All promise, no delivery
The One Rank One Pension scheme is all about the money the BJP government is giving to senior army officers to keep them quiet (“Why the One Rank One Pension scheme is so terribly important for the Indian military”). What is the strength of donkeys in India? Jai hind, jai businessman, jai politician. – Ravindra Thapa
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Please do pay heed and keep reminding the government. - Subhash Chandra Singh
***
Read the article. It is really good. The worst part in our country is demoralising the armed forces. That is because of politicians and bureaucrats.
I feel that there should be a rule implemented that those who need to apply for government jobs should have a basic qualification of serving the Indian Armed Forces for a minimum of three years. And, North Indians should be sent to South and South Indians should be sent up North. Why? Because they should understand the difficulty faced by the armed forces.
A politician goes to Siachen. Before he reaches, all necessary precautions are taken by his assistants by means of procuring winter clothes and other accessories. How long he is going to stay there? For an hour or two? But, for a person who will be there for 89 days in the hard core snow, who is going to care?
If a politician is elected to the Parliament, after five years, he will get a pension. Why is that? An armed forces personnel works for 24 hours without a second thought. He draws a minimum salary. I served in the Indian Army for 16 years from 1985 to 2000, and my last pay was Rs. ,6133. What property would I have with this money? – Natesan Mahadevan
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These politicians, the so-called leaders, are worthy of being pushed to the country's border and forced to remain there. Very soon they will realise how important it is for the veterans to get OROP. Surely, they will be scared if not protected by the valiant soldiers who are always ready to sacrifice their lives. However, they are incapable of realising the sacrifices of the men in uniform. – Anil Kumar
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In the uniform services, the heroes are at the mercy of petty clerical/ministerial/bureaucratic staff who never think of the conditions under which the uniformed staff work. The General and his men who can defeat the enemy and defend the country are looked down by the bureaucrat and his petty clerical staff. Then where is the question of conceding OROP? – Babu Jayaraman
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I would like to only say that if this government is having so many problems in calculating the amount of pension to be given, then god save us. What will happen in organising other logistics for defence if the need suddenly arise? At least the government can share this problem.
Modi takes credit 10 times a day for quick decisions and maintaining transparency. The way OROP is being handled is a very bad example of what he claims. Anyway, god bless the Modi government. – Heeman
***
This government is all promise and no delivery. The Modi government probably wants the defence veterans start rail roko, stone pelting or such agitations so that they can be put in a bad light and then use it as an excuse for closing the chapter altogether. I would appeal to all defence veterans not to fall for this trap. It is better to die with dignity in hardship. Politicians have the same DNA irrespective of the party they belong to after all. – Amitava Chaudhuri
Ramayana, a concocted story?
The article about where the Ramayana was based around raises doubts of River Sarayu and Saraswathi (“Was the Ramayana actually set in and around today’s Afghanistan?”). Basing on this, the author concludes that the battle with Ravana did not take place in Sri Lanka. However, the Lankan historians have said that there is enough proof to show that Rama did enter the island of Sri Lanka. It is believed that the sethu was built with a particular type of rock that floats on water.
While visiting Rameshwar, I did see the rock floating on water in one of the sheds for exhibition. Does the author say that the Ramayana is a concocted story on the theory mentioned in the article?
Ramayana and Mahabharatha are great epics of our country, believed by millions. Are these false as per the author? - Subbarayan Ramasethu
Much culture, really!
I tried to sympathise with the poor 'cultured' Madrasi lady caught in ugly Delhi, but try as I might, the Punjabi in me frankly failed (“Let North Indians have their cattle. We in South India have culture”). But Mulligatawny Mami would have by now been used to the general ignorance of us North Indians, so I'd still try and unabashedly reason with her:
They are loud. We are gentle: Well, last I heard Subramanian Swamy was from the south and watching him on TV, gently pulling out expletives from his rather expansive vocabulary is quite soothing, to say the least.
They have cattle. We have culture: Oh, poor Ms Mami has been so busy learning Bharatnatyam, she forgot to see the cows creating jams in Chennai? Perhaps she also forgot about Kaalapoottu, which is the traditional cattle racing festival in Kerala. Or Ms Mami is unaware that the adult video industry in India is from the south? But I'm guessing she's far too cultured to know about any of that.
They shout. We listen: For a moment when the Rajya Sabha MPs who decided to pepper spray during the Telengana bill, the Punjabi in me felt a puff of pride, but that quickly fizzled when I realised the gentlemen were actually not really my brethren from the north but from the south. Oh! Well, what a bummer! – Tushar Khanna
***
I was born into a North East family and brought up in South India, and it doesn’t make a difference. I am not happy about what you wrote about Northern Indians. After all, we are all brother and sisters. You can divide us by the region or by religion, but not as humans beings. – Kalyaani Maahi
***
I wanted to point out some prejudices/biases of North Indians towards South Indians. They think all South Indians are from Madras only. Their cuisine consists of only Idli, Dosa and Rice. Cultured Hindus reside only on the North of Aravallis. Everyone else is uncivilised. Hindu culture/mythology/temples are only present in North India. South Indians were pushed down by the Aryan Invaders. Keep writing. – Raju Parekh
Gross distortion
Your maps and their timeline portray a gross distortion of the history of the Israel and Palestine area (“Four maps that show how dramatically Israel expanded while Palestine shrunk over the last century”). Go back further in time and Israel existed as a sovereign country which encompassed a much larger area than shown on your maps; in fact it included most of the land area now known as Jordan.
