With reference to I Accuse... (April 9), Aamir Sohail is accusing some Pakistani teammates of ‘fixing’ matches just to make some easy money. According to your correspondents, the fixing fever is present in the Indian team too. Cricket itself is a game of luck and uncertainties. If soccer-style fixing encroaches on cricket, the gentleman’s game will soon die a natural death. The game has already become highly competitive. That is the major reason for ‘tampering’, ‘sledging’ and now ‘fixing’.
C.K. Subramaniam, Vashi, Navi Mumbai
I am amused by some of the opinions expressed about Bill Gates in Letters (April 9). We should accept him for what he is, a phenomenally successful entrepreneur/businessman. Why should we expect him to sing praises of our technical workforce or hand out alms to our institutions? Isn’t it enough that he is creating conditions conducive for our software professionals to work and prosper in? If he makes billions in the process, why should we hold a grudge against him?
K.V. Ramana Reddy, Tirupati
Apropos The Price of Protection (April 9), what is most troubling is the way the security apparatus, be it Delhi Police or para-military/armed forces, treats the average person, not just with disdain but almost as if he is the enemy. There is this almost perverse glee that spouts from their eyes when they point weapons at obviously harmless people, safe in the protection of senior officers who cover up on grounds of ‘morale’ or laws that we, as average citizens, don’t even know exist...laws which give them the freedom to shoot us, for a wide variety of reasons. As in the case of the Connaught Place killings.
Veeresh Malik, Delhi
The article on Indo-Pak ties (The Burden of Popular Optimism, April 2) made interesting reading. However, if India becomes generous on the grounds that it is a larger country and starts to make unilateral concessions, then it will undoubtedly end up the loser.
K. Haralaka, Mumbai
In Showman Strikes Back (April 2), you acknowledge that Laloo Prasad Yadav displayed his might in the form of a huge assembly at a packed-to-the-seams congregation. If a shrewd politician lures a poor man with the promise of a dhoti, not only he, but his entire family will come. The congregation of people who came from far and wide to be part of his garib railla were not symbolic of Laloo’s popularity, but of poverty and lack of the basic necessities.
Simi Ratra, Delhi
Additional sessions judge S.N. Dhingra’s sentence convicting former Cabinet minister Kalpnath Rai (Not Above the Law, April 2) for harbouring Dawood Ibrahim’s men might be too rigorous, but proves that the law doesn’t spare anyone. But why was he silent about former prime minister Chandra Shekhar’s Bhondsi ashram? Judicial activism is a boon, but we must ensure that it doesn’t become despotism." Witness the U-turn on the Jain diaries.
Bidyut K. Chatterjee, Faridabad
Why is Kalpnath Rai punished but Sharad Pawar not punished for the same crime. It seems Pawar is above the law. Pawar brought Subhash Yadav and Garikapatti along with him in an Air Force plane from Varan-asi to Mumbai but nobody filed a PIL against this even though Pawar was defence minister at that time. It seems the law is not taking the same course for Pawar and Kalpnath Rai. Just as the courts don’t treat Bal Thackeray and Imam Bukhari on an equal footing. While Thackeray was summoned and reprimanded, the Imam was not even questioned.
Shrirang Godbole, Pune
The J.J. Hospital shootout case in Mumbai occurred in broad daylight. Miscreants using firearms killed innocent persons and fled. The case put the whole nation’s police on red alert. Therefore, the question that needs examination is, if the accused, Subhash Thakur and V.N. Rai, were sheltered by Rai with full knowledge of their criminal record.
P. Gautampurkar, Kota
The decision of the BJP and the BSP to form the government in UP is nothing but a move to deceive voters (Together Again!, April 2). Kanshi Ram joined hands with the Congress for the UP elections and then switched over to the BJP. How will this government be able to develop the state within six months? UP will be in mess, but the leaders will gain their share of interest in whatever fashion they want. The EC and government should amend the oath taken by ministers. It should include that they forego their personal interests and not favour their family and relatives.
M.A.H. Farooqui, Belgaum, Karnataka
The installation of the BJP-BSP government in UP after a stalemate of six months only proves that to talk of ethics in politics in India is most unethical. Our leaders are worse than chameleons and change their colours at the drop of a hat.Against the above background, you hit the nail on the head by remarking: "History was bound to repeat itself, this time probably as farce". However, it is a bit too early to predict anything with any reliability because of the fast changing political scenario and fortunes of individual parties, as the recent elections in Punjab and bye-lections have shown. Only the future will tell who has befooled whom or whether both have been befooled. But one thing is sure: both the Congress and the UF, particularly Mulayam Singh, who have considerable stakes in UP, have been outmanoeuvred.
