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| << October31, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]THE SHIV SENA TODAY STANDS ON THE THRESHOLD OF DISINTEGRATION |
November02, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]15,000 Maoist rebels launch attack >> |
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Book Review] Deccan Herald, October 30, 2004 | Column - Sweet and Sour [Excerpt] Catch them young [by Kushwant Singh ] At times I get very depressed watching channel after channel on my TV offloading garbage about astrology, Vastu and numerology, and wonder how our next generation will be able to face the hard realities of life. I am not alone in believing that next to sowing seeds of suspicion between different religious communities, the Sangh Parivar-dominated government has left us a legacy of belief in irrationality. For this Murli Manohar Joshi, under whose patronage it took a new lease of life, will have a lot to answer for. So also ex-Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Cabinet colleagues who not only failed to put an end to Joshi's eccentricities but often subscribed to them too. Their astrologers and Vastu experts assure them that their stars are in the ascendant and they should soon be back in power. Let us wait a while and see what happens. I am heartened to find a kindred spirit in Githa Hariharan, who is more concerned about the way things are going and is doing her best to reverse the trend. She is a more accomplished writer than I am, a lot younger and far more gutsy. So far she has been writing novels and short stories for adults. She felt strongly that if you mean to clear the cobwebs of superstition and make-believe that are instilled into our minds by senile oldies, and immunise them against the poison of religious bigotry and belief in the irrational, you have to address school-going children. So she has turned her facile and gifted pen to writing a collection of short stories for children using old themes based on anecdotes about Tenali Raman, Naseeruddin Hodja, Gopal Bhor and Birbal. The Winning Team (Rupa) beautifully illustrated by Taposhi Ghosal is her offering. It should be translated in all our regional languages and made compulsory reading for boys and girls in schools across the country. Minister Arjun Singhji, please note! You can undo some of the harm done by your predecessor. -------------------------------------------------- Courtesy:Harsh Kapoor/SACW www.sacw.net |
| << October31, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]THE SHIV SENA TODAY STANDS ON THE THRESHOLD OF DISINTEGRATION |
November02, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]15,000 Maoist rebels launch attack >> |
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