Then came the Romans who conquered the land, dispersed its people and incorporated it into their empire. Finally the British conquered the land, renamed it Palestine and kept control until 1948. There has never been a country called Palestine, there has never been a people known as Palestinians; these are artificial inventions. In summary, your selective timeline only serves to spread the myth and portray Israel in an unrealistic and untrue manner. – Stuart H
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I am a Palestinian and more people need to see this. Thank you for making such a visually captivating illustration. – Mahdey Baker
***
It would be a great graphic if, in fact, it were correct. To start with, the British mandate for Palestine included not just the land west of the Jordan River, but all of what was then known as TransJordan and subsequently the Kingdom of Jordan. This was carved off early on and Jews were not allowed to settle there, though tens of thousands of Palestinians/Jordanians made their way from there into what was subsequently the West Bank and Israel.
Secondly, the map does not indicate in any way the Armistice Lines of 1947, which were upheld until June 1967 when Jordan foolishly chose to begin shelling Western Jerusalem, provoking an Israeli response that included throwing the Hashemite army occupying the West Bank and Jerusalem out and pushing them back to the Jordan River.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, more than 65% of the land in what became Israel in 1948 was "state" land, meaning it did not have any land claims on it whatsoever and belonged to the administering government. There's "truth," and then there's the "whole truth." – David Vener
Stop those IITs subsidies!
The article about the how much the government spends on IIT graduates and the resultant lack of benefits to India is interesting (“Dear Smriti Irani, stop giving my money to IITians”). This is a two side weapon. In case you don't spend on IITians, you are not creating a brain trust in the country. While this is so, at least you are sure that some engineering graduates of IIT go to other countries and earn their livelihood.
If your point that IITians are no use to our research functions is true, then what is happening to other non-IIT graduates who are in India and suffering for want of good employment/research opportunities? All our research in defence, etc. are so far carried out only by local graduates and not IITans. Then where is the necessity for these IITans to join the field?
As regards to the expenditure, it is time that the same is sizeably reduced and the candidates themselves have to bear the total cost if they wish to be IITians. Of course our bank loans are always available to all candidates.
Another point here is that the flair for IIT brains and their individuality has for long been erased by the other graduates who are holding comparatively better positions in other countries. This shows that given the opportunity and environment, any average/above average engineering graduate will shine. – Srinivasan Thirumalai
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It is high time the government stops the subsidy to our IITians (pseudo-patriotic). They are of no use to our country. The government can also alternatively ban them from accepting jobs overseas. – Mohamad Aslam
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I completely agree with the author regarding the unjustified spending of hundreds of crores on the IITs. The nation of India hopes that these graduates will help India grow economically, but most of the IIT graduates make a beeline for higher studies and high-paying jobs in the US and other countries. By hiring a foreign-educated person for a job, the US saves $100,000 in educational expenses that they would have spent on educating an American student. When I was a student at IIT in 1980s, 99% of IIT B.Tech students got admission to US universities, settled in the US and never returned to India to work and contribute to the country that subsidised their education.
Let us learn a lesson from countries like China, Taiwan, and Singapore where the students who graduate from those countries must work in that country for minimum of three years before seek to go abroad for education or employment.
India should also make the students who receive subsidises on education to work and contribute to India for at least three years. – Moorthy Muthukrishnan
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As a common man, how can we change this system? By passing a rule to work for India after completing the course successfully for a certain period of time. – Muttineni Sudhakar
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You have published a very truthful and realistic story. Nobody knows where exactly the tax money is being wasted. – Sagar Agarwal
Wellness can be hazardous to health
Yes, the wellness industry is a "commercial interest" as you describe it (“No, it's not you: why 'wellness' isn't the answer to overwork”). What you overlooked is that it is also a fraud. At least 40 wellness vendors and consultants have been "ousted" for sins from making up "savings" figures for their corporate overlords to actually harming employees by pitching highly profitable "screens" that are much more likely to find medical problems that don't exist than problems that do. All this is documented on www.theysaidwhat.net.
If, as an overworked employee, you think that wellness will help you reduce your stress while improving your performance, think again: the corporate wellness industries’ own trade association has admitted that wellness damages morale.
Between the overscreening and the morale damage, the irony is that wellness can be hazardous to your health. – Al Lewis
Prohibition nostalgia
One minor amendment, and two jolly quantitative facts about the alcohol prohibition in Maharashtra (“Forgotten fact: Most Mumbaiites are breaking the law when they grab a drink”).
1. As applied, Maharashtra's prohibition law in the 1960s did not, in the real world, hinder non-Indians (at least white-skinned ones) at all. When I arrived from Britain to work as a journalist in the Indian Express in 1961, I found, gratefully, that I and any other such person had only to declare myself an alcohol "addict" – providing no medical backing whatever, for the good reason that it was quite untrue – and a drinking permit was instantly available. (The only real addict I ever met in then-Bombay was in fact an Indian: my editor, Frank Moraes, an admirable writer of columns and a nice man, who was doing his best, no doubt legally, to drink himself to death, and nearly succeeded shortly before I left in 1963.)
And the two fun facts that you might well have included (if facts they are, as my 50-year-old memories claim).
2. Maharashtra in a single year about that time reportedly had 2,40,000 prohibition cases. How the legal system dealt with these I never learned, but that's the figure that sticks in my mind.
