The Dour Ascetic

amit#30:

``My disagreement with the right wing in India is that their focus is on the wrong issue i.e. religion. I believe that their focus should be on economics and free markets, while leaving religion and caste issues aside for the foreseeable future.``

I think that you are only partly right there. The BJP did not start the caste issue, V.P.Singh did. I have to say one thing in favour of the chaddi-wallahs. Their motives may be suspect, but it is only they who have been trying to unite Hindus of all castes. The typical attitude of leftists, including congress leaders, in India has been to denounce caste system and even denounce the hindu society for it, but to use the caste divisions for staying in power instead of taking any concrete steps to end those divisions.

Dear Farzana:

You have a way of confounding those who like to put you in pre-labelled boxes.

I agree with BeeJay`s comments on Morarji.
He was a follower of Patel and a rightist in Nehru`s India, which meant that he could never be his favourite. At the same time, his formidable strengths as an administrator and his sacrifices during the freedom struggle meant that he could not be openly ignored. When the Kamraj Plan of the ``voluntary`` resignation of the entire cabinet was announced, it was generally thought to be Nehru`s dirty trick to ``get`` Morarji. Almost everyone,except Morarji, was later reinstated. His incorruptibility and efficiency should have made him a darling of the middle class, but his fetishes, especially his imposition of prohibition in Bombay lost him that natural constituency. Morarji and Gandhi justified their celibacy to their religion, although I have never been able to find any reference in the Hindu literature to the celibacy during grhasth-ashram, which is indeed a sort of cruelty to one`s wife.
One wonders how could Gandhi get away with his eccentricities but Morarji did not. I think that the answer lies in Morarji`s in-your-face arrogance and self-righteousness. One has to admit that he was right more often than wrong. He opposed the dismemberment of Pakistan, which was not only immoral but also a short-term gain for a long-term pain. At the same time, he rendered the Pakistani diplomat who complained about the plight of Muslims in India by asking him whether he would like India to solve its Muslim problem in the same way as his country had solved its Hindu problem.

I had no problem with his drinking his ``mellow-yellow`` but did have a problem with his flaunting his taste. He caused endless problems for us desis when he came to the US. Colleagues in the offices wondered if this was a common practice among ``us``. On the day of his death, I was having the other mellow-yellow with a Canadian colleague after work in a bar. My colleague, who remembered his ``habit``, remarked that it couldn`t be that bad if he lived in good health till the age of 100. I responded that with the kind of discipline, strict control over his diet and daily yoga that he practised, one wonders how much longer he would have lived if he did not use his daily prescription.

From #18 by harimau :
``..We madrassis have been drinking coffee exclusively while you guys have been drinking tea all your life so don`t tell us to smell the coffee. We even know the difference between coffee and ``mellow yellow``. ...
You are right here. Hindi belt has produced lots of Laloos and an army of BJP and RSS gangsters who beat up people especially if they are helpless and innocent. ...

#32 by amit

[It seems like I am the only Indian who feels revolted and disgusted by all this urine drinking stuff. Everyone else wants to defend this absurdity.]

No one is defending Morarji Desai`s piss-drinking habit. But everyone is defending his right to do as he pleases, as long as it does not harm anyone else. You seem to have difficulty comprehending the difference between the two.

#18 by harimau on April 11, 2005 5:15pm PT
We have Manmohan Singh the Neutered riding in an Ambassador rather than the Mercedes limousines that the BJP government had imported!



.........Manmohan travels in a bullet proof stretch BMW 7 series(the latest version), actually three of them at a time, `cause of security.Vajpayee was given his BMW 7 series limos to use in retirement as all ex-PM`s are given security detail.They use Ambi`s only when they hit the rural roads so as not to stand out from the masses. Now that the Merc S and C class cars are made in Pune, i guess they`re infra-dig for the new rajahs.Kalam still has a stretch mercedes S-class limo, though.AND, i fully agree with `Amit`s` assessment of your Iyer predicament.There are enough of yous in Mumbai to know how narrow minded and bigoted you all are.Yuck.

