Yeah... and most folks in India think she is mad. And irrelevant. --- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> *** Hats off to Arundhati. She GETS it! And I am > glad she is using > her celebrity to do the RIGHT thing, say the right > things. If telling > the truth is EXPLOSIVE, it certainly was. > > > But it is not new. We knew it all the time. Some of > us even said so, > in exactly the same words at times:-), right here in > Assam Net. > > > > > > > > > At 9:11 AM +0100 5/23/06, Bartta Bistar wrote: > >Arundhati voices her confusion, says India not > democratic > > > >Lalit K Jha > > > ><http://www.samachar.com/showurl.htm?rurl=http://www.indianexpress.com/story/4941.html?headline=India~not~democratic,~Bush~addressed~giraffes:~Arundhati~in~US>http://www.samachar.com/showurl.htm?rurl=http://www.indianexpress.com/story/4941.html?headline=India~not~democratic,~Bush~addressed~giraffes:~Arundhati~in~US > > > >NEW YORK, MAY 22 :In an explosive expression of her > views, > >celebrated Indian writer Arundhati Roy told an > audience here that > >''India is not a democratic country''. ''The > biggest PR myth of all > >times is that India is a democracy. In reality, it > is not,'' Roy, > >the author of The God of Small Things told the > 1,000-strong audience > >at a book reading function she attended along with > Eduardo Galeano, > >one of Latin America's most distinguished writers. > > > > > > > > > > > >With her aggressive speech, Roy, the 1997 Booker > winner, dominated > >the event with Galeano playing second fiddle. > > > >She surprised the jampacked Town Hall as she > stopped reading The God > >of Small Things midway and said she wanted to speak > on an issue, > >which had been bothering her for quite some time. > > > >She said she was confused, as India was passing > through a terrible time. > > > >Amidst frequent clapping, she blasted the Indian > government and the > >Bush administration. She did not spare even Prime > Minister Manmohan > >Singh. ''There is no real democracy in India. > Several states in > >India are on the verge of civil war,'' she said. > > > >Challenging the much-acclaimed views of columnist > Thomson Friedman > >praising India, a democracy of a billion > population, for conducting > >peaceful elections year after year, she said, ''He > probably needs a > >new tour of India... Does Thomas know that in > Kashmir Valley alone, > >some 80,000 people have been killed? In Iraq, there > are 1,50,000 > >military personnel, whereas in Kashmir Valley there > are some > >7,00,000.'' > > > >Referring to the visit of President George Bush to > New Delhi in > >March, she said, without elaborating: ''Bush visit > was the most > >humiliating experience of my life.'' As the venue > for Bush's address > >changed from Parliament to Vigyan Bhawan to Metro > Park, he finally > >ended up addressing India from a Zoo. ''I am not > joking. This is > >reality and the giraffes were disappointed,'' she > said amidst > >laughter from the audience. > > > >She did not agree with Prime Minister Manmohan > Singh's views in his > >lecture at the Oxford University praising Britain > for all the good > >things that India has, like its democracy, > judiciary and > >bureaucracy. India, she said, was a free market > meant to steal from > >the poor and subsidise the rich. > > > >Later, during her dialogue with Galeano, she urged > the Americans to > >oppose the occupation of Iraq by the US and allied > forces. She said > >Iraq and Afghanistan were not the only nations > occupied by the US. > >The others were controlled by checks and public > diplomacy, she said. > >The audience gave her a standing ovation. > > > > > > > >boo!! > > > >Iam quite disgusted by Roy's outburst. She might > have earned a good > >round of applause & cheer from her audience for the > fibs but what > >good does she thinks might evolve from it for India > or for anyone > >else as a matter of fact? It totally stinks. > > > >Name - Ram Sarangapani > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >assam mailing list > >[email protected] > >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
