🚀 go-pugleaf

India Interest Group Digest Wed, 16 Mar 94       Volume 2: Issue 492

Today's Topics:

Economics/Development::
      ISO 900* certificates - Further re-inforcement
      ISO 900* certification: Definitions
      ISO 9000 certification
      Is our public sector waking up ????

Entertainment::
      Films
      Movie: `Kabhi ha Kabhi Na'
      Reg. Anthony'S request
      TV series "TAMAS"

FYI::
      Grad asst in ME
      Insurance plan for visitors

Immigration::
      Bill S618
      Passport renewal

Info. Wanted::
      Carnatic Music Concerts in Austin
      Help: What is EMNET?..is it something like INTERNET?
      Info on Indian States
      Sending small gifts to India

Miscellaneous::
      Id Greetings
      Reg. contribution to India-L/D

Politics::
      Frequency of baseless attacks on Islam and Muslims
      Observation from a News Report
      Pentagon lobbying to sell F16s to Pak (Part 2/2)
      Reg. Anil Sharma, Rajiv Varma Postings
      Vande Mataram

Social Issues::
      Response to "India: A Million Mutinies"

Sports::
      Reg. Sachin Tendulkar's last over

___________________________________________________________________________
 To subscribe:
   Bitnet users:   send a mail message to LISTSERV@UTARLVM1
   Internet users: send a mail message to LISTSERV@UTARLVM1.UTA.EDU
  In the mail msg, leave the subject line blank. The first line of the mail
  msg should be:            { Here, Personal name should be a 2-part name }
   SUBSCRIBE INDIA-D Personal Name  { To subscribe to Discussion and News }
   SUBSCRIBE INDIA-L Personal Name  { To subscribe to News Digest alone }

 To unsubscribe:
  Follow the above procedure, but the first line of the mail msg should be:
   SIGNOFF INDIA-D (GLOBAL
   SIGNOFF INDIA-L (GLOBAL

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 Discussion Digest contributions     :  editor@andy.bgsu.edu
 News Digest contributions           :  india-news@andy.bgsu.edu
 Looking for requests                :  looking@andy.bgsu.edu
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 India-D is an OPEN and FREE forum for discussion of issues related to
 India and the Indian community. Dr K V Rao is the co-ordinator of the
 Network. Editors: for the Discussion & News Digests, Ms U Ramamurthy;
                   for the News Headlines, Mr M G Balakrishna Rao.

 (1) No personal attacks and insults will be allowed on the Digest.
 (2) Please include your full name in the header or as a signature.
 (3) Postings should be kept to a max. of 40 lines. Articles longer than
     this limit will be sent back to be condensed. Longer articles may be
     submitted in no more than 2 parts.
 (4) No more than one posting per person will be accepted in a 24-hr period.

 Editors/Owner of India-D are not responsible for any copyright violations
 by members who send copyrighted-material to India-D. No article(s) or
 portion(s) of article(s) from India-D may be reproduced without the written
 consent of the original author(s).
___________________________________________________________________________
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Economics/Development
                                =====================

Date: 16 Mar 94 08:30:17 LCL
From: $CMSS47@hpccmvs1.corp.hp.com
Subject: ISO 900* certificates - Further re-inforcement

Hi friends,

  THANKS to all the new info pumped into me regarding ISO certification.  The
points are well taken. Mr Chandrasekahar put it all tacitly in one line - "WE
DO WHAT WE SAY WE DO". This makes the whole process ridiculous as there is NO
CHECK on whether is is being done efficiently/correctly !!.  Mr Jayant states
that this a part of QC.  I agree with this. It looks like all the ads by
companies stating that they have obtained ISO certificates really does not mean
much to the public ,if what you guys state is true. It sounds like they are
saying " We have PROCESSES in place , they MAY be efficient ,but they are WELL
DOCUMENTED,and we make sure we follow these 'may be in-efficient' processess
diligently - So you could buy our products !!! " - Something is missing here !

