[Reader-list] Can't we shut Reader-List temporarily until polls are over

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Dear Patrice, Dear Francesca,

Nobody is suggesting that the election should not talked about or  
discussed on this list. These discussions may well include opinions  
expressed by list members that takes sides.

  Some of us are merely requesting other list members not to post or  
forward propaganda by political parties. And the moderator has taken  
note of that.

Political parties regularly employ 'marketeers' and deploy party  
activists to inundate public platforms with their messages and  
advertisements at election time. Generally, the more powerful the  
party, the deeper its pockets, the more aggressive and clamorous the  
marketing exercise. We would like to keep the Reader List safe from  
the actions and impulses of these deep pockets.

  As I have said before, we might as well have people advertising  
microsoft, coca-cola and the Tata Nano if we acquiesce to the  
presence of political advertisements and endorsements. I think that  
the health of the list will be severely undermined by this.

If you are curious about the platforms and manifestos of different  
parties and candidates in the election, I would suggest googling for  
them, that is what I do when I want to follow an American,  Italian,  
Spanish or British Election, I do not need native informants to do  
that for me, and believe me, even the most obscure of political  
parties in India have their modest wikipedia entries. And all Indian  
English language newspapers and Television Channels have strong web  
presences, so getting a sense of what the candidates and parties are  
putting out as their platforms is a cakewalk. Enjoy the exercise.

best

Shuddha



  We are merely t
On 19-Apr-09, at 3:06 PM, Patrice Riemens wrote:

> On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 11:35:22PM -0700, francesca recchia wrote:
>> Dear all
>>
>> As a non-Indian who tries to follow and contribute to the reading  
>> list, the idea of suspending it during the election time sounds  
>> quite unfortunate.
>> I guess this can be a challenge to the general sense of  
>> responsibility and respect towards the others in how we write what  
>> we write.
>>
>> This is definitely not the site for campaigning but should be the  
>> place for challenging and exchanging each other's ideas.
>>
>> There is a quotation from Julio Cortazar that I love and might be  
>> inspiring in this debate:
>> I write by default and dislocation, and since I write out of an
>> interstice I always invite others to discover one of their own and to
>> see for themselves the garden where the trees bear fruits that  
>> turn out
>> to be precious stones. The monster remains the same.
>>
>> Hugs
>> francesca
>>
>> francesca recchia
>> kiccovich at yahoo.com
>
>
> Though I do not and by far read all the SRL postings, I tend to  
> agree with
> Francesca, was it only because we, the firangis, are somewhat in  
> awe to
> see how elections and the democratic process are taken so seriously  
> and
> are so fiercely (or ferociously) discussed in india compared to the
> lethargy and desilusionments prevailing in our parts ("que se vayan
> todos!")
>
> Chewers from just back in EU, patrizio and Diiiinooos!
>
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net