B.RAMAN
(From my Tweeter site (ramthink) )
VOW 1:We will start thinking positively of each other.
VOW 2:We will stop demonising each other.
VOW 3:We will take care not to hurt feelings of each other
VOW 4: Whoever wins, we will respect the defeated.
VOW 5: We will keep these vows even after the semi-finals,
2.Tweets sent by me on the morning of March 25,2011, to a Pakistani woman journalist
@Mehmal: I was sorry to hear of abusive tweets received by you from some people.U R not alone. I receive dozens of them every day.
@Mehmal: Abuses not from Pakistanis, but from fellow-Indians. My articles R carried by many intl web sites.I glance thro the comments.
@Mehmal: The abuses showered on me R mostly from fellow-Indians, rarely from Pakistanis.
@Mehmal: I have written hundreds of articles criticising Pakistan, LET, Tablighi Jamaat, JEM. JEI etc I receive E-mails from their supporters.
@Mehmal: They criticise my writings, but do not abuse me personally. No Pakistani has ever called me senile, dozens of Indians do--every day.
3.The following comments of mine were not tweeted.
4.This tendency to abuse people with whom they do not agree seems to be the unique contribution of some Hindutva elements to Indian culture.
5.I have received hundreds of abuses.Some of them indicative of the disturbing mindset are given below:
• Senile ( I have been so called hundreds of times)
• A lunatic who has escaped from the lunatic asylum.
• His cancer has affected his mental faculties.
• His cancer has spread to his brain.
• He must stop writing and enter a cancer clinic.
• Corrupt. Only a corrupt person will exchange tweets with Barkha Dutt ( the TV personality).
• Has formed a mutual admiration club with Barkha.
• Courier of Niiru Radia, the lobbyist, who carries her money to her Swiss accounts.
• By supporting Barkha,he has become the laughing stock of India.
• Erratic---brilliant in his analysis sometimes, pathetic on other occasions.( What they mean is I am brilliant when I am supportive of the BJP and pathetic when I am not )
6.To illustrate the mindset of these elements, I will cite the following: On the morning of March 23, I wrote an article questioning the fitness of Rahul Gandhi to lead India. They hailed me as a great ever-green analyst whom everybody should read. In the evening, I criticized the political incompetence of the BJP as revealed during the debate on the cash for votes issue in the Lok Sabha. The very same people who hailed me as a great analyst in the morning, condemned me as biased, a Congress (I) man etc.
7. This abusive campaign against me has been triggered by the following:
• My writings that some of the terrorist attacks did not appear to have been carried out by Muslims.
• My writings that some Hindus have taken to reprisal terrorism against Muslims.
• My recent advocacy of greater interactions with Pakistan outside the composite dialogue process.
• My strong support for Barkha and my writings that she has been wronged and sinned against.
8.I have been surprised by the pressure to which I have been subjected on the Barkha issue even by well-known people who do not have anything to do with the Hindutva elements. It is not because of the merits of the issue.
• One very senior Editor based in Delhi “warned” me in writing that he will not carry my writings on other subjects if I did not stop supporting Barkha.
• Another senior Editor expressed his “disappointment” in writing over my praising Barkha.
• Another person, writing on behalf of some NRIs in the US, cautioned me that they will stop reading my writings if I did not stop supporting Barkha.
9. I have been in receipt of many more such messages warning me, cautioning me, rebuking me on the Barkha issue. These people should remember one thing: I have never succumbed to pressure in my life. I am not going to do so in the evening of my life.
10.If the BJP and other Hindutva organizations do not control the abusive elements, their own credibility will be affected in the long run. It cannot just throw up its hands and say that it is not responsible for the abusive behaviour of its supporters. It is. (25-3-11)
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
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14 comments:
“Democracy in India is only top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.” —br Ambedkar
Lets see Barkha Dutt openly support the Indian stand on Kashmir.
Until that happens, don't expect people to admire your admiration of her.
Perhaps you are capable of thinking positively of Pakistan after the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Hafiz Saeed roams free in Pakistan and just recently said that 'we have every right to use Kashmir door to teach India a lesson'.
So feel free to think positively of Pakistan.
Understand that everyone isn't with you for reasons not devoid of merits.
You are not the sole beholder of merit in India.
I would like to disagree on one point.These trolls are faceless people with no names - Fake IDs and we don't really know the truth behind them. WRONG to blame BJP here. It's a serious allegation that you put in here "If the BJP and other Hindutva organizations do not control the abusive elements, their own credibility will be affected" How can you say all these are *planted* by BJP and BJP should "control" them? These are people with their own mind and are here representing their OWN views and not some parties' view.