  Also, if I would like to improve my market worth, I would not spend money on
documenting what I do if it is not the best way to do it.  If the costs
associated with such an exercise is prohibitive , and if the process may not
IMPROVE the quality of goods and services , why do these guys strive to obtain
this certification. Just to publish eye-catching ads ?

  Incidentally, Mr Burt, there was no intent in defaming INFOSYS. I just
happened to read this on the net( JAN 7 1994). The time period seemed very
small to me to justify the nature of this activity based on my experience in
Production planning and Software consultancy.To go thru / just browsing the
documents and understanding them ( Mind you these are the clients's documents,
and I thought it was some standards document the ISO guys would be referring
to) and finally CHECKING whether it is being followed would certainly take more
than 7 days for co-ordination and compilation. Even writing a simple software
proposal for an overseas client for ONE their areas of computerisation would
take more than 7 days !!!.

So long guys,
Thanks,
Murli

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 12:52:55 -0500
From: mboyapat@udecc.engr.udayton.edu (Murali D Boyapati (U))
Subject: ISO 900* certification: Definitions

Dear Friends,
        keeping in view the ongoing discussions, I thought that this
posting would be useful to the people following this thread.
ISO 9000: The "roadmap" to the other standards in the series.  It
   defines the quality terms used
ISO 9001: Applies to operations that design as well as produce.
   Specifies a quality set-up for use when contrats dictate a demonstration
   of a supplier's capability to design, produce, install and service the
   product.
ISO 9002: Relates to commodity businesses, where there is little design
   activity - defines quality assurance in production and installation
ISO 9003: applies no matter what the company makes.  A quality system
   model for final test and inspection
ISO 9004: is explanatory text, not a model

Source: Electronics Purchasing; January 1992 By John Kerr, Editor

Basically a paraphrase and direct quotes from source, hope this helps.
 * SLMR 2.1a *
 * SLMR 2.1a *
I will share the definitions from the ASME ISO 900 course I took in January
this year, which was sponsored by the National Technological University (Ph
303-495-6400).
ISO 9000-Guidelines ISO 9000 series selection and use.
ISO 9001-Full Quality Assurance system for Marketing, Design, Development,
   Production and installation.
ISO 9002-Production Quality System for Production and Installation.
ISO 9003-Product Quality System. Conformance at Final Test/Inspection.
ISO 9004-Guidance on technical, administrative, and human factors affecting
   Quality of products and services.
ISO 8402-Quality Vocabularity.
ISO 10011-Guidelines for Auditing Quality Systems.
ISO 10012-QA Requirements for Measuring Equipment (DIS).
ISO 9001 thru ISO 9003 are the primary certification standards and relate to
   the portion of the business entity to be certified. It closely parrallels
   concurrent engineering and integrated product development and is
   complimentary to it.
        I hope this helps few people who would have liked to know what ISO 9000
is all about.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 20:52:59 -0600 (CST)
From: Makarand P Joshi <majoshi@plains.NoDak.edu>
Subject: ISO 9000 certification

   Hi everybody!!
   Did u know that 275 companies in India are all set to get the ISO 9000
   certification in 1994? So, now u know it's no big deal anymore.
   It's just another quality fad like Total Quality Management and others
   but it does do a lot of good as the company has to stick to the
   stipulated standards. It's more like a computer software which can
   be hired or copied from someone else and integrated with ur system.
   But, just like softwares,  the first among companies who get it
   (including Kirloskar Cummins Limited, Pune, the one I worked for) are
   great cos they have to put in a lot of original work.
   Let's wait till the next fad then.
   take care,
   Makarand Joshi.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 09:40:02 -0500 (EST)
From: ayikudy_srikanth@wellfleet.com
Subject: Is our public sector waking up ????

