[Copy of mail sent to Salim.T.K. being presented before the entire
list with the hope to get rid of the malcontent caused to generated
unintentionally in this debate]
In my mail to Dileep, It was out of constraints of ilhealth that I
couldn't go in detail to the aspects you'd pointed out.
However, I feel the need to say this now, for your kind information:
1.Dileep himself being one of the a persons who have signed the appeal
to help contributing the Chithralekha fund, he's always welcome to do
anything to keep it going. I just inadvertently happened to omit to
respond his query as to whether he could still make a donation /
whether the collection was still continuing.
(Anyway,that's really not an issue which had anything to do with the
ongoing debate,is it? )
2.There was clear mention( in the paper )about the disagreement in the
earlier action committee over a question whether Chithralekha actually
deserved rehabilitation with a new auto provided to her with citizens'
support- ie, in the way myself, Dr.D.Surendranath and a few others had
suggested. Even though many activists from outside Kannur had also
suggested such a campaign to start at that stage, the Convener and the
majority virtually turned down that proposal.
Ultimately, they wound up the Committee just after having arranged an
auto on rent @Rs100/= per day and publishing the photo and news in the
local papers and tv channels , regarding Chithralekha's
rehabilitation ! Despite an earnest plea made by me to
Sulfath(convener) that morning that every thing should be explained to
the public in that meeting,- [for example: things so far accomplished
(rented auto, stop-gap arrangement- etc) and to be accomplished in
terms of real rehabilitation (future plans)..] even a mike was not
there! There was just a photographing of Chithra receiving the keys
from Kallen Pokkudan , a veteran dalit leader. The convener of the
action committee had earlier concluded her address in just a sentence
or two! This was what later transpired to be a well thought out plan
by the majority, beyond which they actually were not willing to go.
The action committee,Payyanur was wound up in another few days ,
despite strong pleas made by a section to somehow keep it as a forum
to support Chithralekha's struggle.
Let me tell you that It would not have made sense to explain all
these things to a person like you in any other context, than the
present.
Whether Jenny and Christy would have actually preferred it to dwell
on such things in detail for the purpose of their research, is for
them to decide.
For me, telling these stories unless someone showed genuine interest,
was making it a bit redundant.
Seconly, I also had a notion that these details would be in bad
taste to everybody and might not serve any purpose.
That case, I could only be mistaken for one hellbent on blaming
others on any available occasion....
These were some of the the dilemmas involved, when you demand
that people listen to your story, in which, actually little interest
remains and which everybody would rather forget, than remember!.
Regards,
Venu.K.M
On Feb 14, 2:29 pm, salimtk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> please don't get offended, if i doubt mr.venugopal is getting 'old' in
> understanding others. he starts with crying over dileep's sentence
> "disregarding the conscious claims and intentions of the authors". it was
> clear enough that what dileep said was about the repertory of the textual
> analysis the research paper puts forward. his write-up in nowhere prompts to
> disregard the content or findings (if any)) of the research paper.
>
> it's sad to see venugopal reminds us of the unquestioning holy-space of
> academic standards and 'seriously' done research papers (disregarding the
> typos and silly grammar mistakes all through the paper). this is how
> ordinary people become subjcts of experts.
>
> i didn't find anywhere in his comment, dileep exhibits any ignorance of the
> gruesome caste situation in kannur, but venugopal simply wants to make the
> researchers foreign travelers to teach a lesson to dileep that he is not a
> 'good-foreigner' to the caste system. in fact, dileep was in mentioning the
> research scholars' narration about local cultural leaders, who are promoting
> world cinema, subscribing epw etc. in fact, i'd laughed reading that
> comment. no problem, venugopal didn't laugh, but he even went on preached
> the cultural 'vellathol' syndrome of 'many a malayali'. poor dileep.
>
> forget about dileep's willingness in contribution, guilt and all other
> emotional solidarity to this issue; but, i expected mr. venugopal would say
> something about the serious concern dileep raised related to the practical
> issues in organizing the activities in Chitraleka issue. transparency in the
> different committees constituted for Chitralekha issue. as he is a leading
> campaigner and activist in this issue, i expected he would say something
> about it. let me repeat what dileep said: "what was the structure of the
> first action committee?, why was it impossible for k.m.venugopalan to
> intervene from within, how is new committee different?, how is its decisions
> made transparent to chithralekha?"