3. And another: the very minor furniture industry round the hill resort of Mahabaleshwar was reported to "use" some 4,000 tonnes of furniture polish a year. One of whose constituents is, by curious coincidence, alcohol. – Stephen Hugh-Jones
Beyond East and West
I really enjoyed reading Gautam Pemmaraju's warm and affectionate tribute to the late Sam Zaman of State of Bengal (“Sam Zaman, pioneer of the Asian Underground, influenced everything from US rap to Bollywood beats”). However, as a DJ and music critic who covered and participated in the "Asian Underground" scene (via Toronto) at the time of Zaman's ascendancy, I would like to point out that the air hostess sample at the top of "Flight IC-408" is not taken from "a Hindi film soundtrack." It is actually found on an obscure album of slightly disco-fied Bengali pop tunes by RD Burman and Asha Bhosle.
This reference is important because Zaman wasn't simply negotiating his identity between "East" and "West"; he was also sounding out the diversity of South Asian traditions in what was and continues to be a Bollywood/Bhangra dominant scene. – Prasad Bidaye
Retaining talent
Your counterpoints in response of the author arguments about the subsidies to the IITs seems less powerful and least logical (“No, Smriti Irani is not wasting your money on the IITians”). It is pertinent to mention that as per the author’s argument, it is clear that the he is concentrating on the use of money for the complete welfare of the nation. He has given a strong point that the tax money should be spent on brilliant students as lucrative incentive who are dedicated in a direction which the nation wants at the right time. Developed nations like the US have been doing this to retain the best talent (who have been trained specially for similar purposes by premier institutes) in a particular field.
No doubt, the IITians have done a great job by satisfying a gaping need in the Indian economy by opening of an online retail company. However, the government should take initiation so that the specific talent could be retained for the specific field only. Only then can the nation grow and develop in all segments equally, rather than putting all of our best minds in one direction. – Avinash Kumar
A standing ovation
Couldn’t stop my tears while reading the Aruna Shanbaug story (“Aruna Shanbaug’s story is also a tribute to the remarkable hospital that cared for her for 42 years”). The nurses of KEM deserve a standing ovation. A salute to Aruna! – Preety Deshpande
Jai Guru Deva, Om!
With all due respect to your 'scholarship' in conducting the Beatles in India piece, I must say I'm a bit disappointed in the angle you took belittling the Indian guru who essentially brought meditation out of the Himalayas and into the living rooms of millions throughout the world (“Across the Universe: Beatles songs about their disastrous trip to Rishikesh in 1967”).
Perhaps you should interview Paul and Ringo about the lasting effects of this meditation practice in their personal and professional lives. – Scott Lary
Delite delights
The story about Delite cinema hall is a very informative and delightful piece of information rarely accessible to the general public (“The many delights of Delhi’s Delite cinema hall”). I served a national newspaper in Mumbai (then Bombay) during that period, yet I missed the patriotic fervour associated with the news. I welcome more such news in the future to kindle my fading thoughts. Jai Hind! – Colanarahari
Brilliant Majrooh
Pity that the author elected to focus entirely on the quirky side of the Majrooh Sultanouri, ignoring the brilliant traditional compositions in Mamta and Dastak, to name only two films (“How Majrooh Sultanpuri bent the rules of grammar to write some of Hindi cinema’s best-known tunes”). – Jyoti Pande
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Beautifully written story on Majrooh Sultanpuri. I’m a great fan of his poetry and further on, Nasir Hussain’s ouvere. – VV Kadam
Star system
I think the article about the star rating for movies is a good article, but I wish it went deep into the rabbit hole and not just hovered over it (“The other star system that Bollywood needs to junk: movie ratings”). And it would have been better if it was not only for the 5* audiences (I hope you get it).
P.S – Make it more bold, don't taken hidden pot-shots. – Agnimitra Sharma
Rajput rulers
There are still anti-Hindu elements which continue to denigrate and malign the power, majesty, culture and science of India – which existed eons before other cultures of this world, and especially predating the European and many Middle-Eastern masses (“'India is still a Hindu country because of those Rajput kings'”).
It is shameful indeed, that we need ‘citations’ (read ‘from Britishers’) to prove the worth of the Rajputs, who were and still are the backbone of Maha Bharat that India was, and will continue to be. Why aren’t our own historians works respected? Their duty was to preserve the culture and ethos of Rajputs, through oral tradition, and through their methodical preparation of Rajput lineages. Their work is present for all to see, even today. It is a sad state of affairs, when the world at large forgets even their own historians, and considers their work as false and based in mythology.
There is an ulterior force working to malign our great nation, and relegate our history to be considered unworthy. If there weren’t any Rajputs, India would have been a nation of slaves, and a nation of Islam. – Kishorsinh Jadeja
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I am replying to the comment of Khushi Deora where she said "India is still a Hindu country because of these Rajput kings...", I want to bring it to her notice that not because of the Rajput kings but rather because of Marathas (who were deemed Shudra by these Rajput kings) the Hindu religion survives. It was Shivaji who carved a place for Hindavi Swarajya (kingdom of Hindus) in India, it was Ahilyabai Holkar who rebuilt the famous ghats of Varanasi, it was rather her who reconstructed prominent religious places like Dwarka in Gujarat to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi on the Ganges.
She also built temples in Ujjain, Nasik and Gaya. She built lodges and dharamshalas for pilgrims rather than building palaces for herself and uselessly decorating water wells. She also constructed the desecrated temple of Somnath in Gujarat. It is shameful that Rajput kings who only worried about their lands, their comfort and their clan are being credited with saving of Hindu religion when it was saved by a women from a caste that was not allowed to worship those same gods for thousands of years before they themselves became rulers. – Pratik Sonone
Bhajji fries
I thought I won't even bother going through the article when I read the title which said "Zak" failed (“How did Ashish Nehra succeed when teammates Yuvi, Viru and even Zak failed?”).
