalitha’s footwear. Bollywood may have the Big B, but the south has Rajnikant. One would have appreciated some comparisons in terms of modern and ancient literature of the two regions.
Nafay Kumail, New Delhi
One only needs to compare the ‘forward’ south to the countries to our east for all this glory to fade to oblivion. But then everything is relative, isn’t it?
S. Shandilya, Mumbai
The article Be a Sport, Da provided excellent food for thought. Perhaps all the national sports federations should be shifted down south? Who knows, we might then have less of politics, more of sport!
Sunil Yajaman, Bangalore
Having been both to south and north India, I’d any day prefer to be among the civilised and courteous south Indians over the boorish, uncultured north Indians. Perhaps Guha is right when he says this might be because of economic and cultural factors, and there’s no reason why north Indians can’t change for the better in the future. For the time being though, my vote firmly sits with the south.
Akhil Rahul, Chicago
It is good to see the south prospering but depressing to see unnecessary money being spent on superfluous development like the metro rail in Bangalore. Not only is it environmentally unviable, as the city would lose all its greenery, it is also a huge burden on the tax-payer. A mono rail instead is a better choice, where there would be no environmental compromise and the money put to more essential uses.
Manu Nair, Bangalore
It is flattering for us in Chennai to read all about southern splendour and the northerners’ desire to come and settle here. In fact, a month ago, one survey dubbed Chennai as the cleanest city next only to Chandigarh. If that is indeed the case, I dread to think what the state of other cities in India is. Chennai, of late, has become filthy, its roads and pavements colonised by street food-selling dhabas and sundry vendors, with the corporation and government doing nothing. On the contrary, it’s a source of income for both politicians and officials alike, and a source of bad health—there is a spell of cholera and dysentery which the government is trying to sweep under the carpet—for the ignorant public. And Guha is right when he says TN is as corrupt as UP and Haryana. We could include Bihar as well, but Nitish Kumar is at least making an effort, something the two Dravidian parties aren’t. Poetess Kamala Das stated a few months ago that she was leaving Kochi for Pune, among other things, because of the garbage on the roads! It’s easy to live in the south if you work in a swanky office, have a swanky house, travel in swanky cars. The smell might waft up to your nose sometime, but you seldom see the filth from behind your dark glasses.
Sam Pal, Chennai
It is easy to exult in the prosperity of the south. It is mostly the result of the liberalisation policies of the government, which states like Andhra Pradesh have used to full advantage. Hyderabad has become a great place to live in, but only for the chosen few. The common man, with his minimal income, finds it impossible to find a place in the city.
C. Deenadayal, on e-mail
What if the south had seceded, you ask (Hamare Paas...). I think the question is pointless. It’s true that the south has currently got an unprecedented momentum in growth and has become self-sufficient, but it is due to the collective effort and collaborations of a number of people, all of whom are not from the south. When the rest of the world is becoming a global village, why should the south become exclusive?
Arun Namboodiri, Pune
A confederation of the four southern states seceding from the Indian Union? Don’t you know they can’t stand each other; that there is no love lost between them? The Tamils are hated by the other three. They’d rather confederate with the north than with the Tamils. Look at Karunanidhi, he is closer to the north he once so hated than to any of the three southern states. The Indian Union cannot be broken—the south will see to that.
T. Sathyamurthi, Folsom, US
It was a pleasure reading the extract from Jeremy Seabrook’s book (That Side of the Street). Incisive, sharp and biting, it’s something that seriously needs to be paid heed to.
V.N. Gautam, Delhi
Don’t we have enough mental barriers in Indian society that Outlook should dredge up yet another one? Isn’t it a national newsmagazine? Shouldn’t it be covering issues relevant to India as a whole? On the one hand, you’re cooking up issues where none exist, and on the other, castigate others for mudslinging a presidential candidate just because she happens to be a choice of your favourite party. Pathetic!
Kiran Bagachi, Mumbai
The soaring success of south Indians in almost all walks of life—be it technology, medicine, arts or commerce—is due to their downright dedication and discipline. They value traditional legacies while pursuing present-day challenges. They are renowned for doing things with an eye to the future and an ear to the past. Talent and intellect are immediately recognised here irrespective of status unlike in the north.
K.C. Kumar, Bangalore
Apropos Ashok K. Mehta’s Tashkent Diary, Jul 16, it was Aleksei Kosygin, not Khrushchev, who brokered the agreement between Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ayub Khan after the 1965 war.
