Comments on: How I met Dr. Shreekant Gupta http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/ In search of the unsearchable: O, my soul! where would you find your house? Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:21:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Sidhusaaheb http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4144 Sidhusaaheb Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:53:47 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4144 Praise the internet, for helping bring hearts and minds together! :) Praise the internet, for helping bring hearts and minds together! :)

]]> By: Shreekant Gupta http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4102 Shreekant Gupta Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:27:22 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4102 I am truly grateful to Mr. Raza Rumi to have featured me on his blog and to have carried my full letter to The Economist. The version they printed was very truncated. The only point I would like to make is that the truth is always nuanced and that there are shades of grey. Who can say that Pakistan does not face very serious problems. But the stark terms in which the country is portrayed in the print and electronic media is also very unfair. Those who do not live in Pakistan are heavily conditioned by what they read and hear in the media. Therefore, it disappointed me greatly to read an influential magazine like The Economist dub Pakistan as the worl'd most dangerous place. And surprisingly the articles inside did not fully bear out its sensational cover and header. Hence I decided to write to the editor. It was gratifying to find out that this small letter reverberated across the world and innumerable people read it and commented on it (not always favourably!) All I would say to Dastagir sb., is that the act of 'writing' is also 'doing', because this is a battle for the hearts and minds of the world at large. Please allow me to be cliched and argue that often the pen is mightier than the sword. In a different but related context, the British economist John Maynard Keynes had said: "The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood . . . Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back." - J.M. Keynes, General Theory, ch. 24. I leave it for all of you decide whether Keynes was right or not. I am truly grateful to Mr. Raza Rumi to have featured me on his blog and to have carried my full letter to The Economist. The version they printed was very truncated. The only point I would like to make is that the truth is always nuanced and that there are shades of grey. Who can say that Pakistan does not face very serious problems. But the stark terms in which the country is portrayed in the print and electronic media is also very unfair. Those who do not live in Pakistan are heavily conditioned by what they read and hear in the media. Therefore, it disappointed me greatly to read an influential magazine like The Economist dub Pakistan as the worl’d most dangerous place. And surprisingly the articles inside did not fully bear out its sensational cover and header. Hence I decided to write to the editor. It was gratifying to find out that this small letter reverberated across the world and innumerable people read it and commented on it (not always favourably!)

All I would say to Dastagir sb., is that the act of ‘writing’ is also ‘doing’, because this is a battle for the hearts and minds of the world at large. Please allow me to be cliched and argue that often the pen is mightier than the sword.

In a different but related context, the British economist John Maynard Keynes had said:

“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood . . . Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.”

- J.M. Keynes, General Theory, ch. 24.

I leave it for all of you decide whether Keynes was right or not.

]]> By: Mayank Austen Soofi http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4048 Mayank Austen Soofi Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:31:31 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4048 It's nothing but easy journalism. <i>Economist</i> has a delicious writing style but it is too lazy to draw out finer nuances that lurk beneath the surface. That is why it called Pakistan the most dangerous place in the planet. This blogger—a clichéd political thinker as lazy as <i>Economist</i> writers—should therefore be excused when he says that it is not Pakistan but Oval Office which must be the most dangerous place in the planet. It’s nothing but easy journalism. Economist has a delicious writing style but it is too lazy to draw out finer nuances that lurk beneath the surface. That is why it called Pakistan the most dangerous place in the planet. This blogger—a clichéd political thinker as lazy as Economist writers—should therefore be excused when he says that it is not Pakistan but Oval Office which must be the most dangerous place in the planet.