I guess the author has barely watched the IPL matches. Zaheer Khan played only seven games. Not playing and failure are two entirely different things. And by the way, in the matches he bowled he was almost unplayable at times. He took seven wickets in seven matches and the economy rate was 6.45. His performance also includes 2/9 in 4 overs.
While Nehra's efforts are outstanding, let us not go overboard with his performance. If Ashish Nehra is that good, why he could not make his presence felt in previous editions? Nehra is injury prone and also apart from IPL 2015 and IPL 2009, his performance has been mediocre, to say the least. Recalling Harbhajan into test team based on IPL performances was wrong, let us not make this a habit! We have an exciting crop of young pace bowlers, let us look forward to them. – Sudeep Chaturvedi
Hygiene hints
Narendra Modi has to introduce stringent laws for achieving his target (Swachch Bharat). Penalties will have to be imposed so that all those who do not care about hygiene will become cautious and out of fear may stop the nuisance. Therefore we need to cooperate and make sure that his mission is a success. I think his strategy is cent per cent fine. – Aloka C
No laughing matter
Aina Singh's performance is intense, but I don't believe that laughter is the best medicine for Islamist terror (“Video: Delhi student's powerful poem explains why laughter is more dangerous than gunshots”). This is because laughter is a tool in their hands as much as ours for tapping into mindless collectivism to back their agendas and to falsely shame the innocent and vilify the heroic. And at the end of the day, it is they and the force that they represent that thrives among us that is laughing and it is we who love freedom but don't love it enough to fight for it hard enough, who are raging because we are the victims and we are too defeated and angry and confused to laugh except in support of their agendas and to shame the still-heroic among us. We are too afraid to laugh for the right reasons and at the right time. – Sucheta Dasgupta
Muslim mythis
Other than demolishing myth no 1, the author failed to arrive at his contentions regarding other myths such as fertility rate and power of Muslim women being higher; Muslim infant mortality is lower than other population segments; large-scale Bangladeshi immigration (“Five charts that puncture the bogey of Muslim population growth”). In spite of such scenarios, his graphics tell the other way round – which appears to be suffering from mismatch. – AK Sen
Double wages
I appreciate your effort to tell the story of street sweepers (“Hyderabad sweepers can take the heat but not the insensitivity of others”). With the current spell of extreme heat, it is indeed impossible to be on the streets and work, for most of us. The sweeper women deserve double wages during two/three summer months and wide brim straw hats in all seasons. – ASN Sastry
Resisting change
I feel the next big education reform is a beautiful concept, but the way this is being projected is not objective based (“Everything you need to know about the next big education reform in India”). Instead of the government or the Ministry of HRD, we are giving a picture of the BJP, which is not right.
Any change that takes place is resisted and this is no exception. The infrastructure should come before the policy or after, should not be a big reason for implementation, as there could also be a middle path.
I enjoy reading Scroll because it gives me objective based analysis, not biased analysis. Overall, I did not enjoy. – Manoj Sahay
Reading Indian authors
Thank you for the very interesting summer reading list (“An Indian alternative to the New York Times’ all-white summer reading list”). I was just wondering why 'A suitable girl' is missing. Is it because it is work in progress? – Jayati Choudhury
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I have made a pledge to read as many Indian authors as possible. I have just completed Amitav Ghosh's, Sea of Poppies. – Rakesh Maharaj
Meeting truths
My only worry is that the real truth about why Manmohan called on Modi will not be known notwithstanding the fact that as a democracy, every citizen has a right to know the truth (“So why did Manmohan Singh call on Narendra Modi yesterday?”). – Madhav Mehendale
Agriculture blues
Very enlightening article about why Indians are buying farmlands abroad, many thanks (“One map that shows Indians are buying large farmlands abroad – as we debate land acquisition at home”). It is quite clear why our Prime Minister doesn’t wish to tackle agriculture in the country as a whole. Question: what did he do about tackling agriculture in Gujarat while he was Chief Minister there? – Prabhu S Gupta
Anonymous complaints
I was invited by PERIYAR-Ambedkar study circle to deliver lecture on Bhagat Singh's Thoughts on India, which I delivered on March 7 this year. I was told by students then how IIT management favours Rightist student groups on campus and mistreats Dalit and Leftist student groups (“Banned IIT-Madras student group responds to charges of 'spreading hatred' against Modi government”). I wonder how the HRD Ministry took notice of an anonymous letter at supersonic speed, whereas the properly letterhead written letters by DUTA, JNUTA and other organisations/persons are dumped in files by these very petty officials, remote danced by their minister Smriti Irani, whose only agenda is to destroy scientific temper in higher education, which incorporates freedom of thought, favoured by Jawaharlal Nehru and impose RSS's mythological unscientific ideas of education at the advice of Hindi teacher turned historian Dinanath Batra.
Incidentally, anonymous letters are never taken note of in any institution in the world, except when complainant's life in danger on the issue raised by him or her. But if anonymous letter itself is prompted by the ministry or concerned authority, then the action taken is foregone pre-decision!
Banning this group is not very big thing. When the sword will turn around JNU, DU, Jamia and groups like AISA and SFI, then the colours of HRD minister will reveal more. – Chaman Lal
Not brave, Savarkar!
