--- Dileep Raj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Sanil, > > Apart from that you are completely off the mark. where have you drawn this mark? I can't see it from my "safe distance". Your framework is not all that different from that of Ranjit. Both look at politics in terms of personalities, credentials, loyalty and instrumental value etc. Ranjit's unsophisticated remarks honestly express this lacuna while others hide or ignore it. your proposal of "experience in ground level struggles" as a criteria for participating in this discussion is an age-old debate-scuttling device perfected by orthodox Marxists. Marxists once upon a time believed in the instrumental use of poets and poetry for struggle. During the last fifty years they have learned a lot of good lessons about the relationship between poetry and politics. The environmentalists behave as if they have fallen from Mars and ignore these lessons. They have no qualms about using their supporters and moderating their critics. To Arunima: The arundahti-bhalla debate is a complex affair and worth revisiting. One cannot advance anti-dam arguments based on Data, and when found wrong, say that data do not matter. In fact, Arundhati did not say that. She wrote a strong data-intensive response and proved that at least one calculation of surjit was wrong. How do we approach this debate? One mistake is not a sufficient reason for rejecting surjit's analysis. But we also know that Arundhati has a point which goes beyond the calculator but can't fully escape the domain of data. Unlike conventional politics, environmental politics is a game with data. It has a closer relationship with science than other struggles have. Arundhati - a fiction writer - has the gut to fight on this terrain of hard facts. What is she doing with those facts? Unless we answer this question we cannot understand her role in the struggle. 'Whether her pretty face a crowd puller' is a question best left to the TV journalists. If Sugatha's name counts because of her status as a poet then our talk about her participation should begin with her poems. Until we do that we have no reason to blame ranjit. Like all of us he too is tracking the poet's intentions, other appointments and public loyalties. sanil > arguments on the particular issue. But in > Sugathakumari's case the > criticism is not in the least connected to her > intervention. It is if > asking to be skeptical of Arundhathi's intervention > in Narmada because > she is 'anti communist' and ' pro freesex ' !!! > Malayalis [ including some staying outside Kerala!!] > always ask for > the credentials > of each and every person falling beyong the left/ > right division. Will > somebody tell me > the list of 'clean' intellectuals whom they certify > to be eligible > for legitimate responses? I am sure evry other > moralist will nullify > others lists!! To them, they themselves are the > only heroes. [ They > will even kill each other over this claim. Few years > ago, CPI[ML] > redflag activists killed a memeber of another group > [Paul]. Reason: He > protested against the visit of a foreign team more > effectively by > jumping in front of their car] > > You are completely mistaken about Ranjith's > response. He is preaching > that struggling people in Athirappalli should > reject Sugathakumari's > support and remain > 'pure'. Well, being critical even while coming > around on certain > issues is entirely different. > > It is quite evident that people like Ranjith are [ > just like me] > speaking from relatively safe locations and have no > experience in > ground level struggles. In life and death > struggles nobody could afford to be so moralistic. > > Survival at least have some 'use value" hey na? > On 9/25/07, Ranjit Ranjit <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4IdHsY_yYc > > > > SEE how these environmentalists are eager to > construct "tradition" without > > even making an attemt to address the issues of > this very tradition that > > imprison "people"... they want to get rid of > it,break away from the barriers > > of casteist villages.. but our 'secular' > environmenatlsts will not let them > > ... confine to kavu, these romantic jaivagramams > imagine ethnic slavery > > > > > > > > > > -- > Dileep R I thuravoor > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