Hi,
  This is in reference to Mr.Murali's posting blaming public sector
industries. I tend to agree with Mr.Chandrashekar's arguments that
the sleepy elephants are waking up. I visited India last month
and I flew by Air-India. I had heard a lot of horror stories about Air-India
and so I prepared myself for the worst. But Boy! was I surprised!!!! The
service had me floored. I couldn't believe it. The air hostesses were actually
very friendly and human. I flew TWA from chicago to NY and TWA did not transfer
my baggage to Air India. So when I arrived in Madras, I did not have my baggage
with me. As soon as I landed in Madras, two air india people escorted me to
the baggage claims office, gave me refreshments and then paid me Rs.1500 as
initial expenses. They even enquired if I was on a business trip and whether
I would need a suit. Then they kept me informed everyday over the phone as to
the status of my baggage. Then on the fourth day, it arrived and I went to
collect it. They paid me another Rs.300 for cab fare. They baggage claims people
were absolutely fabulous. It was a pleasant trip contrary to expectations.

It is true!! We are waking up to face the competition....

- Srikanth

------------------------------

                                Entertainment
                                =============

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 23:20:32 +0000
From: seth r <s9312823@oxford-brookes.ac.uk>
Subject: Films

Below is a little 'snippet' out of my Bollymail magazine that I thouthgt the
non subscribers might enjoy.

           CLASSIFICATION OF LAST YEARS FILMS (1993)

AA ( BUMPER HIT)
        Aankhen
A1 (SUPER HIT)
        Darr
        KhalNayak
        Anari
        Baazigar
        Tiranga
A (HIT)
        Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke
BB ( OVERFLOW)
        Roja (dubbed)
        Dalaal
        Muqabla
        Lootere
        Phool aur Angaar
        Waqt hamara Hai
        Rang
B1 (COMMISION EARNER)
        Aashiq awaara
        Aaina
        Gardish
        Sir
        Gumrah
COVERAGE TO COMMISION
        Sangraam
        Aadmi
        Kundan
        Platform
        Krishan Avtaar

For any more information please email me on - s9312823@brookes.ac.uk
Ravi

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 08:56:57 -0500 (EST)
From: mahesh.nitsure@fi.gs.com (Mahesh Nitsure)
Subject: Movie: `Kabhi ha Kabhi Na'

Hi netters,
This is for Movie : Kabhi ha Kabhi Na !!

I saw this movie this sunday I got excited. Please Don't compare with Kundan
Shah's earlier movie the great 'Jane bhi DO Yaro' which was totally different.
I started apprecating Sharukh khan a lot now a days. This Actor is going to
reach far --. I admire his roles and his decisions to take challenging and
unconventional roles like in Daar, Bazigar. Actors like him only can do it.
No body ever tried to do that when they were on Top.
In Kabhi Ha --  He acts exetremely fundu. He acts so naturally that you start
loving the character. Please donot avoid this movie. Points 7-8 out of 10.
Even songs are good.

Mahesh Nitsure

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 20:17:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: BASU_AVI@bentley.edu (Avijit Basu)
Subject: Reg. Anthony'S request

I was reading about Anthony DCosta's request regarding good INDIAN MOVIES.
It would be easier if you can explain exactly what educational purpose you
want to serve. In any case good Indian movies started with maestro
Satyajit Ray's movies. Look for his movies.. followed by Mrinal Sen, Ritwik
Ghatak, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal, Goutam Ghosh, Tapan Sinha. There
are few others also, depending on your need.

Sounds like an interesting project...GOOD LUCK!!

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 13:19:23 -0600 (CST)
From: 931APARASO@MERLIN.NLU.EDU
Subject: TV series "TAMAS"

Hi guys!
        I am big fan of Govind Nihlani. Can anybody tell me where to find
TV series "TAMAS"(Bhisham Sahni)?
Note: I enjoy movie reviews you guys write.

