[Reader-list] About Accusations on this List

[Gargi Sen]

Dear Shuddha, dear all,
I am a general lurker on this list and the list is an important space for
me, and I think for many like me, habitual lurkers. Its a space that has
helped to initiate and carry out many important but difficult dialogues. It
has produced some very fine erudition. While there are many favourites but
my personal choice would be Shuddha your annotation to the history of
iconoclasm in Kashmir and a reading of Kalhana in four parts. Huge but
riveting. 
And many such fine pieces have been on the list ­ I can name many whose
writing and deliberations have made me think, pause, reflect, rethink...

But the main strength of this list I dare say  has been its maturity to deal
positions that believe repeating lies and half baked opinions endlessly will
turn desires into truths .
They are a dreary part of this list but probably have played a part in
provoking some of the greatest responses. So while I have looked with dread
at the most common names that appear most often on this list, I have been
very impressed with the responses to them. The recent exchange between Inder
Salim and Aditya Raj kaul on caste is a case. I wonder if Inder Salim would
have felt compelled to articulate in this manner and forum if it wasn¹t for
Aditya? Or would you Shuddha write at such length if it wasn¹t for Rashneek?
I also saw that a sustained dialogue can help people shift positions. I see
Khemendra Kaul who is at least willing to listen and talk.
And I believe that such a shift is possible because of the quality of
dialogue, and a freedom to express, on the Sarai list.

So despite Aditya Raj Kaul¹s viciousness where he has graduated from
threatening to spit to slap, and his immature but dangerous worldview or
Pawan Durani¹s aggression and shifting celebration from Maharashtra to
Andhra, and the utter tedium of their arguments that lack the basic tenets
of an argument, or their ignorance, or their silly, hostile, masculine,
grandiose and empty posturing I believe they should be allowed to continue.
This is as much for freedom of expression as much for the hope that deep
inside they are just immature and don¹t really mean what they write.

As for the specific charges of being *paid* that they made against you
Shuddha, I think everyone, at least those who have the energy, should
continue to ask them for proof :-) Rather than expel them. Otherwise I am
afraid that it could seem like the Sarai list is *punishing* them for errant
behaviour whereas the allegations they make are far more serious, and have
far graver implications than such punitive measures can correct.

Gargi Sen