Smruti Koppikar brings out clearly the fact that Savarkar, far from being "brave", cringed before the British Raj (“Mainstreaming Savarkar as a national hero is part of the BJP’s unfinished agenda”). The conclusion of Justice Kapur is the biggest nail in the coward's coffin. I am surprised that in two terms the Congress made no effort to have his portrait removed from Parliament. – Mukul Dube
The One Rank One Pension scheme is all about the money the BJP government is giving to senior army officers to keep them quiet (“Why the One Rank One Pension scheme is so terribly important for the Indian military”). What is the strength of donkeys in India? Jai hind, jai businessman, jai politician. – Ravindra Thapa
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Please do pay heed and keep reminding the government. - Subhash Chandra Singh
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Read the article. It is really good. The worst part in our country is demoralising the armed forces. That is because of politicians and bureaucrats.
I feel that there should be a rule implemented that those who need to apply for government jobs should have a basic qualification of serving the Indian Armed Forces for a minimum of three years. And, North Indians should be sent to South and South Indians should be sent up North. Why? Because they should understand the difficulty faced by the armed forces.
A politician goes to Siachen. Before he reaches, all necessary precautions are taken by his assistants by means of procuring winter clothes and other accessories. How long he is going to stay there? For an hour or two? But, for a person who will be there for 89 days in the hard core snow, who is going to care?
If a politician is elected to the Parliament, after five years, he will get a pension. Why is that? An armed forces personnel works for 24 hours without a second thought. He draws a minimum salary. I served in the Indian Army for 16 years from 1985 to 2000, and my last pay was Rs. ,6133. What property would I have with this money? – Natesan Mahadevan
***
These politicians, the so-called leaders, are worthy of being pushed to the country's border and forced to remain there. Very soon they will realise how important it is for the veterans to get OROP. Surely, they will be scared if not protected by the valiant soldiers who are always ready to sacrifice their lives. However, they are incapable of realising the sacrifices of the men in uniform. – Anil Kumar
***
In the uniform services, the heroes are at the mercy of petty clerical/ministerial/bureaucratic staff who never think of the conditions under which the uniformed staff work. The General and his men who can defeat the enemy and defend the country are looked down by the bureaucrat and his petty clerical staff. Then where is the question of conceding OROP? – Babu Jayaraman
***
I would like to only say that if this government is having so many problems in calculating the amount of pension to be given, then god save us. What will happen in organising other logistics for defence if the need suddenly arise? At least the government can share this problem.
Modi takes credit 10 times a day for quick decisions and maintaining transparency. The way OROP is being handled is a very bad example of what he claims. Anyway, god bless the Modi government. – Heeman
***
This government is all promise and no delivery. The Modi government probably wants the defence veterans start rail roko, stone pelting or such agitations so that they can be put in a bad light and then use it as an excuse for closing the chapter altogether. I would appeal to all defence veterans not to fall for this trap. It is better to die with dignity in hardship. Politicians have the same DNA irrespective of the party they belong to after all. – Amitava Chaudhuri
Ramayana, a concocted story?
The article about where the Ramayana was based around raises doubts of River Sarayu and Saraswathi (“Was the Ramayana actually set in and around today’s Afghanistan?”). Basing on this, the author concludes that the battle with Ravana did not take place in Sri Lanka. However, the Lankan historians have said that there is enough proof to show that Rama did enter the island of Sri Lanka. It is believed that the sethu was built with a particular type of rock that floats on water.
While visiting Rameshwar, I did see the rock floating on water in one of the sheds for exhibition. Does the author say that the Ramayana is a concocted story on the theory mentioned in the article?
Ramayana and Mahabharatha are great epics of our country, believed by millions. Are these false as per the author? - Subbarayan Ramasethu
Much culture, really!
I tried to sympathise with the poor 'cultured' Madrasi lady caught in ugly Delhi, but try as I might, the Punjabi in me frankly failed (“Let North Indians have their cattle. We in South India have culture”). But Mulligatawny Mami would have by now been used to the general ignorance of us North Indians, so I'd still try and unabashedly reason with her:
They are loud. We are gentle: Well, last I heard Subramanian Swamy was from the south and watching him on TV, gently pulling out expletives from his rather expansive vocabulary is quite soothing, to say the least.
They have cattle. We have culture: Oh, poor Ms Mami has been so busy learning Bharatnatyam, she forgot to see the cows creating jams in Chennai? Perhaps she also forgot about Kaalapoottu, which is the traditional cattle racing festival in Kerala. Or Ms Mami is unaware that the adult video industry in India is from the south? But I'm guessing she's far too cultured to know about any of that.
They shout. We listen: For a moment when the Rajya Sabha MPs who decided to pepper spray during the Telengana bill, the Punjabi in me felt a puff of pride, but that quickly fizzled when I realised the gentlemen were actually not really my brethren from the north but from the south. Oh! Well, what a bummer! – Tushar Khanna
***
I was born into a North East family and brought up in South India, and it doesn’t make a difference. I am not happy about what you wrote about Northern Indians. After all, we are all brother and sisters. You can divide us by the region or by religion, but not as humans beings. – Kalyaani Maahi
***
I wanted to point out some prejudices/biases of North Indians towards South Indians. They think all South Indians are from Madras only. Their cuisine consists of only Idli, Dosa and Rice. Cultured Hindus reside only on the North of Aravallis. Everyone else is uncivilised. Hindu culture/mythology/temples are only present in North India. South Indians were pushed down by the Aryan Invaders. Keep writing. – Raju Parekh
Gross distortion
Your maps and their timeline portray a gross distortion of the history of the Israel and Palestine area (“Four maps that show how dramatically Israel expanded while Palestine shrunk over the last century”). Go back further in time and Israel existed as a sovereign country which encompassed a much larger area than shown on your maps; in fact it included most of the land area now known as Jordan.