RAJENDER

------------------------------

                                FYI
                                ===

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 07:24:31 -0600 (CST)
From: SURIS@HARPO.TNSTATE.EDU (Srinivas Suri)
Subject: Grad asst in ME

HI
I'm posting this on behalf of a prof.  He has one opening
for a Grad Asst post in the area of materials (Diamond Coating) starting as
early as this summer 94.  If you are interested in joining the
Mastes program send an ascii formatted resume to his address.  The last date
to apply is 30 March 94.

His email address is :
Internet: chauduri@harpo.tnstate.edu
Bitnet: chauduri@tsu

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 16:44:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: JK <JKHANNA@CENTER.COLGATE.EDU>
Subject: Insurance plan for visitors

I would like to thank everyone who responded to my request for information on
an insurance plan for visitors.  I also got a lot of requests for all the
information I have on this subject, so I will summarize below all that I know.
The list, of course, is not exhaustive and I cannot vouch for any plan/agent at
this time.

Agent/Plan                      Premium per person              Benefits

Seabury&Smith                   $155 per month           $50,000 max;$150
                                                         deductible per incident
                                                         80% of expenses paid

Tel:1-800-282-4495

Visit USA                       $203 per month          $50,000 max;$100 dedc;
                                                        80% coinsurance to
                                                        first $5000;after that
                                                        100% paid
Tel:800-937-1387

David Barr                      $160 per month          $50,000;$150 dedc;
                                                        80% of expenses paid
(this plan does NOT pay for heart related problems-all the others do not
specify this explicitly).
Tel:800-783-BARR

Community Ins. Agency           $178 per month          $50,000; $150 dedc;
                                                        If dedc raised to $1000
                                                        premium goes to $153
                                                        per month.
This is advertised in India Abroad-I do not have their phone number.

All of the above premiums are for age group 60-65.

That's all the information I have on this subject.  Hope it is useful for all
those who requested it.

Jyoti

------------------------------

                                Immigration
                                ===========

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 15:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Sanjeev Bhatia <0004989596@mcimail.com>
Subject: Bill S618

I have received several questions from my posting regarding this bill with most
frequently asked is, "HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM".

Most of the senators don't have E-MAIL accounts as of yet but I do have Fax
numbers for some of them (SEE BELOW). Here's the information that might be
helpful to get you all started. You may call the U.S. Senate main switch board
at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to connect you with your home state senators
office.

FAX NUMBERS:

Sen. Kennedy: (202) 224-2417
Sen. Simpson: (202) 224-3424
Sen. Simon:   prefer U.S. Mail - send to
                462 Dirksen
                Washington D.C. 20510
Sen. Warner:  (202) 224-6295

Even though this bill does'nt mpact me directly, but I think the time has come
to voice our opinion in matters that effect our friends and loved ones.

Another way to get a campaign going is to contact your local Indian news paper,
TV shows and request them to get involved. They have the resources (MAIL LIST)
of local Indian community and leaders, who may be interested in stepping into
this campaign.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 20:32:05 +0100 (MET)
From: Jainamma Mathew <jaina@kiku.dk>
Subject: Passport renewal

Hi Netters,

Any suggestions regarding renewing an expired passport from abroad?.

The Indian embassy recommended me to either go to Madras (where my passport
is issued) and renew it or to leave it with them for 3 months for them
to get the permission from madras and do the necessary paper works. The
best they can do for me is to renew it for 6 months . I will be in Bombay
for a week in May '94. According to the Embassy, unless I know some
people at the passport office in Madras it is impossible to get this
work done in a short time.

Has any of you ever come across similar problem with a better solution?.
If so, please pass it on.

Thanks in advance
Best regards
jainamma

------------------------------

                                Info. Wanted
                                ============

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 09:32:49 -0600 (CST)
From: Ravi Vedantam <ravi@PANAM1.PANAM.EDU>
Subject: Carnatic Music Concerts in Austin

I have heard that U. Srinivas and Ramani are going to be performing in
Austin on April 9,10. I have very sketchy details about the time and place
of the events. If anybody at UT-Austin could send me more details on these
concerts, then I can plan and spread the word around to my friends here in
McAllen, TX. Some of them might be interested in attending the concerts.