Anant Ram Gaur, New Delhi
Can anyone explain what Martha Nussbaum’s specific response to terrorism directed against India is (Books, Jul 16)? Also, if she sees any links between terror against India, and that against the US, UK and Israel? What’s her view of the multiple Mumbai bombings, and India’s response vis-a-vis that of the US and UK? And what does she have to say on Kashmir, which has a Muslim majority—surely her majority/ minority paradigm falls apart there? Until these questions are answered, we can’t get a clearer picture of Nussbaum and her stances.
Varun Shekhar, Toronto
The article Brown Stroke On Vibgyor (Jul 9), though reflecting reality, seemed to cater to the bloated ego of Indians. True, Indian expats are players in the run-up to the US presidential elections, but is this not true for other such communities? Both probable candidates would just want their votes, and try and woo them. What really matters is how the Indian community there tries to modify state policies.
Ameet Bhuvan, Bhubaneswar
Vinod Mehta’s editorial, Tainted Ethos (Jul 16), has come at the opportune time. These days, we have journalists who don’t hesitate to make uncalled for comments about anything and everything. I feel this is due to wrong training they get—one that feeds their ego rather than knowledge.
Dinesh Kumar, Chandigarh
As usual, Mr Mehta is an agent provocateur—he cannot possibly be serious. Such a decidedly partisan write-up which can only be taken with buckets of salt! I thought the Indian press was wonderful with its capacity and liberty to air a range of views—from one end of the spectrum to the other—on issues, major or minor. If Pratibha Patil is at the receiving end of a section of the media this time, so be it. Any call to restrain voices would only amount to shearing journalism of its colour.
Bindu Tandon, Mumbai
Whether the nda’s charges against Pratibha are truths, half-truths or lies, the upa-Left combine ought to have done a better check of its presidential nominee. For, that sort of a vetting would leave no politician in the fray. And that won’t be a bad thing to happen.
Ghulam Y. Faruki, New York
Why not VM himself as president? He is no scamster, has a clean history and, what’s more, is a total entertainer. And above all, open to bitter criticism.
P. Kalamurth, Mumbai
If not the constitutional head, at least a Rajya Sabha MP. That is one reward some of our famous journalists get by allying with one political party or the other. The scene where spectators (journalists) become players (politicians)—as VM says—happens also because some of our editors clearly know the right side of the bread.
Arun Mehra, Mumbai
Somebody who is the peon of a party—and, worst of all the Congress—shouldn’t have pontificated on journalistic ethics. Only when editors like Mr Mehta quit job can we hope for some probity in public life.
A. Vembhu, New Delhi
It’s time Outlook came out with more balanced opinions. Else you would go the Doordarshan way—dwindling listeners of what is, effectively, mere government propaganda.
Dharmendra S. Sengar, Delhi
It isn’t VM, it’s people like Arun Shourie who have muddied the present-day media in India. Shourie’s tirade against Pratibha is a disgrace to himself and fellow professionals. If anything, we want more pieces like Mr Mehta’s as an antidote to such venomous campaigns.
Adnan Nawaz, Seattle
Forget who the writer is, you can’t dispute one thing: the media in India suffers from the malady of loud, mindless noise.
K.V. Sadasivan, Bharuch
A lot of what VM says is right, only that it’s a case of the devil quoting the scriptures.
Al Bundy, San Francisco
Even as Mr Mehta is preaching journalistic ethics, his reporters are focused on digging up the ‘truth’ in the charges against Shekhawat. Thus running a ‘Protect Pratibha’ campaign.
Parminder Kamboj, Noida, UP
Mr Mehta wants Pratibha’s candidature to be acknowledged "if not in the interests of democracy, then at least in the interests of common sense" since she is poised to win. Now, suppose it were Narendra Modi who was expected to win in another kind of political atmosphere. Will Outlook raise this "common sense" point?
Navdeep Hans, Delhi
Maybe "spectators" became "participants", but what stopped the upa nominee from convincingly counter the charges against her? I think it was her silence that led to a flare-up in the anti-Pratibha campaign.
Srinivas, Lucknow
Words can’t describe how disgusted I felt on reading your report, The Muck Boomerangs. Strange that you have found no truth in charges against Pratibha, instead conjured up new allegations against Shekhawat.
Venky, Khammam
All my high opinion about our vice-president came tumbling down when I read your piece, Is Shekhawat Worth The Salt?. As one who accepted bribes in 1947, he’s the pioneer of corruption in independent India.
Dipankar Maibam, Delhi
Good investigative story. Now, why not one on Pratibha too?
Sumit Kar, Shillong
A palpable pro-Congress, anti-BJP streak is hotting up in your magazine. It would eventually leap up in flames and reduce Outlook to ashes. Alas!
Sudhir Kumar Bisht, Delhi