V. Sagar, Delhi
The cover story, The Merchandising of Culture (April 9), has rightly established that the corporate world is fast emerging as patron and promoter of modern art, music and culture in India. But, all this is inflected with an elitist bias and is not meant for the lower-middle class. For them, these are mere documentaries or inert live-telecasts on their TV screens. Something, somewhere has gone drastically wrong, creating the impression that we are losing out. Is it our culture or self-esteem? The corporate world can do much more to contribute to India’s development. Each one can adopt a village and be responsible for its overall development. This will set a wonderful example for others to follow.
Zigyasa & Him, Muzaffarnagar
The popularisation of culture may have come as a necessary consequence of globalisation, but for M.F. Husain, it has been a case of ‘culturing of popularity’. It’s mainly due to Madhuri Dixit that Husain is famous today, as his trademark is epitomised in the series of Madhuri’s paintings. Husain should hunt for his ‘ideal woman’ in the Madonnas. We’ve seen a Menaka, an Urvashi and a Mohini in Madhuri much before he did in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.
Rajiv Ranjan Roy, Delhi
Apropos You’ve to play till you break (April 2), the exclusive interview with Srinath doesn’t seem to be straightforward. That fast bowlers are prone to injury is common knowledge. Very often, the physical side of cricket is not given due weightage by our selection board. It’s time our selection board gave serious thought to the need for a third seamer-cum-all-rounder to relieve the Prasad-Srinath duo. Players like Srinath must not fear being dropped from the team for occasional bad patches or non-performance.
Subhashis Ray, Rourkela
The interview revealed the state of affairs of Indian cricket. Both Srinath and Dalmiya are trying to defend themselves. Fitness plays a crucial role in laying the foundation for a cricketer in general and a pace bowler in particular. Srinath need not play till he breaks. Ravi Shastri made this mistake during the 1992 World Cup. As a result we could not reach the semi-finals.
J. Subramaniam, Kovai (TN)
Apropos Master’s Vision (April 2), on Malayali film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, his Swarna Kamal-winning film Kathapurushan is translated into English as Man of the Story. I am afraid, this is a piece of translation that errs in being too literal, consequently losing its focus of expression. I doubt this title will make sense to anyone (except Malayalis who know the original title of the film). ‘The Protagonist’ comes nearest to the meaning of the Malayalam title, in sensible and acceptable English.
C. Mulangunnathukavu, Mumbai
The conditions of most public zoos is pathetic. In the circumstances, the fact that persons like Dr Shashidhar are managing their Mini Menagerie (March 26) is a welcome move. They are handling it with proper care and without charging exorbitant visiting fees. While I agree that no healthy wild animal should be caged, unless the government establishes wildlife care centres, private efforts in this direction should be encouraged. If any law forbids humane action, it should be amended.
Digambar Gadgil, President, Friends of Birds, Nasik
This is with reference to the review of Arundhati Roy’s novel, The God of Small Things, (Crosscutting Classic, April 9) by Sunil Sethi. Sethi begins with "Only fools read fiction for a reproduction of life...." I would like to submit that even bigger fools do not demand or expect authenticity in novels from a post-colonial context. The responsibility of the writer is an even greater question as the Orient has long been portrayed in traditional stereotypes by western writers.
Roy, far from demythification, plays up violence and exotica in her novel to produce a sensational and steamy book. The novel’s plot is not new; we recall (better) presentations of the brutal suppression of subalterns by police and politicians in films such as Nihalani’s Aak-rosh. Mahasweta Devi has dealt with the brutal killing of a rebellious tribal in police custody in Aranya Adhikar.
Roy’s novel deals with death by drowning of a English child; the body is recovered by an untouchable, Velutha, an activist who is having a secret affair with an upper class Syrian Christian lady, a grand-aunt of this woman. The police and politicians connive to falsely implicate Velutha on charges of abduction, rape and murder and he is killed in police custody. The novel contains one scene of steamy sex, one of nauseating violence and one of masturbation—all the ingredients of a potboiler.
The novel undoes all the demythification writers like R.K. Narayan, Amitav Ghosh, Rohinton Mistry and others have strived to achieve over the decades. One shudders to see the direction in which Indian fiction in English is going. Since when is some British literary agent who has never been to India, going to decide what great writing from India is?
Rita Joshi, Delhi