Thanks
Ravi

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 11:23:01 -0500 (EST)
From: A MUTHU <A_MUTHU@PAVO.CONCORDIA.CA>
Subject: Help: What is EMNET?..is it something like INTERNET?

Hello everybody! I have a question for all you fellow net gurus. Recently, I
came across the fact that UAE, and other Far-Eastern countries have now been
connected to the EMNET. I asked a friend of mine to forward me the info, the
papers said, with EMNET, you can send e-mail to people all over the world,
including India, USA, CANADA, far-eastern countries, Europe, Australasia, etc.
The specifications said: the computers/networks that handle EMNET are ATT-Mail/
IBM 32?? (something, I don't quite remember). My question is: With an account
on EMNET, can you send e-mail to a person who is on the INTERNET, and
vice-versa? This EMNET thing is totally new to me, I am trying to find some
good books to research on EMNET but I don't know which one's to look for. Any
help in this regard would also be appreciated. Do you think EMNET is connected
to the INTERNET somehow/somewhere? Thankyou-all for your help/suggestions.

Take it easy!
A Muthu

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 19:48:59 -0500 (EST)
From: Sanjay Sharma <ssci+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Info on Indian States

Hi!
I  need the following information for a project that I am doing.

Information of indivisual Indian States for 1988:
Total Revenue each state,
Share of Income,
Taxes on Income,
Taxes on Property and Capital
Taxes on Commodities and Services
Total Tax Revenue collected
Non-tax revenue
Grants recieved from Center
Total Receipts, and Loans taken from the Center.

I realize that this may be alot of work and also that you may not have
the information. I have got information on all the previous and susequent
years but am missing out this particular year.
Pls email if you can help me out on this.
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Sanjay Sharma.

P.S. if you know of some one else that I could contact or where I could
find this information, I would be obliged if you forward it to me.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 11:25:02 -0500 (EST)
From: "B. R. Yama" <BRYAMA00@UKCC.uky.edu>
Subject: Sending small gifts to India

Hellow ! Netters
I am looking for some info on sending small gifts to India by mail. Is there a
limit on the maximum worth of the item that can be sent? Are there any clearanc
es to be sought before mailing? Keeping in mind the possibility of "lost parcel
s", which is the best mode of mailing (registered / insured / other) ?

I would much appreciate your response and thanks for your time.

Babu Rao Yama

------------------------------

                                Miscellaneous
                                =============

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 00:04:51 -0500 (EST)
From: talukdar@hal.hahnemann.edu (Talukdar)
Subject: Id Greetings

Id greetings to all my friends and fellow nettors.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 16:56:27 -0500 (EST)
From: vish.kohli@sdrc.com (Vish Kohli)
Subject: Reg. contribution to India-L/D

  I do not see how we can justify the approach of going on a fund drive
  (including the one going on now) to meet the goals, for the following
  reasons:

  1. It keeps the student (who will get the a/ship) from having peace of mind
     if financial support is uncertain for him after 1 year.

  2. The beneficiaries of the service who did/do not contribute are not NEEDY
     people so that a minority of people who DO contribute be required to do
     charity for them.  Moreover getting the service is not a basic need of
     life for everybody but is a luxury; it is not justified for one to
     have a luxury and have someone else foot the bill, even if voluntarily.

  3. There is no guarantee that members who have contributed this time will
     pay again later. Rather the likelihood is less that they will pay
     again (since they will feel it proper for someone else to pay for a
     change).

  4. The amount of effort required for a fund-drive is frustrating (you
     know that already) and not justifiable to be inflicted upon the
     administrator Dr Rao or any other member of the foundation.
     After all the service is a luxury, not a basic need of life.

