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April 17, 1998
SPECIALS
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How readers reacted to Saisuresh Sivaswamy's last column
Date sent: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 16:10:40 -0700 Sai is wrong when he says RSS is striving for respectability. If the kind of feelings most people in India have for the Congress, the UF and their leaders is called respect, then the RSS & the BJP better not have it. While one can barely find any Congressman following life with Gandhian thoughts, there are thousands in the RSS & the BJP who are working in tribal areas educating the poor. They are more RESPECTABLE. Sai, would you please spend some more time understanding the work RSS and its branches are doing in India? Would you at least give them that respect which you give to the missionaries who only want to convert the poor to Christianity (the real reason is this, service to poor is the means to achieve this goal)? No doubt, the RSS and its branches are following the same technique but for more noble intentions, that is, to educate them, to teach survival by imparting skills and not fall into the traps of these missionaries. Every party has a right to pursue its agenda. Advani clarified that the BJP has not completely thrown its ideology but has kept it on hold since they did not get a majority -- since it is a coalition government, the BJP is going to pursue the national agenda at THIS TIME. What more honest answer you want from this respectable person?
Date sent: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 13:13:29 -0500 Suresh Sivaswamy mentions about "Hardcore BJP supporter, reared on staple of anti-minorityism..." I take the liberty to contradict that view. I am a swayamsevak at heart (though I have not attended a sakha in ages) and a hardcore BJP supporter, but I do not consider myself an anti-minorityist or any such. I am a nationalist, pure and simple, and I love my country and love all patriotic people, whatever their religion, caste or creed. The BJP activists now stand as patriotic people who will put the country first and even offer their lives gladly to serve their motherland. If you cannot see who are desa bhaktas and who are desa bhuktas, you have a problem. Indians are slowly awakening and learning to ignore the propaganda of selfish, casteist politicians, who have been destroying the country in the name of 'saving secularism'.
T R N Rao
Date sent: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 09:39:31 PDT Dear sir, Saisuresh seems to be one of those journalists who would rather give a dog a bad name and hang it. He is seated on the fence, and no doubt feels that it entitles him to look at the world and pass remarks. He and his ilk should realise that the reading public are tired of the phrase 'internal contradictions'. ALL administrative and management tasks have in-built contradictions and contradictory requirements. That is true in the business world and it's true in the political world. The BJP faces the same challenges that the Congress would have faced. It is, however, far more organised and its leaders do not put themselves above the cause. So its chances of succeeding are far better. Most responsible adults are aware of contradictions in the political scene. They were there long before the BJP was even conceived. Therefore, kindly do not harp on this theme. Remember what happens to people who sit for too long on the fence? The iron enters the soul...
Regards
Date sent: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 10:20:20 +0530 Rediff, The author sounds like a big pessimist. The man is reiterating one thing throughout the article, that it is only for the time being that contentious issues are stalled. Well, dear, what do you expect, continue with a line which nobody accepts, and still try to make friends with them? Do you think in such a situation governance is possible? In the last coalition, the Left parties and the Congress jettisoned their basic philosophy just to keep the BJP at bay. Now consider the present government. They do not have a simple majority, so they went in for a coalition government, in the process dropping contentious issues. For them what is important is to implement some of their policies if not all, to increase their base. If people find them good enough, they will give them mandate to implement other policies too. If not, the situation will continue. The author talked about disgruntled workers. Well, everybody knows sitting in the opposition is worse than siting in the treasury, where you can provide at least some things. But you, the avowed BJP-hater, would remain so whatever it does. I pity your frustrated situation -- how come a BJP coalition government has been formed? So you are now predicting pitfalls in every move, without even considering the other side of the coin. You prejudiced person, see that too! Vikas Sukla,
Date sent: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 10:00:31 -0700 "There is only one man who can confer the respectability which the RSS craves for, and that is Vajpayee." Sir, have you ever attended an RSS shakha? Even to be a critic, you should know your adversary better. Obviously, you have no idea what you are talking about. The RSS never has craved for any respectability. Even if a few ideological fools do not respect the RSS, they will not lose much. Ask the people who have been to a shakha, and ask them how much they respect the RSS and its swayamsevaks. The RSS was started in 1925, with just four school-going kids. Today it has an active strength of 250,000, and a few million sympathisers. And this, despite people like you! There is nothing wrong in talking for Hindus. Ask the Jews the cost of being 'secular' when the people around you are fanatics. Or, ask yourself if you will send your wife or daughter to Srinagar without any protection. And sir, if you do that, and if your wife and daughter do not return, you will discover that either they have been converted to ISLAM, or... ( I don't want to say it). And sir, when that happens, you will cry hoarse again, but in a different tone. You will say, the RSS IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR. So, sir, please stop abusing the RSS for no rhyme or reason. The RSS is in the business of making better citizens, better men out of our youth. You should take a leaf out of their book. I urge you to go to a shakha, at least once.
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