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October 29, 1998
SPECIALS
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How Readers reacted to Varsha Bhosle's recent columns
Date sent: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 22:53:57 -0500 First, I am in total agreement with you on the fact that the BJP and its leaders should not have been so naive to present the educational bill in front of this Parliament, which includes politicians who are just interested in creating vote banks than to serve the country. The political personalities in India is one of a kind, which is totally extinct in other countries around the world, except a few which still have a Mafia stronghold in politics. What I totally disagree with, is your argument that history books do not need certain changes. Nowadays, more and more of the Indian intelligentsia are reading about their history beyond what is taught in schools. More and more people are revealing the truth which totally defies what is taught in our text books, text books which should teach us to accept the truth and live our life using "truth" as the highest ideals. But, such things cannot exist in India because politicians need vote banks, and for that even if rewriting history is warranted, they would do it. Changes are required, there is no doubt about this. The lies being spread through text books in the name of secularism is a manifestation of the political will in India, which is not used to serve the country but to make money, earn unwarranted fame using the lowest tactics. Anyways, back to the topic... I don't know if chapters on Western historical personalities are so important in our text books, but surely we need to learn more and more about those figures in India who actually did something for the country. That includes all the freedom fighters, along with some other leaders who were away from mainstream politics, but still carried the same important agendas of uniting and creating harmony in India through preachings of national ideals. I am not happy about removing chapters on the father of the nation, infact, this is one personality in India whom we should devote an additional chapter, called introspective analysis of the father of the nation. That should include everything from the start of his political career in India to the drastic end of it. And when I say analysis, I mean thorough analysis of all deeds and motivations that drove those actions. Why only for Mahatma Gandhi, let's do it for every single historical figure involved in the freedom struggle of India. That is what I call a balanced and true representation of history, which does not present a biased picture but allows people to contemplate and learn from their history. As for other recommendations like a inclusion of the teachings and analysis of the Vedas and Upanishads, I think these should not be given full-fledged text books in primary education, but should be given one or two introductory chapters at the primary and secondary level. They should also be offered as electives in the higher secondary education along with Romeo & Juliet and Shakespeare. One thing I haven't been able to figure out is, why Indians are so bent upon learning Western ideologies and history while at the same time disregarding their own cultural heritage. Other recommendations like home education to girls along with mainstream education cannot do any harm to young Indian women. In fact, women in India, are regarded as authorities in running households, then why shouldn't we include such teachings which will help women be more proficient and efficient in carrying out their career as well as personal lives effectively? Moreover, learning about nutrition, home making etc. will not take the women back to the Stone Age, but will help them to be more competent than women abroad who are given such education in schools along with the normal subjects offered. About the recommendation of learning Sanskrit, well here is what I have to say. Sanskrit, as we all know is the mother of all languages. It has been and will remain the letter "A" of our culture. Even today we chant most of the mantras used in religious ceremonies in Sanskrit. We happen to use Sanskrit even for marriage ceremonies. What is the meaning of using all this without knowing or understanding even a word about all this? Sanskrit is to Hindus, what Greek was to Greece, what Hebrew is to Jews. We should be proud of this language which has given birth to other European languages. As for its age, I don't think a language can become extinct with age unless we make it extinct. And while we are learning Sanskrit, we can also learn other languages. There are so many electives given in languages in India -- why not include other languages as electives and make Sanskrit compulsory at least till the secondary level, so that we have a slight understanding of this beautiful yet an important language. Moreover, learning Sanskrit does not subvert the learning of computers and information sciences. Create an information society, but do not lose link with the roots of your culture. That is exactly what has gone wrong in the past fifty years of the post-Independence era. I agree with you that we should assimilate new and growing ideas, but it does not make sense to completely lose touch with your history, your culture and heritage. And teaching Sanskrit is not teaching religion. So please do not intermingle the two of them. Varshaji, I am a regular reader of your article and I have noted that though your articles speak a lot about common values, Indian values etc, they do not carry much weight for the historical and cultural values of Indian spiritualism. Why are we running away from this fact, why can't we be proud of what we are? Being modern does not mean throwing away what is old, if old has value and can be used for a better purpose in the new society, then why not use it? And usually Old is Gold!