  5. A small mandatory amount from (the large no. of) members will be
     sufficient to meet the goals

  6. Since you will have the amount upfront in a particular timeframe, you
     will also be able to plan how to use the money (in a fund drive money
     comes in upredictable and sporadically)

  I therefore appeal that all members be asked to contribute a fixed amount -
  $2 or $5 (whatever you may deem fit)- to continue to receive the service. By
  asking for an amount that just breaks even with your requirements the
  foundation will continue to maintain its status as a no-profit organization.

  If the needs go down next year (e.g. no need to buy wrkstation next yr again)
  the mandatory subscription-amount could be reduced accordingly.

------------------------------

                                Politics
                                ========

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 08:08:47 -1000 (HST)
From: arshad@uhics.ics.Hawaii.Edu (Mohammed A Hussain)
Subject: Frequency of baseless attacks on Islam and Muslims

The frequency of baseless attacks on Islam and Muslims have been
increasing day by day, and the editors do not seem to take note
of the situation.  The objectives of India-D should include that
"No attacks should be made against religion of others, and one
should respect other faiths too".  We are here for a cultural
co-existance, and not to fight about religion, and spoil the whole
scenario of upholding brotherhood.

As is evident from the postings, there are more postings from Hindus
resorting to attacks on other religions.  We have to realize that
Indians are not the only ones who subscribe to India-D, and let us
not try to prove that the hatred is deep-rooted, and if that's the
case we are trying to justify the communal violence that has happened
in the recent past.

I appeal to the editors, to carefully consider articles that insult
or attack other faiths.

Arshad

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 16:31:36 -0500 (EST)
From: sbhati86@Calvin.EDU (Sanjay Bhatia)
Subject: Observation from a News Report

Hello everyone,
        I was very surprised to read the following item in a News
report from India-D.
>     "Never have I felt so hopeless as I do today, when Muslims are
>just not wanted in this country," said Rafiq Zakaria, a Muslim
>author and former member of parliament from Bombay. "There is a
>whole campaign of hate going on. A systematic effort is being made
>to show how intolerant, how regressive ... how almost primitive and
>barbaric Muslims are."

Mr. Rafiq Zakaria is by far one of the biggest criminals who i have
been hearing about from a very good friend of mine.  He is a Parsi
from Bombay and his family has had a terrible experience with Mr.
Zakaria.  Their family owns a very beautiful 3 story building in Cuff
Parade (Bombay, India) and Zakaria had rented an apartment in the
same.  When one of my friend's uncle passed away, Zakaria was able to
get the police to seal the apartment for a very stupid reason...and
finally, took over the same.  The value of this apartment is very
high and this is an obvious scam.  Mr. Zakaria is/was in the US at a
very top I.V. League school doing his MBA and is probably reading this
too.  As for him, he is planning to move to the US very soon also.
        Now this is not a case of character assasination but becuase
of the threats of government action, torment and financial loss that
my good friend's family has had to go through, I am forced to write
this.  Hope this opens at least some people's eyes to see what kind of
crooks are interviewed by the Western media to fulfill their own
purposes.  Next time, I hope they interview someone who has been
affected seriously and truthfully so that we can better understand the
situation and hopefully even do something about it.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 08:44:35 -0600 (CST)
From: ramr@cyrix.com (Ramesh Ramamritham)
Subject: Pentagon lobbying to sell F16s to Pak (Part 2/2)

