tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32951515.post7289954387989941025..comments2024-03-11T20:30:32.434-07:00Comments on Agent Provocateur: Hindus, Wendy Doniger and our fraudulent Left-liberalsKanchan Guptahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471162952586442906noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32951515.post-4771517532228106742014-03-24T04:00:41.537-07:002014-03-24T04:00:41.537-07:00Sir, when you read this article along with an exce...Sir, when you read this article along with an excerpt of your Wiki profile, one can make out you truly have retraced a long road in order to reach your far right dogmatic and archaic shelter. <br /><br />"An ardent and vocal advocate of free speech and a staunch opponent of censorship, Kanchan Gupta has....." Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32951515.post-2008856039550822912014-02-15T13:44:14.518-08:002014-02-15T13:44:14.518-08:00Actually, I think all the people you call "Le...Actually, I think all the people you call "Left-liberals" in this debate are very openly angry with Penguin for agreeing to ban a book. <br /><br />I think Rana Dasgupta, himself surely one of your "Left-liberals", put it best today, while also seeking to understand the point of view of people like you who do not accept the elitist liberal concept of free speech: <br /><br />"The boardrooms of companies with such world-conquering ambitions must surely be aware that not everyone sees the world like this. That the world is large and varied, and that the project will have its opponents. They must realise that there are millions of people out there who remain to be convinced of the importance of what they, international publishers, do. That they will receive regular attacks from all over the globe. They must have a strategy for dealing with these attacks, which are not random or surprising, but systematic, and inherent to their global publishing situation.<br /><br />Dropping an important book when it becomes too hot, and before there seems even to be any real threat from its detractors, is, to say the least, a bizarre manifestation of this presumed strategy. A vast organisation so invested in the aura of all things written might be expected to throw itself with cosmic and Voltairean passion into such a landmark melee, so impressing its allies and enemies alike with its Idea of the Book. By backing out, it signals to the outside - whatever the internal realities - that its attachment to this Idea is quite anemic. It gives those detractors the monopoly on zeal, and endows their cause with a merit it never could have earned alone. The next time there is a similar attack on one of PRH's products, wherever it arises in the world, the organisation will approach the situation with its integrity already weakened.<br /><br />The cause of the book - particularly the kind of books produced by global publishing companies - is not won. In fact, with this enlarged scale, it is entering a new infancy, where it must confront new forms of entrenched skepticism and resentment on every side. If, in these new territories - spatial and cultural - this kind of book is to be received with reverence and inquisitiveness, and not with calls for censorship, publishing houses must teach us again - and show us with their example - why books - their books - are valuable. And by "us" I mean this time not just the people who already believe it. I mean also those who "know" that those books are the source of everything wrong with the world."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01129692070489546984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32951515.post-65942188444080027292014-02-15T00:37:25.643-08:002014-02-15T00:37:25.643-08:00SIr - I could not agree more with your article - t...SIr - I could not agree more with your article - thank you!! <br />For too long, we have failed to realise that the real enemy of India is free speech and open debate. This must be ended immediately. <br />On this point, I feel we must learn from our Muslim brothers - they have excellent phrases such as 'haram' and 'infidel' that we must adopt. People like Ms doniger must be made an example of. She must be stopped. I'm sure you agree, and as an intellectual, Sir - you can explain to the world why this is necessary to prevent the totalitarianism of left-liberals.<br /><br />What worries me is that ms so-called doniger's book is being read more because of this circus. We must stop such books from appearing in the first place. The government should set up a board of censorship to read all books before publication. A list of phrases should be made that are not permitted. For example, Ms Doniger's suggested in her "book" that the sacred Ramayana was a work of fiction! Anyone who writes or speaks this phrase must be considered an enemy of Hinduism and dealt with accordingly! Only when there is fear can we ensure that slanderous opinions are not stated publicly. <br />I look forward to more of your leadership on this issue! <br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com