dear netters, i dont know why my dear friend miguel is spreading half truths and giving an impression that sunaparant is communal.
yes, we do carry a weekly column by Subhash Velingkar, Goa's RSS leader. He writes for us, at my request. In fact he asked me why i wanted his column when i totally oppose the RSS ideology, right from my student movement days till date. But my intention, while taking over as Sunaparant editor in January 2003, was to create a platform for all the ideologies and thoughts, no matter whether i personally believe in it or not. Till date, we have not published any article by Velingkar, which could go against the press ethics. This is a normal practice followed even by leading national dailies. Publishing such articles does not make the newspaper communal. The newspapers also publish news reports by fundamentalist leaders even as headlines. Miguel, at a recently held communal harmony meet in panaji, requested me publicly to stop publishing Velingkar's column. He does have a right to make such demand and i respect it. But going a step ahead, i fear, Miguel may also demand not to publish any news reports, quoting all those leaders and parties, whom we call the fundamentalist forces. By the way, it was an exclusive Suanaparant story that quoted Pravin Togadia, who called Muslims and Christians as Rahu and Ketu (devlis). My intention behind asking Mr Velingkar to write for us that people also know the RSS viewpoint on several issues. Everybody and anybody could counter it. Accordingly, I have published many articles, countering his viewpoint and holding a healthy debate on several issues, including the recent Sanvordem riot. Several writers, including Uday Bhembre, Datta D Naik, Jawahar Barve, Ramesh Gawas, Malini Raiturkar etc have written a contrary viewpoint on this whereas some other writers have also written articles supporting Velingkar. Is a crime to have a healthy debate by publishing all the viewpoints? Sunaparant could have been categorised as a communal newspaper if - 1. It was publishing only one-sided articles, without allowing others to debate 2. If it had taken a communal stance through editorials, which has not happened till date. My credentials in the communal-secular controversy are known to Goa. Going beyond my journalism, after Babri Masjid demolition broke out communal riots in the country, i have toured for 10 days with Ekata Yatra, covering the whole state with a message of communal harmony and peace, along with others. Even the editorial stance taken on Sanvordem riots by Sunaparant are well known to the pubic. Is it wrong to reach out the arguments of all thoughts to the readers and conduct a debate on it? Or should Sunaparant be published as one-sided newspaper, as it was running for the first 16 years, till i took over? In spite of doing all these things, you feel pained when your friends project you as a communal person, for reasons best known to them. Once in the past, Miguel had termed be a Bamon, when getting born in a Saraswat Brahmin family was not my choice. My personal life and pubic views, on this count, are also known to Goa. I really feel pained that a good effort of Sunaparant is being dragged into controversy by telling half truths to the public. Sorry for the lengthy mail. - Sandesh Prabhudesai