********************* BEGIN DRAFT LETTER ********************************
                                     March 13, 1994
Dear Senator:
Prakash is a non-governmental and non-profit organization on India and
of Indians seeking to influence India policy in Washington and policy in
New Delhi.  Our several thousand participants include scientists, academics,
engineers, professionals, and students.  We are concerned about Pentagon^Rs
new proposal for a one-time exception to the Pressler amendment permitting
the sale of US F-16 aircraft, capable of delivering nuclear weapons, to
Pakistan.
Such an exception would effectively repeal the Pressler amendment and
rescind any accrued long-term benefits.  It would irreversibly change US
India policy and Indian policy with respect to Pakistan^Rs nuclear weapons
program.
Further, this move is contrary to public assurances given by senior adminis
-tration officials including the Secretary of State, his Deputy, and the
Under-Secretary for International Security Affairs.
The Pentagon^Rs proposal comes at a time when four out of 10 companies
investing in India are American.  In the last one year, Indo-US trade has
grown sharply  --  US exports are increasing rapidly and the US is now
India^Rs largest trading partner.  As indicated by the Department of Commerce,
identifying India as one of the ten big emerging markets for US products,
bilateral trade opportunities are abundant.
This proposal, if passed, will be viewed by India and Indian- Americans as
a US endorsement of Pakistan^Rs nuclear weapons program and thereby prove
disastrous to Indo-US relations.
Additionally, it will trigger an arms-race in South Asia, thus diverting
billions of dollars from essential development programs, to a tense situation
reminiscent of the cold-war era.  It will also inadvertently alienate the
one million Indian-Americans, already seriously concerned about the recent
anti-India trend in US foreign policy.
In the interest of economic opportunities, peace, and stability, we urge you
to firmly oppose efforts to compromise the ideals of the Pressler amendment.

Sincerely,
Aravind Sitaraman for Prakash

************************ END DRAFT LETTER **********************************

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 02:45:29 +0000 (GMT)
From: asjose@v9001.ntu.ac.sg
Subject: Reg. Anil Sharma, Rajiv Varma Postings

Anil> It is about time to realize that there was no John or Khan in our
Anil> land before 1050 A.D.

As per the church history, St. Thomas, an apostile of Christ came to
India in A.D 51. He reached Kodungaloor and preached till he was
killed in Chinnamalai, Mylapore in A.D. 72. I am not sure whether any
of the early Christians in India accepted the name John.
So what?. There was no John or Khan in our (whose?) land before 51
A.D. It is about time to realize that these kind of ideas would only
help to divide the people of India. Correct me if I am wrong.

Rajiv> Pan-Islamism, Islam is evil.

Every posting by Rajiv Varma ends in one thing; Islam is evil and it is
the cause of all the problems in India. It is very unfortunate to see that
Varma goes on to the extent that any average secular muslim who read this
would think he should defend his religion.

Hinduism is a rich faith. Hindus should be proud of that. That does not
mean that every other religion is evil.

Thanks to the Hindu majority who do not think what Rajiv and Anil think
which makes living in India still possible.

Jose

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 15:39:54 -0800 (PST)
From: Ken.Bryant@mtsg.ubc.ca
Subject: Vande Mataram

    The song "Vande Mataram", as others have noted, was taken from
Bankim Chandra Chatterji's novel "Anandamath".  The novel concerns
the sannyasi rebellion in northern Bengal in 1773.  Bengal was then in
transition between Mughal rule and British.  The sannyasis in the novel
describe the purpose of their campaign as "to drive away the drunken
longbeards" (i.e., Muslims).  First the sannyasis defeat the Muslims; then
they are in turn defeated by the British.
    Is the novel likely to be offensive to Muslims?  While both British and
Muslims are depicted as enemies of the sannyasis, the British are
portrayed as heroic, noble adversaries; the Muslims are portrayed as
greedy and cowardly.  (See for example chapter 10, part one).
The sannyasis attack Muslim villages and burn
them down, an act of which the novel clearly approves (chapter 1, part three).
When the first English translation was published in 1900,
the translator, Naresh Chandra Sen-Gupta, wrote in
his introduction:  "Now one thing that would be
patent to every reader of this novel is that its heroes are frankly hostile
to Mussulmans".  Asit Bandyopadhyaya, in his "History of Modern
Bengali Literature", notes that "the tirade against the Muslims is
actually a disguised attack on the tyrannical British administration"--
which is true, but doesn't change the fact that the novel is indeed a
tirade against Muslims.
    Aside from its context in the novel, is the song itself likely to be
acceptable to Muslims?  The problem here is an ambiguity about who
the "mother" is.  On the one hand, we are told in the novel that "mother"
is Mother India; and for the first three stanzas of the song there is nothing
to complicate this identification.  Stanza four, however, says:
"tvam hi durga dasha-praharana-dharini, kamala kamala-dala-biharini,
bani bidya-dayini..."--i.e., "You are Durga with her ten weapons,
Lakshmi who rests on lotuses, Sarasvati who gives knowledge".
Several passages in the novel reinforce this association between
Mother India and Mother Goddess, most dramatically one passage
(chapter 11) in which a man repeating the words "vande mataram"
receives a revelation of the form of Kali.
    While it is a powerful song with a noble history, to force
Muslim citizens of India to sing it is as unacceptable as it would
be to force Hindu citizens to recite "There is no God but Allah".
The only conceivable purpose of such a law is to humiliate
Muslims.
                                                --Ken Bryant

