The Hindu : New Delhi News : Happy New Year….

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Monday, Jan 07, 2008
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New Delhi

Happy New Year….

I wish to place on record my deep appreciation of the courtesy with which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (a teacher of mine at the Delhi School of Economics way back in 1971 during my M.A. Economics days) interacted with me during a brief one-on-one meeting at his 7 Race Course Road residence on New Year’s Day and cared enough to ask about the “new Economics Honours course in Delhi University”.

Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari was equally hospitable, with an array of refreshments on the sun-dappled lawns of his 6 Maulana Azad Road bungalow, promising to consider an interaction with my students from St. Stephen’s on “The meaning of true education”.

Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, on whom I called next, was equally welcoming over tea at his 12 Tughlak Road residence.

It is on occasions like these that one can see the best face of those who belong to the country’s leadership where, despite all criticisms, there are plenty of decent, educated and committed men and women.

This bodes well for India in 2008.

Vinod Chowdhury,

Senior-most Reader in Economics, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Delhi – 110 007.

Identity crisis

This is with reference to “Just politics” by Sugandha Munshi in these columns (December 24). What she has written is perfect but she is talking just about the symptoms. The real cause of the disease is something different.

It is not proper to blame the politicians for all the fallacies and shifting of the centre of gravity that took place in West Bengal. We need to understand that the politicians are just trying to cater what we ask them to do. Why would they do something which does not please the people? That means somewhere deep down we all (or the majority of us) want whatever they are doing. Now, let’s see what they are doing. In Nandigram and Kolkata they tried to shift the focus from one issue to another. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi did the same by raising the Sohrabuddin issue when he found that the development card of his might not be strong enough to sail through the electoral waters. So what they generally do is shifting the focus from one issue to another and they are able to do so because we have a number of identities which make us relate with ‘n’ number of issues.

For example, I am a male, a Jain, a student, a heterosexual, a cricket lover (not in any particular order). Identity is not a single-layered phenomenon. It’s a multi-layered and complex structure. We all have many identities which we share even with people we least expect to agree with us. You might be sharing a couple of identities with the person you hate the most. Maybe being a Windows or Linux user is one of them! So what politicians actually do is aligning us according to the identity that is most suitable to them. They make us forget one of our identities and shift to another. This is what they call “polarisation of voters”.

In Gujarat, Mr. Modi and the Congress both shifted people from their identity of development seekers to the identity of being Hindus or Muslims. The same thing happens again and again and will keep on happening, unless we develop an identity which is much stronger than any other identity we have.

Here comes the solution. We Indians do not have a national identity. We have got nothing common from North to South and from East to West. We are a group of nations which are sticking together for 60 years. Insurgency has been there from the very beginning, and with increasing naxalism it is becoming stronger and stronger. We need to develop one national identity throughout the country. How it would happen, I have no clue! But that is the only way to avoid the random polarisation of voters.

Atul Jain,

B-39, Christian Colony, Patel Chest, Delhi – 110 007.

Route 500

With wide publicity the new low-floor buses were introduced in the Capital on route 500 between Saket and Shivaji Stadium. The residents of Saket and many other commuters started preferring these sophisticated buses to the old Blueline lot.

However, their happiness lasted only a month or so. Certain trips have now been truncated to ply between Hauz Khas terminal and Shivaji Stadium. This has led to a considerable reduction in the frequency of service on this route.

The commuters are unable to understand the logic behind this move. Route 620 already operates between Hauz Khas terminal and Shivaji Stadium and even if one wants to catch route 500 from Sarvapriya Vihar or Hauz Khas terminal, Khel Gaon Marg is not that far from those areas.

The latest move of the powers that be has put the commuters to much hardship, especially those who want to go up to Saket from AIIMS or South Extension. Saket is already a neglected place in terms of bus service. It would be surprising for many to know that there is no bus facility from Saket to reach Old Delhi railway station or Palam airport. Even New Delhi railway station is not well connected; one has to get down at Regal to take another bus to reach New Delhi station.

I therefore request the DTC authorities to allow all the buses on route 500 to ply up to Saket and not terminate at Hauz Khas terminal.

V. Arunachalam,

71/5 Sector-I, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi - 110 017.

Hats off, Aamir

Very rarely do you get to see a great film that touches your heart and makes you a better person. Hats off to Aamir Khan for giving us “Taare Zameen Par”, a truly exceptional film.

Why exceptional? Because it serves the higher purpose of art. It is a wonderful story of hope.

“Taare Zameen Par” is a film made with enormous good sense and sensibility. It is really difficult to make a child act. And a great job has been done by Aamir Khan as director. Young Darsheel’s performance is a shade better than the all-time great performance by Master Bunty in good old Chetan Anand’s “Aakhri Khat”.

Well done, Aamir! Well done, Amole Gupta!

Dr. Naresh Raj,

34, Power Colony, PSEB, Patiala.

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