[Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear contrast

taraprakash taraprakash at gmail.com
Wed Mar 18 19:17:02 IST 2009 

This kind of polarization is sad, but it is the reality of politics in 
India. Similarly it is risky to keep calling BJP and its allies communal, 
giving an illusion that non-BJP always equals secular.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "M Javed" <javedmasoo at gmail.com>
To: "Pawan Durani" <pawan.durani at gmail.com>; "sarai-list" 
<reader-list at sarai.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 5:22 AM
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear 
contrast


> Dear Pawan
> You are right: "why trouble Hindus at all..."
> If its simply a matter of safeguarding the rights of the Hindus, its
> perfectly all right. But the trouble begins when you are using that
> excuse to win votes. Is Varun Gandhi assuming that all his voters and
> supporters are Hindus? Is he assuming that no Muslim will vote for
> him?
>
> This is the same when during the last year's assembly elections in
> Delhi, the BJP advert and posters mentioned that the Congress has been
> responsible for "mushrooming Batla Houses" in Delhi, assuming that no
> one in the real Batla House will ever vote for BJP, so let us loose
> that constituency to win in other constituency. Is this real
> democracy? Why have we brought our complex situation to such
> over-simplistic terms of "BJP=Hindu" and "Congress=Muslim"?
>
> J
>
> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 2:23 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> Sir,
>>
>> If I am not wrong what Varun allegedly said was that he would cut those
>> hands which trouble hindus.
>>
>> As a leader of a party which everyone considers to be a right wing hindu
>> party , I see nothing wrong in what he has said. He is after all 
>> delivering
>> to his constituency .
>>
>> And his message was to those who would trouble hindus ......so why 
>> trouble
>> hindus at all... ?
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Pawan
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 1:40 PM, Kshmendra Kaul 
>> <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Inder
>>>
>>> I am looking for the text of the complete speech made by Varun. Do you 
>>> have
>>> any access to that?
>>>
>>> I have read snippets in the Press and heard beeped out sound bites on TV
>>> but that does not give me an idea of what exactly he said and in what
>>> context.
>>>
>>> Hope you can oblige.
>>>
>>> If Varun was stoking communal passions then not allowing him to contest 
>>> the
>>> elections would be only a minor rap on his wrists. If guilty, he should
>>> suffer much much heavier penalties.
>>>
>>> Kshmendra
>>>
>>> --- On Tue, 3/17/09, Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> From: Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Osip Mandelstam and Varun Gandhi: a clear
>>> contrast
>>> To: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
>>> Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 11:11 PM
>>>
>>> Varun Gandhi, the grand son of Indira Gandhi, is a BJP canditate for
>>> coming Lok Sabha ( parliamentary elections ), who was recorded on
>>> camera while giving lecture to people in Philbit, UP ( north India ).
>>> Both police and Election commission have issued notice to Mr. Varun
>>> Gandhi for his inflammatory communal speech, with the intention to
>>> gain votes for his party. Sad, if he is allowed to contest elections
>>> after this incident.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Inder Salim <indersalim at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > The name ‘The Pale of Settlement’ in Russia was given to a region in
>>> > which Jews were allowed, and beyond which Jewish settlement was
>>> > generally prohibited. Osip Mandelstam was born to such a Jewish family
>>> > in 1891, But this is why he got himself killed in 1938:
>>> >
>>> > Stalin Epigram
>>> > We live, but we do not feel the land beneath us,
>>> > Ten steps away and our words cannot be heard,
>>> > And when there are just enough people for half a dialogue,
>>> > Then they remember the Kremlin Highlander.
>>> > His fat fingers are slimy like slugs,
>>> > And his words are absolute, like grocers' weights.
>>> > His cockroach whiskers are laughing,
>>> > And his boot tops shine.
>>> > And around him the rabble of narrow-necked chiefs –
>>> > He plays with the services of half-men.
>>> > Who warble, or miaow, or moan.
>>> > He alone pushes and prods.
>>> > Decree after decree he hammers them out like horseshoes,
>>> > In the groin, in the forehead, in the brows, or in the eye.
>>> > When he has an execution it's a special treat,
>>> > And the Ossetian chest swells.
>>> >
>>> > Amazing, in his poem ‘ Black Sun’ which he wrote about Palestine
>>> > issue, I see his poems on all the subject. Even in Translation his
>>> > words dance.
>>> >
>>> > Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled: "Only in Russia is
>>> poetry
>>> > respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry
>>> > is so common a motive for murder?"
>>> > Here, I remember, Abdul Sattar Ranjoor, the poet/activist in Kashmir
>>> > who was killed by extreme Right wing forces in 1990. Hazrat Sarmad,
>>> > the great poet saint too was killed by King Aurangzeb for similar
>>> > political reasons. Right now, 90 year old MF Husain, is facing death
>>> > threats from same Right winged politics. There is a strange history
>>> > behind great poets, particularly those who spoke against the
>>> > establishment. The moment you defy the order, the powerful, the
>>> > ruler, the convention, the superstition, you give birth n enemy,
>>> > irrational but strangely potent. Meera was poisoned for defying the
>>> > Royal order and for her expression of Poet’s choice. Lal Ded too was
>>> > thrown out by her Orthodox-Brahmin in-laws for her poetic utterances
>>> > and wisdom of being. There must be no. of cases when wise and
>>> > sensible people had to face the wrath of rulers.
>>> > Strange, that we had to listen to Varun Gandhi, whom I remember,
>>> > published his first book of poems few years ago. I guess, after
>>> > demolition of Babri Mosque, former PM Mr. Vajpayee jee too published
>>> > his book of poems. Some Artists added brush strokes to his verses and
>>> > exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy, even.
>>> > Strange that, this brand of poets dont write about their truer
>>> > intentions directly, as we see in how poets who get themselves killed
>>> > or exiled. So we have ambitious poets who can provoke people to kill
>>> > each other, and in turn get rewarded even. Strange, we have musicians
>>> > and poets, these days, who are delighted to get rewarded by the same
>>> > state who sings songs for their erstwhile politicians as and when
>>> > election times are nearing. These days, on National TV, we often hear
>>> > Jai Ho, how Nehru ji brought industrial revolution, Jai Ho, how Indira
>>> > Ji brought Green Revolution, Jia ho, How Rajiv Ji brought IT
>>> > revolution, Jia Ho, So vote for Congress, and if you don’t like this
>>> > party, then vote Varun Gandhi, their own cousin, on the other side of
>>> > the fence.
>>> >
>>> > With love and regards
>>> > Inder salim
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> >
>>> > http://indersalim.livejournal.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> http://indersalim.livejournal.com
>>> _________________________________________
>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
>>> Critiques & Collaborations
>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
>>> subscribe in
>>> the subject header.
>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
>>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _________________________________________
>>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
>>> Critiques & Collaborations
>>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
>>> subscribe in the subject header.
>>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
>>> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>> _________________________________________
>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
>> Critiques & Collaborations
>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with 
>> subscribe in the subject header.
>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
>> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with 
> subscribe in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>

More information about the reader-list mailing list