]]> By: Dastagir http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4043 Dastagir Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:45:44 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4043 Raza.. bear with me.. i hate repitition.. you are bored with me, by now (who wouldn't ?). But what to do. Those who cant do, talk / write ! When the pitch of fundamentalism is raised.. moderates like Shreekant Gupta and Raza Rumi get marginalised. In the NWFP (circa 1946/47), Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, The Frontier Gandhi... had to withdraw from the political scene. Who can forget the 1947 Congress Session wherein Partition Plan was proposed and approved (55:45 ratio). If 55% were for it., 45% were against it too. Read the speeches of Maulana Azad and Sardar Patel. 2 diametrically opposite perspectives. When moderates (be they muslim or hindu) are marginalised, the field is left open for fundamentalists... criminals... goons... killers... etc. They enter politics and grab levers of power. The common man is peaceful... but dont expect him to come out and die. Not every soul is revolutionary. Fascists have also won elections. Democracy is not elections... but a MINDSET. Tolerance.. Mutual Respect.. that is the key. It is idealistic but so be it. There are 2 ways to achieve such a state of mind : The practical approach is that the STATE per se has no religion. That religion is parked in the personal domain of its citizens. Pandit Nehru believed in this practical/pragmatic SCHOOL of Thought. Whatever India is TODAY... is due to Pandit Nehru's vision. He resisted great pressures and right-wing torture.. to stand his ground. The other viewpoint is to have a religious-state (pre-dominantly Hindu) yet promote a culture of TOLERANCE with other religions... within the parameters of the dominant religion. i.e. do not detach state and religion. Keep the bond.. but encourage tolerance WITHIN the confines of the religion of the majority... Huntington's clash is basically not civilisational (not in the least religious). Its basically about man's EGO.. People professing the same religion have fought wars. Man looks for excuses to fight. It is inherent in his nature. Coming back to the likes of Shreekant Gupta and Raza Rumi... well... this is the moderate path... wherein you recognise the diversity and respect it (not just tolerate... cuz that sounds under pressured...). It is crucial to keep the Taliban (both Hindu and Muslim) within check, lest they will destroy SE Asia under the FAKE banners of green and safforn flag. Partition weakened the secular... vote-plank... among both Hindus and Muslim. That was a real tragedy. The winner of partition is the fundamentalist (both the Mullah and the RSS had a field day !). In Pakistan, atleast the mullah is electorally wiped off... but in India., RSS is ruling 5-6 majot provinces. That is a civilisational scar. Raza.. bear with me.. i hate repitition.. you are bored with me, by now (who wouldn’t ?). But what to do. Those who cant do, talk / write ! When the pitch of fundamentalism is raised.. moderates like Shreekant Gupta and Raza Rumi get marginalised. In the NWFP (circa 1946/47), Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, The Frontier Gandhi… had to withdraw from the political scene. Who can forget the 1947 Congress Session wherein Partition Plan was proposed and approved (55:45 ratio). If 55% were for it., 45% were against it too. Read the speeches of Maulana Azad and Sardar Patel. 2 diametrically opposite perspectives. When moderates (be they muslim or hindu) are marginalised, the field is left open for fundamentalists… criminals… goons… killers… etc. They enter politics and grab levers of power. The common man is peaceful… but dont expect him to come out and die. Not every soul is revolutionary. Fascists have also won elections. Democracy is not elections… but a MINDSET. Tolerance.. Mutual Respect.. that is the key. It is idealistic but so be it.

There are 2 ways to achieve such a state of mind : The practical approach is that the STATE per se has no religion. That religion is parked in the personal domain of its citizens. Pandit Nehru believed in this practical/pragmatic SCHOOL of Thought. Whatever India is TODAY… is due to Pandit Nehru’s vision. He resisted great pressures and right-wing torture.. to stand his ground.

The other viewpoint is to have a religious-state (pre-dominantly Hindu) yet promote a culture of TOLERANCE with other religions… within the parameters of the dominant religion. i.e. do not detach state and religion. Keep the bond.. but encourage tolerance WITHIN the confines of the religion of the majority…

Huntington’s clash is basically not civilisational (not in the least religious). Its basically about man’s EGO..

People professing the same religion have fought wars. Man looks for excuses to fight. It is inherent in his nature.

Coming back to the likes of Shreekant Gupta and Raza Rumi… well… this is the moderate path… wherein you recognise the diversity and respect it (not just tolerate… cuz that sounds under pressured…).

It is crucial to keep the Taliban (both Hindu and Muslim) within check, lest they will destroy SE Asia under the FAKE banners of green and safforn flag.

Partition weakened the secular… vote-plank… among both Hindus and Muslim. That was a real tragedy. The winner of partition is the fundamentalist (both the Mullah and the RSS had a field day !). In Pakistan, atleast the mullah is electorally wiped off… but in India., RSS is ruling 5-6 majot provinces. That is a civilisational scar.

]]> By: samina http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4042 samina Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:40:39 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4042 Today there were two blasts in Lahore killing many including some innocent children.My sister barely escaped by driving past the blast spot exactly two minutes before they happened. I don't know how far can we stretch the limit to which our well wishers' words keep soothing us! Today there were two blasts in Lahore killing many including some innocent children.My sister barely escaped by driving past the blast spot exactly two minutes before they happened.
I don’t know how far can we stretch the limit to which our well wishers’ words keep soothing us!

]]> By: RR http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4039 RR Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:27:26 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4039 Naveed S, You are right. It is quite amazing.. cheers Raza Naveed S, You are right. It is quite amazing..
cheers
Raza

]]> By: Naveed Siraj http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4037 Naveed Siraj Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:17:48 +0000 http://www.razarumi.com/2008/03/10/how-i-met-dr-shreekant-gupta/#comment-4037 Raza, how amazing it must be to make friends like the good Dr. Gupta thanks to the internet Raza, how amazing it must be to make friends like the good Dr. Gupta thanks to the internet

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