>
> On 2/14/08, Anivar Aravind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Venugopalan K M <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:01:51 +0530
> > Subject: Fwd: Chithralekha Paper-your response in "Green Youth"mail
> > list forwarded to me by a friend
> > To: Ramki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Venugopalan K M <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Date: Feb 14, 2008 1:31 AM
> > Subject: Chithralekha Paper-your response in "Green Youth"mail list
> > forwarded to me by a friend
> > To: Dileepraj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> > Dear Dileep,
> > This message is only an attempt to make known my response to your post;
> > not intended to be posted to the Green Youth List, though I have no
> > problem
> > in case you like to share this with others who you choose .
> > ".(
> > i.e, disregarding the conscious claims and intentions of the authors)"
>
> > I'm really unable to understand why you ,in the first instance, *disregard
> > the conscious claims and intentions of the authors;* I also wonder by
> > virtue
> > of which elements of democratic practice you have a right to do
> > so*. *This,
> > in my opinion, is simply not fair while you engage with a seriously done
> > research paper, evaluated by competent people keeping adherence to the
> > academic standards. The arrogant trashing of the content even touches a
> > paranoiac level, when you do it without offering any reason. Having been
> > condemned to be totally worthless, it comes out of your hands with
> > several
> > tags attached on it based on pure fantasy of yours.
> > There is a point of course there , when you are reminded of Chinese and
> > European travelers.You may recall that many foreigners like Al-Baruni,
> > Francis Buchanen, Barbosa had indeed stunned at the gross insensitivity
> > shown by both the ordinary and the elite caste hindus to their fellow
> > Indians of supposedly lower birth; I believe that in a similar situation,
> > some one who by conscious choice wants to be outside this schema of
> > unwritten rules of caste and gender, might experience being seen like
> > pucca foreigners. I don't know if Jenny and Christy would agree...though
> > (in
> > my opinion) they've succeeded at least in their writing to invoke a
> > feeling
> > of foriegn..as someone keeping a calculated distance from this kind of
> > celebration of* naattachaarams *of gender and caste.
> > Perhaps there lies the strength of this paper, shortcomings like factual
> > errors in giving names of places correctly etc, and other things apart..
> > Again, you may also recall (please), that many a "Malayali" only took more
> > pride in their *mahakavi* defending the honour of the great nation against
> > a
> > foreign woman scandalising it, by talking ill of caste and gender...in
> > fact,they became more proud of Vallathol Narayana Menon's poem
> > ",Bharathasthreekalthan Bhavasuddhi"irrespective of the fact that it was a
> > response to Katherine Mayo's(A Brit Woman) "Slaves of Gods" documenting
> > the
> > inhuman attitudes Gandhian volunteers and the caste-hindu people displayed
> > toward widows and women of lower castes on various occasions.In fact,
> > many
> > of these (Malayalee) nationalists didn't even care to know what kind of
> > content in writing actually prompted this awsome *desabhakti.
> > *Dileep has invented certain things in the text as some residual stuff
> > that
> > might be useful for future researchers: (a) to (g) -[ privileges..to
> > self-righteousness to prejudices..!!.]But these are nevertheless, only
> > fringe benefits of the research ,the worth of which people like Dileep can
> > understand and help guiding future researchers!
> > What to say of such dismissive attitudes to research, esp against those in
> > utterly bad taste to the desi habits, done by "foreign people" or people
> > behaving that way?
> > For the question directed at me by you in the GY post, I can say that I've
> > been part of the left all through.The *socialist paatha* of 90s had
> > consistently tried to bring to focus the question of caste and gender as
> > part of the discourses taking place in the left circles here. I consider
> > calling one a leftist not anything other than a compliment. The fact
> > that
> > myself and the other person(Subrahmanyan) who had worked with me in
> > Socialist Paatha ,after openly expressing differences of opinion and
> > being
> > not able to get along together in an action front, which in turn
> > simultaneously involved the sensitive issues of gender, caste and
> > conventional left politics, speaks more than which you might be willing to
> > understand.
> > Why couldn't myself and a few others prevail upon the colleagues in the
> > earlier committee(Pynur), what prompted us to convene another at Kannur at
> > a
> > much later stage etc.might not have been topics worthy of elaborate
> > documentation for Jenny and Christy, but there is ample material in the
> > paper suggesting the several turns and twists, ups and downs that the
> > main
> > agenda of Chithralekha's defence as a whole, had ultimately suffered. Any
> > one who may be willing to pursue the study without yielding to skepticism
> > ,unbiased and in a nonpartisan way (despite avoidable factual errors
> > galore
> > in it, on certain points that might be inconsequential to the conclusion
> > of
> > the paper )might see that all there!.
> > Warmest regards,
> > Venu.K.M
>
> > --
> > Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com
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