Then came the Romans who conquered the land, dispersed its people and incorporated it into their empire. Finally the British conquered the land, renamed it Palestine and kept control until 1948. There has never been a country called Palestine, there has never been a people known as Palestinians; these are artificial inventions. In summary, your selective timeline only serves to spread the myth and portray Israel in an unrealistic and untrue manner. – Stuart H
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I am a Palestinian and more people need to see this. Thank you for making such a visually captivating illustration. – Mahdey Baker
***
It would be a great graphic if, in fact, it were correct. To start with, the British mandate for Palestine included not just the land west of the Jordan River, but all of what was then known as TransJordan and subsequently the Kingdom of Jordan. This was carved off early on and Jews were not allowed to settle there, though tens of thousands of Palestinians/Jordanians made their way from there into what was subsequently the West Bank and Israel.
Secondly, the map does not indicate in any way the Armistice Lines of 1947, which were upheld until June 1967 when Jordan foolishly chose to begin shelling Western Jerusalem, provoking an Israeli response that included throwing the Hashemite army occupying the West Bank and Jerusalem out and pushing them back to the Jordan River.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, more than 65% of the land in what became Israel in 1948 was "state" land, meaning it did not have any land claims on it whatsoever and belonged to the administering government. There's "truth," and then there's the "whole truth." – David Vener
Stop those IITs subsidies!
The article about the how much the government spends on IIT graduates and the resultant lack of benefits to India is interesting (“Dear Smriti Irani, stop giving my money to IITians”). This is a two side weapon. In case you don't spend on IITians, you are not creating a brain trust in the country. While this is so, at least you are sure that some engineering graduates of IIT go to other countries and earn their livelihood.
If your point that IITians are no use to our research functions is true, then what is happening to other non-IIT graduates who are in India and suffering for want of good employment/research opportunities? All our research in defence, etc. are so far carried out only by local graduates and not IITans. Then where is the necessity for these IITans to join the field?
As regards to the expenditure, it is time that the same is sizeably reduced and the candidates themselves have to bear the total cost if they wish to be IITians. Of course our bank loans are always available to all candidates.
Another point here is that the flair for IIT brains and their individuality has for long been erased by the other graduates who are holding comparatively better positions in other countries. This shows that given the opportunity and environment, any average/above average engineering graduate will shine. – Srinivasan Thirumalai
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It is high time the government stops the subsidy to our IITians (pseudo-patriotic). They are of no use to our country. The government can also alternatively ban them from accepting jobs overseas. – Mohamad Aslam
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I completely agree with the author regarding the unjustified spending of hundreds of crores on the IITs. The nation of India hopes that these graduates will help India grow economically, but most of the IIT graduates make a beeline for higher studies and high-paying jobs in the US and other countries. By hiring a foreign-educated person for a job, the US saves $100,000 in educational expenses that they would have spent on educating an American student. When I was a student at IIT in 1980s, 99% of IIT B.Tech students got admission to US universities, settled in the US and never returned to India to work and contribute to the country that subsidised their education.
Let us learn a lesson from countries like China, Taiwan, and Singapore where the students who graduate from those countries must work in that country for minimum of three years before seek to go abroad for education or employment.
India should also make the students who receive subsidises on education to work and contribute to India for at least three years. – Moorthy Muthukrishnan
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As a common man, how can we change this system? By passing a rule to work for India after completing the course successfully for a certain period of time. – Muttineni Sudhakar
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You have published a very truthful and realistic story. Nobody knows where exactly the tax money is being wasted. – Sagar Agarwal
Wellness can be hazardous to health
Yes, the wellness industry is a "commercial interest" as you describe it (“No, it's not you: why 'wellness' isn't the answer to overwork”). What you overlooked is that it is also a fraud. At least 40 wellness vendors and consultants have been "ousted" for sins from making up "savings" figures for their corporate overlords to actually harming employees by pitching highly profitable "screens" that are much more likely to find medical problems that don't exist than problems that do. All this is documented on www.theysaidwhat.net.
If, as an overworked employee, you think that wellness will help you reduce your stress while improving your performance, think again: the corporate wellness industries’ own trade association has admitted that wellness damages morale.
Between the overscreening and the morale damage, the irony is that wellness can be hazardous to your health. – Al Lewis
Prohibition nostalgia
One minor amendment, and two jolly quantitative facts about the alcohol prohibition in Maharashtra (“Forgotten fact: Most Mumbaiites are breaking the law when they grab a drink”).
1. As applied, Maharashtra's prohibition law in the 1960s did not, in the real world, hinder non-Indians (at least white-skinned ones) at all. When I arrived from Britain to work as a journalist in the Indian Express in 1961, I found, gratefully, that I and any other such person had only to declare myself an alcohol "addict" – providing no medical backing whatever, for the good reason that it was quite untrue – and a drinking permit was instantly available. (The only real addict I ever met in then-Bombay was in fact an Indian: my editor, Frank Moraes, an admirable writer of columns and a nice man, who was doing his best, no doubt legally, to drink himself to death, and nearly succeeded shortly before I left in 1963.)
And the two fun facts that you might well have included (if facts they are, as my 50-year-old memories claim).
2. Maharashtra in a single year about that time reportedly had 2,40,000 prohibition cases. How the legal system dealt with these I never learned, but that's the figure that sticks in my mind.
