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Intoduction: These three letters are being sent to give an indication of
the way we can look at issues from a broader perspective.
==========================Title: Indian hell
Author: Mr & Mrs Johnson, England
Publication: The Times of India
Date: December 7, 1998
Visitors from the UK, my husband and I have spent a week in Delhi, Agra
and Jaipur and are on our way to Kathmandu with a serious chest
infection.
I will advise our Tourist Board at home that India should carry a
government
health warning regarding its pollution. When reading your newspapers, I
notice that your government seems to do a lot of talking but takes
little
action. Why do you have no infrastructure? Why are your streets
filthy? Why do so many people lack even the most basic amenities? Why do
you have so many beggars? An urgent birth control programme needs to be
implemented. You desperately need to instil some civic pride.
Visiting the 'holy city' of Varanasi was like going back to mediaeval
times. Your newspapers talk of space programmes, you boast of
telecommunication services, yet you have pilgrims and communities living
and washing, cleaning and polluting the river Ganges which you worship.
Acceptance in the name of 'karma' is a whitewash; you need the desire to
progress. It strikes me as strange that the people who are in the
greatest need are the most neglected. Your people are dying' on the
streets. but India doesn't listen.
Tourists will rapidly fall in numbers. I will never recommend India to
anyone. It has cost my husband and me 3,000 pounds to be polluted by
your filthy air and streets. If I was in the Indian government, I would
be ashamed to show my country to the world: it is hell on earth.
==========================Title: Destination India
Author: Maureen Thomas, Mumbai
Publication: The Times of India
Date: December 12, 1998
I read, with growing anger, the letter from a Ms Johnson (Indian Hell,
December 7). I too am from the U.K. This is my second visit to India. I
fell in love with the country on my first visit. Has Ms Johnson not
noticed the kindness, courtesy and friendliness of the Indian people?
Can she not appreciate the diversity of culture and the wonderful food?
One can see poverty and beggars in India, but both of these exist in the
U.K. too. Some beggars in the major British cities can turn violent if
they are not given money. I have never experienced that here. There is
pollution in the U.K. as well. If Ms Johnson wants a sterile, boring
place to spend her holidays, I suggest she stick to a fortnight in
Bournemouth. If she wishes to travel, she should be prepared to accept
and respect the host country's way of life, not carp and criticise.
==========================Title: Destination India
Author: K.R. Prithvi Raj, Thane
Publication: The Times of India
Date: December 12, 1998
The letter from Mr and Ms Johnson from England projects a true picture
of our country as seen by our friends outside. The writer's frustration
and disappointment are evident. The letter should act as an eye-opener
and goad our authorities to take action. If not, the number of both
foreign and domestic tourists will dwindle.
In fact, it is always a nightmarish experience for most of us who want
to go on a holiday. From the time we make our railway reservations until
the time we take a taxi home on our return, it is one big rigmarole.
There is a pressing need to revamp the facilities provided to tourists,
especially because tourism is one of our biggest revenue earners.
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