Jai Hind
Date sent: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 14:40:51 +0530 This article of yours shows that you are not totally biased by Hindu ideology. It was good to see you taking a balanced view about the education policies being enforced by the BJP government. Keep it up! BTW, I recently heard a Marathi song, sung by Suresh Wadkar and one "Varsha Bhosle!" Was it you who had sung this song? Not too unlikely, considering your family background! It was, as I remember, Geet houni aale sukh maaze saajana.. If it indeed was, hats off to you, it was really a nice song! Sameer Chivate
Date sent: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 23:44:02 -0600 Varsha's columns make interesting reading, I really like some of her choice words like "pinkos" and the way she heaps insult upon insult on them. But Varsha, I somehow don't like the word "Mosie"... Sounds too much like Moses. Could you please cut it out of your vocabulary?
Date sent: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 13:00:40 +0530 What does she know about the Mahatma? What does she really know about Indian history, the minorities, secularists... Just writing few words from jargon means nothing. Does she know anything about the great Savarkar-Tilak-Agarkar-Sardar Patel-Subhas Bose-Chapekar-Ambedkar-Tagore-and so on. She must understand that Indian history is far more than Mahatma and Nehru. Mahatma himself was a great practitioner of Adhyatma. He was simply great. Few politicians made undue use of his innocence. And now people like Varsha Bhosle are also making use of his name. She probably is forgetting the fundamentals of this country -- the real meaning of saffron-green and white. Dear Varsha, come back to the country. Otherwise, the country will be sold to the outsiders again. The days of foreign rule are nearing. Believe me, if that happens, you won't have the courage and ability to fight against it.
Date sent: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 21:45:33 EST I was surprised to read this article, I had expected better sense from her. While she calls Dr Joshi persona non grata, she forgets that the BJP gets votes because of the Murli Manohar Joshis, not Jaswant Singhs. As far as Sanskrit is concerned, she is acting like a typical English speaking, anglicised, anti- Hindu, Hindu. Sanskrit is eternal, it will never be dead. When the true BJP gets a majority in Parliament, Sanskrit will be the official language of the central government and English will not only be abandoned, but de-rooted, because, as long as English rules Bharat will be India and India can never be a great nation. It must first be Bharat and only then it can become a great nation once again. The only mistake made at the Education Ministers conference was that Joshiji changed the agenda to accommodate the state ministers boycoting Saraswati Vandana, instead of sticking to the original agenda and letting those ten go home or better yet go to the land of their masters. Amulya Tyagi
Date sent: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 19:43:27 -0000 Excellent! Keep it up. Some time back, I had given up hopes about India -- a person like Laloo Yadav was being considered as the PM. I did not want to go back to India. I was seeing hypocritical secularists all around, talking all sorts of nonsense. Some of them made Sonia their chief. What was even more shocking was that the majority of the Indian population just watched the tamasha, sitting in their homes, satisfying their own selfish ends (who cares about the country kind of attitude)! At least, that was the picture that I got. But then, the BJP made it to power. And people like Varsha and Pritish started speaking their heart out. All of a sudden there was a flood of some very aggressive viewpoints being voiced by a lot of people. I am glad that it's happening. My hopes for my country are rekindled. Many people might not have realised. But the single achievement of this century for our country has been the election of the BJP -- a party that digs its ideology from national pride. After having been harassed for a thousand years by invaders and marauders from all round the world, the ahimsa loving people -- the people who prefered to follow Panchsheel even if it resulted in losing parts of Arunachal and Aksai Chin -- woke up and decided to elect an aggresive government (at least a significant part of them did). That, though it took too long, was an achievement. In her article, Varsha considered the BJP to be stupid. I do agree that the house-keeping and Sanskrit inclusions are not appropriate. But I do not agree that they (BJP) are stupid. Since they came to power, there have been a lot of items they have not been able to implement (items that they had promised to the people during the elections), because of the fact that they do not have the majority. Some people saw this as the BJP going back on their words. Shri Joshi probably knew very well that his education reforms had a big chance of falling through. If it had passed, well and good. But if it didn't, he would have at least conveyed to his supporting citizens that he intends to keep his promises -- when his party had a majority in Parliament. That was a good decision, based on todays realities of a coalition government. Sun Tzu sounds good, but not for the Indian scenario. Given the instability, brought about by a coalition, it is difficult to make decisive changes with a single shot. One can only achieve the goal by repeated trials. My guess is that Shri Joshi is gonna start singing new tunes very soon, after the dust settles for the current unsuccesful effort. I wish him good luck. Would like to see more of your articles.
