[Reader-list] Revolts & Rebellions : Arundathi Roy Interviewed by David Barsamian

Thu May 12 19:30:28 IST 2011

I suppose this is something on the lines of saying that having sweet shops overdo their display of sweets on diwali is a sinister provocation that come from the perverted minds of those who want to see the world's largest population of diabetics suffer. In fact, following this line of thinking, we could say that most upper caste hindu festivals, because of the excess consumption of sugar that they involve are actually perverted instances of auto-genocidial conspiracies. 

What I choose to eat is my business, as long as I am not eating another human being. If I choose to eat beef in Benaras or pork in Mecca or Jerusalem, how does it matter, and why should it matter, to someone else who chooses not to eat beef, pork or either. If they don't want to eat beef or pork, they simply don't have to eat it. I make it a point to see that if there are vegetarians or vegans in a mixed gathering, that they can be well fed. To prevent dalit students from eating beef is not very different, in my opinion, from force feeding mutton to a vegetarian. Our moral responsibility towards other people's hunger consists only in that they are not made to go hungry. Not in determining for them what they must or must not eat. 

best, 

Shuddha

On 12-May-2011, at 3:08 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote:

> 
> The post was in response
> to the interview of ADR whose admirers, who are in plenty on this forum, could
> have done a little better in their anarchistic idol’s glory. 
> 
> This petty ‘beef festival’
> story is just a sycophantic exercise. 
> 
> However, eating beef by
> choice is one thing but  in view of the  aversion to ‘beef’ by an overwhelming
> population not just limited to upper casts across the country, holding ‘beef festival’
> is a sinister provocation that  could
> come from a perverted mind only. Try holding ‘pork festival’ in Hyderabad ……. 
> 
> Rgds all
> 
> LA
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Fri, 6 May 2011 20:51:49 +0530
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Revolts & Rebellions : Arundathi Roy Interviewed by David Barsamian
> From: c.anupam at gmail.com
> To: lalitambardar at hotmail.com; reader-list at sarai.net
> 
> "Continued diatribe against so called upper
> 
> class Hindus is a crap. It is a deliberate attempt to divide Hindus. How many
> 
> upper cast Hindus, today preside over how many political parties in India at
> 
> national or state levels? The ruling party head at the centre who also is the
> 
> de-facto ruler of the country is of foreign origin & not a born Hindu.  Today upper class Hindus are also competing
> 
> in general category for the jobs reserved for the lower casts. One can only
> 
> derive sadistic pleasures in differentiating poverty & deprivation on the
> 
> basis of religion & cast."
> 
> I am supposedly a Brahmin. Yesterday, I spoke to a few students from EFLU in Hyderabad. Every month Dalit students organise a beef festival in the mess. Since beef is not readily available in this country, with a regime which calls for a ban of the selling of beef, but have been also kidnapping the animals from farmers (hundreds of instances in Rajasthan and Gujarat), these students bought buffalo meat. What my friends told me is that they have this festival every month. 
> 
> 
> A few Upper Caste north Indian students, mind you some Brahmins as well, attacked these Dalit students. There are documentary evidences that these students urinated on the food, threw it on the walls. Altogether the incident left a bad taste beyond all the discourses and other things. It was food. The upper caste students, from what I have been told said that how can you organise a beef festival in the hostel mess. 
> 
> 
> Thanking you Lalit. I hope I am able enough, with my whatever caste identity to keep replying to such "crap" over and over again. 
> 
> Anupam 
> 
> 
> On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 6:44 PM, Lalit Ambardar <lalitambardar at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The whole conversation sounds depressing.
> 
> ‘I’, ‘me’ & ‘my’ are symptomatic of narcissism that overlays the hate India campaign.
> 