3. And another: the very minor furniture industry round the hill resort of Mahabaleshwar was reported to "use" some 4,000 tonnes of furniture polish a year. One of whose constituents is, by curious coincidence, alcohol. – Stephen Hugh-Jones
Beyond East and West
I really enjoyed reading Gautam Pemmaraju's warm and affectionate tribute to the late Sam Zaman of State of Bengal (“Sam Zaman, pioneer of the Asian Underground, influenced everything from US rap to Bollywood beats”). However, as a DJ and music critic who covered and participated in the "Asian Underground" scene (via Toronto) at the time of Zaman's ascendancy, I would like to point out that the air hostess sample at the top of "Flight IC-408" is not taken from "a Hindi film soundtrack." It is actually found on an obscure album of slightly disco-fied Bengali pop tunes by RD Burman and Asha Bhosle.
This reference is important because Zaman wasn't simply negotiating his identity between "East" and "West"; he was also sounding out the diversity of South Asian traditions in what was and continues to be a Bollywood/Bhangra dominant scene. – Prasad Bidaye
Retaining talent
Your counterpoints in response of the author arguments about the subsidies to the IITs seems less powerful and least logical (“No, Smriti Irani is not wasting your money on the IITians”). It is pertinent to mention that as per the author’s argument, it is clear that the he is concentrating on the use of money for the complete welfare of the nation. He has given a strong point that the tax money should be spent on brilliant students as lucrative incentive who are dedicated in a direction which the nation wants at the right time. Developed nations like the US have been doing this to retain the best talent (who have been trained specially for similar purposes by premier institutes) in a particular field.
No doubt, the IITians have done a great job by satisfying a gaping need in the Indian economy by opening of an online retail company. However, the government should take initiation so that the specific talent could be retained for the specific field only. Only then can the nation grow and develop in all segments equally, rather than putting all of our best minds in one direction. – Avinash Kumar
A standing ovation
Couldn’t stop my tears while reading the Aruna Shanbaug story (“Aruna Shanbaug’s story is also a tribute to the remarkable hospital that cared for her for 42 years”). The nurses of KEM deserve a standing ovation. A salute to Aruna! – Preety Deshpande
Jai Guru Deva, Om!
With all due respect to your 'scholarship' in conducting the Beatles in India piece, I must say I'm a bit disappointed in the angle you took belittling the Indian guru who essentially brought meditation out of the Himalayas and into the living rooms of millions throughout the world (“Across the Universe: Beatles songs about their disastrous trip to Rishikesh in 1967”).
Perhaps you should interview Paul and Ringo about the lasting effects of this meditation practice in their personal and professional lives. – Scott Lary
Delite delights
The story about Delite cinema hall is a very informative and delightful piece of information rarely accessible to the general public (“The many delights of Delhi’s Delite cinema hall”). I served a national newspaper in Mumbai (then Bombay) during that period, yet I missed the patriotic fervour associated with the news. I welcome more such news in the future to kindle my fading thoughts. Jai Hind! – Colanarahari
Brilliant Majrooh
Pity that the author elected to focus entirely on the quirky side of the Majrooh Sultanouri, ignoring the brilliant traditional compositions in Mamta and Dastak, to name only two films (“How Majrooh Sultanpuri bent the rules of grammar to write some of Hindi cinema’s best-known tunes”). – Jyoti Pande
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Beautifully written story on Majrooh Sultanpuri. I’m a great fan of his poetry and further on, Nasir Hussain’s ouvere. – VV Kadam
Star system
I think the article about the star rating for movies is a good article, but I wish it went deep into the rabbit hole and not just hovered over it (“The other star system that Bollywood needs to junk: movie ratings”). And it would have been better if it was not only for the 5* audiences (I hope you get it).
P.S – Make it more bold, don't taken hidden pot-shots. – Agnimitra Sharma
Rajput rulers
There are still anti-Hindu elements which continue to denigrate and malign the power, majesty, culture and science of India – which existed eons before other cultures of this world, and especially predating the European and many Middle-Eastern masses (“'India is still a Hindu country because of those Rajput kings'”).
It is shameful indeed, that we need ‘citations’ (read ‘from Britishers’) to prove the worth of the Rajputs, who were and still are the backbone of Maha Bharat that India was, and will continue to be. Why aren’t our own historians works respected? Their duty was to preserve the culture and ethos of Rajputs, through oral tradition, and through their methodical preparation of Rajput lineages. Their work is present for all to see, even today. It is a sad state of affairs, when the world at large forgets even their own historians, and considers their work as false and based in mythology.
There is an ulterior force working to malign our great nation, and relegate our history to be considered unworthy. If there weren’t any Rajputs, India would have been a nation of slaves, and a nation of Islam. – Kishorsinh Jadeja
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I am replying to the comment of Khushi Deora where she said "India is still a Hindu country because of these Rajput kings...", I want to bring it to her notice that not because of the Rajput kings but rather because of Marathas (who were deemed Shudra by these Rajput kings) the Hindu religion survives. It was Shivaji who carved a place for Hindavi Swarajya (kingdom of Hindus) in India, it was Ahilyabai Holkar who rebuilt the famous ghats of Varanasi, it was rather her who reconstructed prominent religious places like Dwarka in Gujarat to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi on the Ganges.
She also built temples in Ujjain, Nasik and Gaya. She built lodges and dharamshalas for pilgrims rather than building palaces for herself and uselessly decorating water wells. She also constructed the desecrated temple of Somnath in Gujarat. It is shameful that Rajput kings who only worried about their lands, their comfort and their clan are being credited with saving of Hindu religion when it was saved by a women from a caste that was not allowed to worship those same gods for thousands of years before they themselves became rulers. – Pratik Sonone
Bhajji fries
I thought I won't even bother going through the article when I read the title which said "Zak" failed (“How did Ashish Nehra succeed when teammates Yuvi, Viru and even Zak failed?”).