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 19:32:46 -0500 You are my very own rain man on the Net. The "Class action" article was a good one, but I digress with you (seriously) as far as the issue of Sanskrit is concerned. Sanskrit is not dead. And Sanskrit will definitely not die out because of our negligence. Sanskrit was born with the birth of India and it shall die only with it. Furthermore, even if we Indians do not accord Sanskrit the pre-eminent position it very much deserves more Sanskrit-appreciative gora-log like Joseph Campbell, who said openly that Sanskrit is the language of spirituality par excellence, are available by the several thousand and they will continue to find in Sanskrit its true and innate value. As far as the BJP is concerened, you know as well as I do that its main catch-phrase (for the electorally sophisticated) is "Cultural Nationalism." Culture and Nationalism are the twin 'peaks' for the BJP and Sanskrit is the lingua franca of Indian culture (please, not the bogus idea of composite bhel puri which is so close to the heart of the pinko secularist), as Hindi is the lingua franca of modern Indian nationalism. It is no coincidence that the very word for culture is 'Sanskriti.' You might as well have blamed the BJP for exploding the H-bomb. HELLO!! Sanskrit was, is and will be on the BJP's agenda. No surprises here rain man. Furthermore, your comparison of Sanskrit to Latin is easily countered. In our opinion (me 'n' my own) Sanskrit is to India what Hebrew is to Israel. The history, the culture and the very identity of Israel is tied to the Hebrew language, and it is on par with Sanskrit as far as age and maturity goes. Modern Israel has made Hebrew the most widely spoken language in the nation. Note the word "made." You see Varsha, unlike us poor Hindus, the Israeli Jews are completely unpretentious about their cultural nationalism, and their concept of nationhood is tied firmly to their Jewish/Hebrew identity, regardless of whatever "great revolution" is about to sweep the world. Microprocessors, information society, new form of social organisation... quite a vision you've got there rain man. Maybe we could finally replace the Pyramids now, since they are needlessly cluttering up the landscape of this Oh! so advanced world.
Your fan and pal
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 13:05:40 -0800 Varshaji has brought journalism to the level of newsgroup postings. Impulsive, arrogant, and rabble-rousing outbursts are okay on soc.culture.india, but don't go well with a publication of Rediff's stature. We do see a lot of constructive and responsible journalism on Rediff -- which is a saving grace. How I wish Varshaji were to keep to writing about the glitterati -- that was so enjoyable! Abhay Patil
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 15:03:04 -0500 I've great respect for people who revere our immortal Vedas, Upanishads etc which are perennial sources of wisdom. They are not for Hindus, but for mankind. They were born in India, our motherland, and traditional followers wanted an unique identity and thus Hinduism was born. It was absolutely necessary to rise as one organised unit to withstand and quell centuries of Islamic and in the past 100 years or so, Christian onslaught. The glory of our scriptures lies in the fact that even after 3,000 years of tyranny in one way or an other 'Mother Shruti' is still unscathed and still remains the beacon to every seeker of truth. But, distorted versions of our scriptures presented by uninitiated idiots confuse rational intelligence. What do we do to curtail the distortions? How do we contribute to preserving this great culture? And above all, what do we do about the "pinko scum and minority-appeasing mongrels"?? They are the bane of our culture. The stench of their voices is felt by every individual who loves India. But the fact that these debauched voices even have a place is due to the divided Hindu populace. And the most unnerving fact is the absolute apathy and disdain of most Hindus. Years of misinterpretation of our sacred scriptures by the unscrupulous, has made a vast majority of Hindus more attached to caste, language, race than to the true spirit of Hinduism. How can the Hindus be brought together???? It is in this connection I wish to present my viewpoint about the introduction of Sanskrit in schools. I fully understand the predicament of the child who has to learn four languages. But why not teach Sanskrit instead of Hindi? All the Indian languages have evolved from Sanskrit. It is the unifying link between all Indian languages. It could be a start in the right direction. Its a great pity that there is such hue and cry for teaching the great values from our own scriptures to our own children. Third-rate politicians have brought the country to such a state where if you assert the much needed 'Hindu-Hindu bhai bhai,' slogan you are communal and anti-social -- it's pity indeed!! What is being done to the Muslims who openly flaunt their anti-India and Pro-Islamic nations attitude? Believe me, I am NOT AGAINST all Muslims. But only against those whose deplorable actions and attitudes are detrimental to the progress of our nation. I personally do not see individuals as Hindu or Muslim or Christian. But, as individuals with a distinct personality. I have many Muslim and Christian friends, who are excellent individuals and ideal Indian citizens. I really enjoy reading Varsha's articles and concur with most of her views.
