[Reader-list] "non-Indian"

[Aarti Sethi]

Dear Dhatri,

Against my better judgment and good sense I am continuing to engage in
a conversation which can only yield bewilderment at best and extreme
frustration at worst. What can I say except that none of us can
finally fight the death drive which impels us to masochism. Why should
anyone be condemned for anything is what I am not able to understand.
No one is fielding any accusations, or allegations of any sort against
anyone. If you wish to identify yourself as Indian more power to you.
No one is questioning your right to do so. Do any of us constantly
assail you with mails to the contrary? No. Unfortunately one cannot
say the same of you.

I have done a quick tallying of the various people/positions that have
become your moving targets in the last three months that this list has
had the unfortunate distinction of you being a subscriber. From what I
can tell, basically only Indian, upper-caste Hindus are legit.
Everyone else should shut up. Amazing! How the worst kind of
parochialism can actually be paraded as a virtue.

Are you not able to find spaces in the real world where people listen
to what you say? Is that the problem? If so, I can understand this can
be very trying. Else I am not able to understand the vast reserves of
energy that you can summon to say the same thing over and over and
over again, in more and more incomprehensible ways.

I apologise to you and all other list members for this mail. I realise
there is nothing you can do about this. There is no cure for a poverty
of the spirit and imagination this deep. I will not be answering any
mails from you in future.

best
Aarti




On Nov 12, 2007 6:10 PM, we wi <dhatr1i at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Dear Aarti,
>
>       People playing with India not only in reality but with words as well.
> Though I can understand the things,  I just would like to put a question
> here.  What kind of Passport do the founders hold.  If it is INDIAN then, at
> certain point at least some condemnation about such talk or writing should
> occur. I am not the sole representative of the CULTURE AND TRADITION ALONE
> but I wonder why do people at least field such accusations, allegations
> about INDIA.
>
> Regards,
> Dhatri.
>
>
> Aarti Sethi <aarti.sethi at gmail.com> wrote:
>  Dear Dhatri,
>
> If you had scrolled down a little further on this link you have
> helpfully provided us with, you would have read the following
> statement.
>
> "They [Raqs Media Collective] are, however, resistant to the label
> "Indian" since, they argue, it represents an abstraction so enormous
> that it can explain nothing about them, and prefer to talk about
> themselves simply as "from Delhi."
>
>
> Be that as it may, early last month there was a timely and, for me,
> chastening discussion on how easily discussions often slip into an
> unreflexive and insensitive indocentricism on the list. For many of us
> our citizenship is not the primary, or even one, of the identities we
> come with to the space of the reader-list. I would urge you to respect
> the fact that we all come from different locations, both in space and
> of the imagination, and the things we want to talk about and discuss
> are similarly unfettered by territorial boundaries.
>
> Warmly
> Aarti
>
>
> On Nov 11, 2007 3:22 PM, we wi wrote:
> > Dear Naeem,
> >
> > Though you took in other way, hope it will become possible in future.
> >
> > Now let me clarify
> >
> > SARAI grown global and every body feel proud about it, but nobody should
> forget the fact that SARAI Headquartered in DELHI, the capital of INDIA and
> the founders are INDIAN students.(as per their WIKI publishing).
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raqs_Media_Collective
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> > Dhatri.
> >
> >
> > Naeem Mohaiemen wrote:
> > > 3. Conclusion (we wi)
> > > SARAI is encouraging non-democratic,non-Indian,non-Hindu Ideology for
> whatever reasons.
> >
> > Dear Dhatri/we wi
> >
> > Not everyone on SARAI is "Indian" (citizenship, living space, history,
> > experiences). There are multiplicities represented here. It's part
> > of being a global citizen. You may like to try it sometime.
> >
> > -Naeem
> > _________________________________________
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