The controversy surrounding the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor’s tweet(comment on popular social networking site ‘twitter’) has left me wondering whether it was something which genuinely had the potential of “hurting” anyone’s sensibilities or was it simply just being read out of context/being misunderstood?
Tharoor ran into trouble for his tweet in which he said sarcastically in response to a query that he would travel ”cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!”. Reacting to the controversy over his remarks the minister has now tweeted an apology saying he is ”sorry” for hurting sentiments and that his words had been misunderstood.
I agree with Tharoor when he says (in another tweet): “It’s a silly expression but means no disrespect to economy travellers, only to airlines for herding us in like cattle. Many have misunderstood”.
“Holy cows are not individuals but sacrosanct issues or principles that no one dares challenge. Wish critics would look it up.”
What worries me most is the Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan’s statement saying the phrase used by Tharoor in his tweet is ”unacceptable” and that perhaps he is not conscious of local sensitivities since he was new to Indian politics.
Do we as people and more importantly our politicians lack a sense of humour? Or is it simply a case of Tharoor’s comment being read out of context, misunderstood and “lost in translation”.
Comments, thoughts anyone?
Here’s the original tweet just for those interested in analysing it with a different perspective (is there any other?)
absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!
As the state faces a drought and farmers committ suicide, the Maharashtra government is busy planning a huge statue of the Maratha warrior king Shivaji in the middle of the Arabian Sea (off Marine Drive in the city of Mumbai). What is alarming about this is the cost of this statue (350 crores of rupees) which is probably enough to save the lives of lakhs of farmers in this drought year.
This is what the Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan remarked about his government’s plan for this statue:-
“The statue of Shivaji will be a great landmark for the city. It will be in the Arabian sea halfway between Chowpatty and Marine Drive. The platform will span 8 acres. And it will be taller than the Statue of Liberty. People can travel to it from nearby jetties.”
This could be yet another election stunt to get the Maharashtrian vote, but the question I think we should all be asking - is this what is required of the government to do now, especially when two-thirds of Maharashtra is facing a terrible drought and farmers are committing suicide?
Vishal Dadlani (a musician) who started an online signature campaign and finally filed a PIL against TV news channels covering the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai live on TV, is planning another one against the erection of this statue.
Also, take a look at an interesting opinion on this issue, from Chinmaye Bhave.
As we celebrate 62 years of Indian independence today, I sincerely hope we can all do away with our prejudices and ensure every one of us truly knows what it feels like to be independent – men, women, children; people of all religions, castes, creed and sexual preferences.
And, be more open to different, independent ‘voices’ which make up the diverse, vibrant fabric of the Indian nation and ensure they all get heard.
This song by Pentagram best encapsulates this thought. Happy Independence Day!
As news of the latest swine flu death (taking the national toll to 20 now) in India came in about an hour ago, I began wondering how to best control rapid spread and prevent deaths.
Upon not finding any easy answers to this I thought of looking at some numbers:-
Comparing numbers for some of the countries which have had a higher number of reported cases than India has and no deaths, throws up some interesting questions …
What makes it so difficult or complex to control rapid spread (esp. urban areas, given that all deaths have been in urban areas) of the virus in India? And, what has lead to the higher number of deaths due to the flu in India?
Given that a large country like China had almost twice as many cases, they have been fairly successful in controlling spread after the initial few months and preventing deaths due to the flu, it is perhaps worthwhile trying to think over this and find answers.