> Besides self flagellation ad nauseam by her, Arundhati Roy’s affirmative contribution in ameliorating the living
> 
> conditions of the very people she purportedly is concerned about is hardly
> 
> anything. She has a list of grievances but no concrete suggestions to remove
> 
> those.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It is because of her chronic hostility
> 
> towards the state that she readily embraces even the proponents of   ‘azadi-
> 
> bara- e- Islam’ (freedom for Islam) in Kashmir.
> 
> Her comrade-in arms- Geelani who like other Kashmiri Muslim separatists regards
> 
> Kashmir as the unfinished agenda of Jinah’s religion based two nation doctrine
> 
> & wants Kashmir’s inclusion with Pakistan has just declared Osama a ‘martyr’
> 
> calling for mass prayers today in Kashmir. ADR does not mind this religious
> 
> blackmail of gullible masses. Her rhetoric on Kashmir might be a moral-booster
> 
> for Kashmiri Muslim separatists & their indoctrinated foot soldiers but it
> 
> can not erase Kashmir’s civilisational links with rest of India. It doesn’t bother her
> 
> conscience that those Kashmiri jihadists who self admittedly got trained in
> 
> Pakistan & ferried weapons from there & launched anti India jihad in
> 
> 1989-90 & who deserve to be tried for crimes against humanity are roaming
> 
> free, practicing ‘politics’. Even the brutal ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindu
> 
> Pandits at the hands of Kashmiri pan- Islamists in the land of their origin
> 
> does not cause her any indignation.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Continued diatribe against so called upper
> 
> class Hindus is a crap. It is a deliberate attempt to divide Hindus. How many
> 
> upper cast Hindus, today preside over how many political parties in India at
> 
> national or state levels? The ruling party head at the centre who also is the
> 
> de-facto ruler of the country is of foreign origin & not a born Hindu.  Today upper class Hindus are also competing
> 
> in general category for the jobs reserved for the lower casts. One can only
> 
> derive sadistic pleasures in differentiating poverty & deprivation on the
> 
> basis of religion & cast.
> 
> 
> 
> Talking about exploitation of tribals, it
> 
> was way back in seventies that a journalist ‘bought’ a tribal girl from
> 
> somewhere in central India
> 
> to prove a point. Continued apathy towards tribals deserves utmost attention.
> 
> But is ‘violence’ the answer? Maoists’ guns have brought the Maoists &
> 
> their overt sympathisers in the limelight but development continues to elude.
> 
> Induced ‘Christianisation’ over the decades has only divided the families &
> 
> communities.
> 
> 
> 
> As
> 
> if all that is evil exists in India
> 
> & in India
> 
> only. Yes, we are no where close to claiming a system that ensures a fair
> 
> degree of socio-economic justice. Crony capitalism is a serious threat. But
> 
> there is a growing awareness of our shortcomings & positive activism is on
> 
> rise. In spite of apparent pitfalls, it can not be denied that democracy is
> 
> evolving in India.
> 
> Civil checks & balances are necessary to counter the propensity to misuse
> 
> democracy. If there was 2G scam, the media exposed it & the Govt. of the
> 
> day is nailed. Civil society is pursuing introduction of severe laws against
> 
> corruption. People are demanding return of Indian wealth illegally parked
> 
> outside. Sustainability is the topic of discussion today. Peaceful awareness
> 
> & opinion mobilisation campaigns would go a long way in nation building
> 
> than antagonistic activism.
> 
> 
> 
> Intellectual
> 
> manipulations do not bring about genuine revolutions & revolution need not
> 
> be synonymous with violence or anti India hate campaign.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rgds all…LA
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>> From: aswathypsenan at gmail.com
> 
>> Date: Thu, 5 May 2011 12:50:48 +0530
> 
>> To: reader-list at sarai.net
> 
>> Subject: [Reader-list] Revolts & Rebellions : Arundathi Roy Interviewed by    David Barsamian
> 
>> 
> 
>> http://www.malayalanatu.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=703%3Aarundhati-roy-revolts-a-rebellions&catid=15%3Aessay&Itemid=19
> 
> 
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net