Re:HP#28

You have a point. It seems like I am the only Indian who feels revolted and disgusted by all this urine drinking stuff. Everyone else wants to defend this absurdity. It is quite remarkable!!

Re:vivek

I dont believe in turning the other cheek. If someone like harimau attacks me personally for no reason, I have every right to respond to that. There is nothing bigoted about that.

Re:satyamvada

Look, I am all for a robust exchange of ideas without personal attacks. However, if someone attacks me, I will respond to it. I understand your politics and your point of view, which is different from mine. That is good, because if we all think alike, the world would be a very boring place :-).

As far as politics go, I am actually a staunch nationalist, not a leftist by any means since I despise socialist economics. My disagreement with the right wing in India is that their focus is on the wrong issue i.e. religion. I believe that their focus should be on economics and free markets, while leaving religion and caste issues aside for the foreseeable future. Let that be a personal matter. A focus on divisive issues leads to a dissipation of the national energy on destructive issues and prevents us from realizing our real potential. The same goes for relations with Pakistan. A focus on petty squabbling distracts us from the long-term objective of becoming a regional economic powerhouse.

#26 by khamkhwa

She`s is not going anywhere. We gonna see a revolution and Ferzana chasing these traitors to the Arabian Sea ;)

I wonder what made Ms. Versey pick this Indian PM out of the blue. Is it to celebrate his birthday or...
Here was a strange man who worked all his life following in Gandhi ji footstep and in the end just outshone Gandhi Ji by pioneering something so much in tune with Indian culture that beat Gandhi’s ahnsa or non violence philosophy hands down.. Gandhi talked about something that wasn’t part of the Indian culture. He borrowed it from Christian teachings and here we have this pioneer who practiced something that gels so well with Indian...
He was India’s PM but he never defended India’s Foreign Policy, Economic policy or any political philosophy yet he so eloquently defended what he thought was something amazing! I mean, just read this:
“In my country, mothers have given urine as a drink to newborns for ages!” (Thanks BeeJay for the quote).

I doubt he ever defended any Indian policy with such candor and conviction.
He was a pioneer no doubt about it. Now the whole generation of Indian is following in his footsteps. We have Aftershave lotions, Attaar and perfumes made of the sacred product. People are wearing them every day, washing their faces with it too.

I am happy that I don’t live in New York City any more. I mean first thing in the morning in the Metro…guy standing next to you, seems so happy … wearing the aftershave, doused in cologne and what not…Just think about it…UGH!

But why did FV single out this guy…Just to celebrate his birthday… I guess!

Re:harimau

Just grow up, will you? You lack the finesse or the intellect to insult anyone. You started all this by calling me names without any provocation, but I will let it slide.

Before you attack North Indians, look at your own individual situation. You are a Iyer. That means you are basically as good as an outcaste in Tamil Nadu. If it were not for us North Indians and the IITs, you Iyers would be starving to death in Tamil Nadu. You know why? Because Tamil Brahmins are bitterly hated by every other Tamilian, so much so that you cannot even get seats in your own colleges or get jobs in your own state. This is mainly because of your extreme casteist, clannish attitudes in the past and the humiliation that you heaped upon others in Tamil Nadu. Today you are paying the price for that.

I understand your utter frustration about reservations and I feel pity for you. But you reap as you sow.

Ref amit aka India`s Terry Schiavo #20

The working population of the world has been divided into two categories: manual laborers and knowledge workers. North India has the unique distinction of producing a third category: dickworkers.

...a ferzana versey article and not a single personal attack on her so far... you guys must be losing it...atleast tell her to go to kabul or karachi or where ever you wish to send traitors...;)

Nice article.
Monomita(remember me?)

Amit,
It would be better if you convey your point without being abusive. Also, you seem to suffer from the notion of northern superiority. For all your claims of being liberal, you sound as bigoted as the right wing you are accusing of bigotory.

Amit,

Each time someone points out the flaws and illogic in your statements, you get
angry and become abusive.
Calm down, Amit, it is never to late to learn. You are a smart fella, you can take
it when facts puncture your fantasies.