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 08:23:46 -0800 A great article with a lot of insight on the thought pattern of pro-Hindus and the Commies, and their agenda for a fair share for themselves at the cost of the poor Commies. If Murli had the brain of an ant, he would not have asked people to read Sanskrit. Even today if a priest at the temple said his prayers in common man's language he would be soon unemployed. Sanskrit had its glorious days and now English holds that torch, the next torch will be held by a computer language. The BJP should be called the "Bungling Janata Party," it has a poet leading it, busy selling his poems in a book form. Then we have Sonia, waiting to swoop on all the mess that our saffron bunglers can come up with. It feels that the BJP has no collective agenda for the country, a bunch of "Chaddiyajis" are on their own local agenda which they are trying to make a national agenda off. If it is not Advani, Jethamalani then now it is Murli Manohar Joshi, where do we get so many incompetent people under one tent. I am sure the Congress is having the last laugh. Bengal's education department's suppression of historical facts to appease the Muslims is uncalled for. There should be a national policy on education so that the standards all over the country will be at par. Computer education is more important than Commie philosophy and Sanskrit, Vedas or Upanishads. English should be encouraged so that the student gets the best education available today. We have to prepare for leaders of tomorrow and not voters of tomorrow.
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 22:09:00 -0600 Dear lady: You are extremely erudite and well-informed. But your language is extremely uncouth and crude. You are not enhancing your message by using rough language. Those who use foul language only debase themselves and pollute their message. I look forward to reading your articles in the spirit of free speech, but pray that your language improves enough to make reading them less of a painful abusive experience. Mihir Wagle
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 22:15:08 PST I have been reading Varsha Bhosle's column for quite some time now. And they never fail to nauseate me. I don't know what divine mandate confers her the power to hurt the sentiments of millions of minorities by presenting half-truths to a gullible "saffron" audience. It's one thing to sit in ivory towers and dish out new terms like "Mosies" and "pinkos" and the like, and quite another to lift a finger towards alleviating the misery and tribulations of common Indians. Using guttural and "tamasha" (Marathi) like language to denounce your ideological and cultural "enemies" is a sure sign of being an ideological offspring of the "Mainduck." Right, Salman? Reminds me of the characters who come in between acts of Marathi plays to humour the audience and have them in splits with cheap jokes, but being inconsequential to the main plot, never really register, (or matter). C'mon Varsha, I'm sure you can use your considerable linguistic talents for constructive nation-building. Why not let Indians concentrate on economic betterment, than spill their guts taking on the "Mosies" and pinkos? Why don't you forsake trips to "Mosie" Dubai and take one to Singapore instead, and see for yourself how the true descendants of Sun-Tzu have excelled in building a just, humane and prosperous multi-religious, multi-ethnic society. Don't look to the Mosie losers of the retrograde Islamic Middle East. Look East, 'cos that's where the sun rises from!!!
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 16:14:37 -0500 When people write columns on the Net, they should watch their language first. I don't understand how Rediff should allow a column with lots of dirt to appear on their site. This column deals with a lot of wrong doing done by Marxist so as to justify the BJP. In the past, if they had recited Saraswati Vandana in government functions, that does not mean that that is right to do the same again in more places. We should have condemned that earlier itself. In a secular country like India, in government functions, nothing related to a particular religion should be observed. Varsha is so fanatical that she equates reciting "Our Father who art in heaven" in Christian schools to reciting Saraswati Vandana in a government function. She should know that no one questions when Saraswati Vandana is being recited in Hindu schools. No one recites "Our Father who art in heaven" in government functions. Even though she talks extensively about our Constitution, she has showed her respect for the Constitution of India by calling a citizen of India according to our Constitution an Italian. Even though this column raises and deals with lot of important issues, it shows the author's sadistic nature at the end. I don't understand how Rediff allows this? Presley
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 15:46:13 -0500 (EST) I read Varsha Bhosle's column with interest. In the latest column 'Class Action,' the columnist states, "New chapters would reject the outdated theory that the Aryans were invaders who'd displaced the natives...". I am not aware of a new theory and or data supporting it. Could she provide some references so that an interested reader could read up on this revolutionary overthrow of "outdated wisdom?" Is she implying that the entire edifice of Indo-European culture was built by people who had originated in India? Vivek Jain
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 12:07:54 -0800 (PST) If you guys wants to continue with Varsha's column, then either have a equal columnist who can respond to her, in Rediff or just declare yourself as a Saffron e-zine. Khan
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 11:37:07 -0800 Varsha's column is the best. We need some one as unabashed as her and courageous to flog the commies and socialists. The BJP was not wrong in introducing some of measures -- the fault lies in trying to overdo it. Way to go Varsha. Awesome!