------------------------------

                                Social Issues
                                =============

Date: Mon, 14 Mar 1994 18:37:45 -0500
From: chetan@vp1.med.harvard.edu (Chaitanya Hiremath)
Subject: Response to "India: A Million Mutinies"

This posting is in response to the member who wrote on,
"India: A Million Mutinies".

I just want to remind the madam that she has been comparing
apples with oranges. India has a very rich culture, we respect
women more than anybody else on the surface of the earth. We have been
taught to see women as a sister or a mother. We also regard our mothers
to a living GOD. We choose our life partner only once and live happily
ever after.  Statistical extremities are only an exception. I am sorry
to mention that, in USA the relationship between a male and a female
is more of an animal nature. I donot wish to elaborate on this.

A proud Indian,
Chaitanya

------------------------------

                                Sports
                                ======

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 09:04:00 +0100
From: Akshay.Bakhai@CTRL.bbl-test.rtt.be
Subject: Reg. Sachin Tendulkar's last over

     I was watching the Hero Cup semi-finals between India and S-Africa,
live India batted first and posted a good score for SAfrica to fight back.
India was on the way to a comfortable victory, with the top order
SAfrican batsmen all back to the pavillion for a humble score.
     However, as is always the problem with Indian one-day games, they lost
the initiative when one of the middle order batsmen started hitting our
bowlers all over the field.  From an asking run rate of 8-9 runs per ove
r in the last few overs of the match and with no recognized batsmen
around, the situation reached to just 4 runs off the last over.
     As I was watching it live in India, with roomfull of people, the
feeling was of thorough dejection.  The noise on the streets also subsid
ed as everyone gave up hopes of winning the semis, despite a brilliant
start by India in that match.
     The last over had to be bowled.
     TV cameras panned on to Azhar, the skipper, giving over the ball to
one of the greatest bowlers, but currently out-of-form, Kapil Dev.
As they were discussing the strategy to adopt to save off 4 runs from 6
balls, Sachin Tendulkar, the Vice captain, joined them.  And it appeared
that he took away the ball from Kapil.  Remember, this was a live covera
ge, so as we were watching events unfold, we had no explanations as to
what and why is something happening.
     So, Sachin took away the ball.  It was his first and last over of
that match.  Trying to get the right line and length against an attacking
batsman who had torn away Prabhakr, Srinath and Kapil over the last few
overs.  We all were even more dejected.  Whatever little hopes we had al
so vanished into thin air.  Only consolation was that the in-form
batsman was at the runners end.
     Anyway, Sachin bowled a fantastic over, in which one of the batsman
was run-out, and eventually SAfrica managed to score ONLY 1 RUN in that over
     Needless to say, the interview of Sachin after the victory was drowned
in the noise of the celebrations that were going on the streets.
     Yes, in retrospect, we won the semis thanks to that brilliant one over
from SachinT.
     The tension, and then the rejoicing that followed, could not be
explained by any words.  It had to be experienced.

------------------------------

End of India Interest Group Digest
**********************************