Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:59:40 -0400 From: Venantius J Pinto <[email protected]>
Eric, Your thoughtful and reasoned response gives me hope. Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:56:27 -0700 (PDT) From: eric pinto > Every now and then I see something which defies even a forgiving excuse > for its cynicism. Aakar Patel obviously belongs to that exclusive group > that cannot seem to get their blinkers off. Mario observes: Eric, I think Venantius assumes this response was yours whereas I believe you were posting a copy of the response by some mysterious "Bombay woman" in some unidentified publication. Where was the angry Goanetter with the selective eye for accuracy in attribution and sourcing who questioned the authenticity of the stern Abdul Kalam lecture to his fellow-Indians that was widely circulated in the Indian blogosphere? But, I digress. I somehow suspect that Aakar Patel knows what it takes to wake up his fellow citizens from their stupor. I'm sure he knows about all the good things India has done, which were also pointed out by the "Bombay woman". I think he intentionally wrote a provocative column to light a fire that needed to be lit under oh-so-sensitive Indians, ready to take umbrage at any real or perceived national slight but yet so blissfully ignorant of so many things that need improvement in India - AND ARE NOT EVEN BEING ADDRESSED. The sad part is that it took a comparison with the well organized and highly disciplined Brits, always focused on their own self-interests, to wake people up in India, who were blissfully dreaming of soon being a superpower until rudely awoken by Patel. As a nationalist, and also Goanet's lone voice of reason, truth and peace, I recognize that the Brits did a lot for India's infrastructure and administrative and educational systems, and also that there was a lot they did not do. The fact is they were invaders and occupiers motivated by self-interest and hegemony, just like the Portuguese and French. All these dictatorial colonists were there for their own benefit, not for the benefit of India, and so, once some leaders with backbone evolved in India, it was time for them to pack up and go home after 1947. It took the Portuguese, always slow on the uptake, another twenty seven years to formally accept India's sovereignty over their colonies. I suggest that Indians ignore Patel's scorching commentary about what the Brits MAY have done, but did not do as others have pointed out. Give him a few choice "gallis" if you must at so rudely disturbing your peace by waking you up to REALITY. Then do yourself a favor and focus on the shortcomings and foregone opportunities he identified and ask yourselves why these still exist 62 years after independance. The mysterious "Bombay woman" did a decent job with her counterpoints, but I saw no recognition from her of what remains to be done in India, by Indians, because the Brits are not coming back.