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 12:30:24 -0700 I think Varsha Bhosle is a hypocrite. She sits in safety in the US, and spews such venom against Christianity -- and in this article, Muslims. If she hates Christianity so much, why remain among Christian people who will not hit back in spite of the hurtful things she says? If she had any integrity, she should go back to India. Anil Philip Varsha Bhosle is a Bombay-based columnist.
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 00:10:48 +0530 Excellent as always. I wish I could write like her. Saraswati is in her. And such writing can come only when one is speaking from the mind. Marxist/secularists writers can never imitate such style, hollow as they very well know, is their philosophy and mind. That is why Mani Shankar's writing is always a verbal diorrahea and N Ram's looks as if it were scripted by a Chinese mind. Varsha is darned right about the BJP. I wonder why the BJP always has its hand on the self destruct button. It just does not know how to handle the obsessive-compulsive woman from Madras. It is pathetic the way they pander to even dwarfs. They could have shown their mettle by returning the bill for President's rule in Bihar. It could have forced a lot of hidden and unseen hands to show up. Losing power, if at all, on such a bill would have been worthwhile. They could have swept the assembly election in all the states. I would like to read Varsha's thoughts on the action of the President in returning the bill. Her words express my thoughts better! Ranjit
Date sent: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 16:44:22 EST I really would like to appreciate Varsha about her comments. As far as I can remember, I have never read an article criticising almost all political fronts with such an anger. In fact the BJP acted like people without any sense. It was real stupidity, shame on the BJP for trying to come up with this idea. And it was excellent, the way you have called them ONE STUPID PARTY. Sameer Hussain
Date sent: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 11:30:48 +1100 Hello Varsha Tai, I am sure you get lots and lots of "hate-mail." Only a person who writes with the "heart" can invoke such extreme reactions from readers. Personally, I love your articles because they reflect my exact thoughts. I actually look forward to your articles on the Net. Keep them coming. Remember, no matter how many people hate your articles, there is one "Marathi Manoos" who loves them. And many more who love them, but don't necessarily write to you.
Ashutosh (Ashu) Kapse
Date sent: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 17:30:29 -0500 I can understand the anger Varsha has towards Joshi for bringing the issues when the BJP is not in majority. But was it just for that? I think Joshi brought these issues for three reasons: 1. He wanted to show BJP supporters that he was not afraid to bring forward what he believed was right. I am happy to see his attitude of sticking to his guns, for it is a long war against the pinkos, if you get bogged down just by the first hulla gulla, then you are not fit to fight. Quoting Sun Tzu means "Don't fight unless you are sure you will win". How will one know the enemy unless he fights? And this is not a single fight war. We have to fight it on several fronts and several times. 2. The BJP wanted to create anti-pinko feelings amongst voters in four states by exposing the pinkos. 3. Vedas and Upanishads are great literature and no matter how much hulla gulla pinkos make or throw mud on it, they will remain respectable for crores of Hindus. So let's not worry about undermining the position of the Vedas. Unless the BJP creates awareness by expressing their concerns, how will people vote for the BJP in the next election? Why blame the BJP? A party has the right to bring forward its thought. Joshi did a good job by exposing these elements. And no damage has been done for the cause of moral teaching, Vedas and our ancient literature. Mukund Kute
Date sent: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 21:54:52 -0500 It is simply great Ms Varsha!! Go on. We are there with you. After about 1,000 years of slavery under Islamic and Christian rules, we are seeing a revival of Hinduism. This will continue as is happening to Judaism. Currently Muslims are around 1150 million and Hindus 750 million, Buddhist around 2500 millions etc. Our numbers are not too low. This is a human system as I feel. When any religion/community attains the ultimate fame, prosperity and strength, the strong ego of its members have always resulted in inner wars, killings and final destruction. This has happened to Judaism , Hinduism, name it ... Islam is the latest brand. It has been rising since the last 1,000 years or so. It received a