Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
"The problem with pseudo-intellectuals is that they go absurdly overboard. This problem is typical of some of our confused writers......In fact, that she can attack the Indian system in her own whims on foreign shores and safely land back home, .." Sentinel.I think that about sums it up for someone like Roy. Is she confused? Absolutely!--RamT he other day, celebrated Indian writer Arundhati_______________________________________________
Roy, known for her extreme views (though not radical), told a 1000-strong New York audience: ''The biggest PR myth of all times is that India is a democracy. In reality, it is not''. The 1997 Booker Prize winner challenged the much-acclaimed The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman who had praised India for having had the best democratic traditions in the world, illustrated by its ability to conduct peaceful democratic elections year after year despite being overpopulated. Arundhati said: ''He probably needs a new tour of India... Does Thomas know that in the Kashmir valley, some 80,000 people have been killed?'' The problem with pseudo-intellectuals is that they go absurdly overboard. This problem is typical of some of our confused writers, who should rather restrict themselves to writing fiction and not play around with random socio-political theories and deliberations. After all, versatility is not ingrained in writers of all hues. It is not that easy to emulate a Bertrand Russel or a Naom Chomsky. Arundhati Roy's is an instance of intellectual hogwash, deliberately callous as she is to the fact of democracy in India and the US the country she was lecturing. True, our democracy is one of aberrations, but that does not make India non-democratic. In fact, that she can attack the Indian system in her own whims on foreign shores and safely land back home, is indicative of how democratic India is, in one way or the other. As for ''80,000 people'' killed in Kashmir, she would do well to have the guts to decry the Pakistan-sponsored jihadists or, for that matter, to ask Pakistan to forget the Kashmir agenda. If she cannot do that, writers of her ilk should remain busy penning novels, not deliberating on issues where they lack expertise or insight. Mindless rhetoric by celebrities like Arundhati Roy in foreign countries does the nation great disservice.
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740
1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
Does your mail provider give you FREE antivirus protection?
Get Yahoo! Mail
_______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