I guess the author has barely watched the IPL matches. Zaheer Khan played only seven games. Not playing and failure are two entirely different things. And by the way, in the matches he bowled he was almost unplayable at times. He took seven wickets in seven matches and the economy rate was 6.45. His performance also includes 2/9 in 4 overs.
While Nehra's efforts are outstanding, let us not go overboard with his performance. If Ashish Nehra is that good, why he could not make his presence felt in previous editions? Nehra is injury prone and also apart from IPL 2015 and IPL 2009, his performance has been mediocre, to say the least. Recalling Harbhajan into test team based on IPL performances was wrong, let us not make this a habit! We have an exciting crop of young pace bowlers, let us look forward to them. – Sudeep Chaturvedi
Hygiene hints
Narendra Modi has to introduce stringent laws for achieving his target (Swachch Bharat). Penalties will have to be imposed so that all those who do not care about hygiene will become cautious and out of fear may stop the nuisance. Therefore we need to cooperate and make sure that his mission is a success. I think his strategy is cent per cent fine. – Aloka C
No laughing matter
Aina Singh's performance is intense, but I don't believe that laughter is the best medicine for Islamist terror (“Video: Delhi student's powerful poem explains why laughter is more dangerous than gunshots”). This is because laughter is a tool in their hands as much as ours for tapping into mindless collectivism to back their agendas and to falsely shame the innocent and vilify the heroic. And at the end of the day, it is they and the force that they represent that thrives among us that is laughing and it is we who love freedom but don't love it enough to fight for it hard enough, who are raging because we are the victims and we are too defeated and angry and confused to laugh except in support of their agendas and to shame the still-heroic among us. We are too afraid to laugh for the right reasons and at the right time. – Sucheta Dasgupta
Muslim mythis
Other than demolishing myth no 1, the author failed to arrive at his contentions regarding other myths such as fertility rate and power of Muslim women being higher; Muslim infant mortality is lower than other population segments; large-scale Bangladeshi immigration (“Five charts that puncture the bogey of Muslim population growth”). In spite of such scenarios, his graphics tell the other way round – which appears to be suffering from mismatch. – AK Sen
Double wages
I appreciate your effort to tell the story of street sweepers (“Hyderabad sweepers can take the heat but not the insensitivity of others”). With the current spell of extreme heat, it is indeed impossible to be on the streets and work, for most of us. The sweeper women deserve double wages during two/three summer months and wide brim straw hats in all seasons. – ASN Sastry
Resisting change
I feel the next big education reform is a beautiful concept, but the way this is being projected is not objective based (“Everything you need to know about the next big education reform in India”). Instead of the government or the Ministry of HRD, we are giving a picture of the BJP, which is not right.
Any change that takes place is resisted and this is no exception. The infrastructure should come before the policy or after, should not be a big reason for implementation, as there could also be a middle path.
I enjoy reading Scroll because it gives me objective based analysis, not biased analysis. Overall, I did not enjoy. – Manoj Sahay
Reading Indian authors
Thank you for the very interesting summer reading list (“An Indian alternative to the New York Times’ all-white summer reading list”). I was just wondering why 'A suitable girl' is missing. Is it because it is work in progress? – Jayati Choudhury
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I have made a pledge to read as many Indian authors as possible. I have just completed Amitav Ghosh's, Sea of Poppies. – Rakesh Maharaj
Meeting truths
My only worry is that the real truth about why Manmohan called on Modi will not be known notwithstanding the fact that as a democracy, every citizen has a right to know the truth (“So why did Manmohan Singh call on Narendra Modi yesterday?”). – Madhav Mehendale
Agriculture blues
Very enlightening article about why Indians are buying farmlands abroad, many thanks (“One map that shows Indians are buying large farmlands abroad – as we debate land acquisition at home”). It is quite clear why our Prime Minister doesn’t wish to tackle agriculture in the country as a whole. Question: what did he do about tackling agriculture in Gujarat while he was Chief Minister there? – Prabhu S Gupta
Anonymous complaints
I was invited by PERIYAR-Ambedkar study circle to deliver lecture on Bhagat Singh's Thoughts on India, which I delivered on March 7 this year. I was told by students then how IIT management favours Rightist student groups on campus and mistreats Dalit and Leftist student groups (“Banned IIT-Madras student group responds to charges of 'spreading hatred' against Modi government”). I wonder how the HRD Ministry took notice of an anonymous letter at supersonic speed, whereas the properly letterhead written letters by DUTA, JNUTA and other organisations/persons are dumped in files by these very petty officials, remote danced by their minister Smriti Irani, whose only agenda is to destroy scientific temper in higher education, which incorporates freedom of thought, favoured by Jawaharlal Nehru and impose RSS's mythological unscientific ideas of education at the advice of Hindi teacher turned historian Dinanath Batra.
Incidentally, anonymous letters are never taken note of in any institution in the world, except when complainant's life in danger on the issue raised by him or her. But if anonymous letter itself is prompted by the ministry or concerned authority, then the action taken is foregone pre-decision!
Banning this group is not very big thing. When the sword will turn around JNU, DU, Jamia and groups like AISA and SFI, then the colours of HRD minister will reveal more. – Chaman Lal
Not brave, Savarkar!
Smruti Koppikar brings out clearly the fact that Savarkar, far from being "brave", cringed before the British Raj (“Mainstreaming Savarkar as a national hero is part of the BJP’s unfinished agenda”). The conclusion of Justice Kapur is the biggest nail in the coward's coffin. I am surprised that in two terms the Congress made no effort to have his portrait removed from Parliament. – Mukul Dube
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