boost after oil was discovered in the Middle East couple of decades ago. It is quickly reaching its peak. As you can see the world over -- conversions, bombing, killing etc. Now the time has come for its decline -- the ego of its leaders is rising, resulting in inner fighting. Afghan/Iran, Turkey/Syria, Iraq/Iran...etc etc... Wait and see, within the next 100 years, you will see the difference. This is my prediction. Meanwhile Judaism and Hinduism are going to rise to great strengths. All Hindu traitors, as many you can find in India -- particularly in Bengal and in lower castes -- will slowly come back to Hinduism, when they find sufficient strength and unity in the "Hindu side" of the seesaw. The current generation, especially the younger generations, will find that Communism leads to begging and weakness...(Russia, Cuba, Eastern Europe..Bengal)..and that insulting your own religion (praising other religions) results in low self-esteem and disgrace at the hands of not only our own community, but also at the hands of the community so-praised. I am a Bengali Brahmin and feel ashamed to find as to what is happening in Bengal. God help the Communist! Three of my own uncles in Calcutta are long time senior Communist comrades. They are getting poorer. I have seen my own uncles [to their displeasure] voting 20+ times (for 20 people) in the same booth for Communists. They are scared that if their "party" loses, they will be eaten alive by the Congress and BJP. Every religion has its weaknesses and strengths. There are things that some like and some dislikes. Hinduism has things about casteism which the backward class obviously dislike. It's irrational, as people refer to it -- so most backwards depend on political parties and talk against Hinduism. Islam has its piece of irrational ideas too -- stone a person to death if he commits a crime like rape, cut his hand if he steals, marry upto four women, kill those who don't follow your faith -- this is barbaric. Well kill as long as you can find "others," after that (as in Algeria, Afghanistan,...) start killing your own people (fatwa). This will destroy it as it happened amongst Hindu rulers 1,000 years ago. Believe in thy lord from heart and you don't have to question the validity of any religion. This is my message to all Hindus. Finally Varsha, carry on. The number of people like you will slowly grow through economic and social development and re-build the great Hindu religion. It's my belief and this is exactly what is going to happen.
Shantanu Chakraborty
Date sent: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 15:51:54 +0100 This has to be one of Varsha's better articles. I support the move to make Sanskrit a compulsory language in schools. It should replace Hindi because Sanskrit is the mother language of 'many' Indian languages and it can rightfully take the place of Hindi as our national language along with English. Personally, I don't consider Hindi as a national language to be taught in schools and government institutions should not have a separate department to propagate the use of Hindi. Schools should teach the mother tongue of the state, English, Sanskrit and in case of minority a institution: the language of the minority community. The official state mother tongue should not be bypassed. On the stupidity of the BJP education agenda, I fully agree with Varsha. Since they are in a coalition, they shouldn't have gone ahead with it unless they anticipated this opposition, and use this as an election issue now that the 'Mandir' issue has been flogged to death. As anticipated by me, the BJP will make the Saraswati Vandana issue a badge of patriotism. The hypocrisy of other parties on this issue ie, not protesting when sung during I K Gujral's rule and protesting during BJP's rule, will make the BJP's task of convincing the masses about the Opposition's anti-Hinduism that much easier. The Opposition, had they been brighter should have protested in such a way as to not give the BJP the opening on the Saraswati Vandana issue as they have. They should have a religious class in schools wherein the major principals of all religions in India are taught.
Jayant Moghe
Date sent: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 12:59:01 -0500 Great writing on the poorly thought out action on the education minister's Agenda by Murli M Joshi. I wish one day, the BJP would acquire the essential smarts and learn to play the political game with some acumen. I love to read your column during my lunch breaks. I have been away from India for many years and only through columns like yours I get the real picture of the political scene over there. Keep up the good work. Columnists like you would keep Indian democracy alive and exciting. Hiren |
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