For a country that has a rich history of discourse and debate, the current mindset is alarming and can affect our ability to make wise decisions as a nation. It is a disappointment that whether in a mass forum like Twitter, a by-invitation forum like a TV studio, or a forum of elected representatives in parliament/assemblies, we prefer to not debate the issue at hand, but rather attack the personality behind a particular position.
The loud gladiatorial discussions, especially in TV programs, but increasingly in all other forums, has become a way to take personal potshots and divert attention away from the issue under discussion. The other slight variation of this disease is to discredit the other individual in a debate. Our PM ridicules a leader of the opposition in parliament chiding him for bringing up an issue because, in his opinion, the other person is jealous of his inability to become a Prime Minister himself. During TV shows, a common theme will be as follows: A BJP representative will be told s/he has no right to talk to a Congress representative about corruption because of their Karnataka CM. A Congress representative will be told s/he has no right to talk about Gujarat because of 1984. And so on. Where does this leave the common public who would like to get an insight into policy, into governance models, into the pros and cons of a new bill under consideration, etc.?
I am shocked by the distasteful drivel that some tweets contain. Let us ignore those completely for a moment. There still exists a huge mass whose messages are aligned in a certain manner. On the one hand, I see it as a reflection of the Bharat-vs-India theory; One that elects a certain party to power, and another that has access to the Internet. On the other hand, this may be the effect of a unmediated forum providing a vent for folks who perceive – rightly or wrongly – hypocrisy. I will be honest and say that I do not like TV shows where the moderator asks leading questions or stonewalls certain discussions, where the editors influence the publication or the nature of a discussion in a certain way while purporting to be neutral. I do not like TV show hosts who make themselves the news. But that does not mean I have the right to call them names, much less their admirers. We have to learn to build an analytical framework that allows us to sieve through perspectives and points of view of individuals, political parties and organizations. Above all, we have to learn to respect the fact that others can have a point of view which is different from our own. That is fundamental for democracy to thrive.
"If the BJP and other Hindutva organizations do not control the abusive elements, their own credibility will be affected". Why are you blaming the BJP for some uncontrolled comments on the internet. The BJP cannot run around asking people not to say this or say that. I am sure that for a man of your intelligence, you cannot paint everybody with the same brush. That was a ridiculous comment from you Mr Raman.You are justifying the attack against you by making such sweeping comments. Does that not make you one of the same? Do think about it.
Dear Mr Raman,
I feel, you are unfairly being targeted by some people. Though i have different views on some subjects you touch upon, i admire you that you are one of the finest and very rational analysts of this country. Please carry on with your good work.
Thnak you
Kushal
Ramanbhai,
I follow your blog for the sensible commentary you give on various affairs. This post seriously surprised me.
You are fairly popular among the online junta following politics. In the country of 1 billion obviously there will be many who will find you disgusting and comment accordingly. Why display disappointment with them ?
Do you expect everyone to be a gentleman like you ?
Having said that I do find your admiration for B. Dutt pretty much nauseating.
I don't understand why you think that BJP's credibility will get affected in long run if they don't stop these abusive people. What right does BJP have on these people ? What makes you think that these people do this with BJP's approval ?
I have never read you writing about Arun Shourie, Swamy or Koenraad Elst and so on. You never considered them as the voice representing true Hindu sentiments, may be because they were sensible. Instead you and people like Barkha Dutt show these abusers as representative of Hindu right. Thats nonsensical who has been analysis international affairs for so long.
I am very happy that people have conveyed their disappointment through various channels about your love for the media-who**.
To listen to them or not is your choice.
Sir, just ignore them and keep doing your work
"This tendency to abuse people with whom they do not agree seems to be the unique contribution of some Hindutva elements to Indian culture."
Raman Sir, Anyone who has been reading your articles will know that you and your kind are capable of writing this kind of nonsense occasionaly. (for e.g. in one of your old article you have written this kind of nonsense about Hindu Dharma and your ex-boss Kao had to correct it).
If you "still' have the time to learn some new things, please understand that 'those not with us are aginst us' philosophy was/is a 'foren' a stuff aggressively promoted by some foren saints.
Regarding your 'ardent' support of bdutt, One is forced to think that she is one of the relatives & associates wing agents. No wonder our cities are getting 'attacked' on an yearly basis.
Looks like you forgot "joker". I can personally testify under oath that you have been also called "joker".
Kindly make sure the credit to all who abuse you is giving equally and not selectively.
Don't be afraid sir....'mockery by fools' is something common that happened to all great people in all times....
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