Author: M.V. Kamath
Publication: Outlook
Date: November 1, 1995
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/diary.asp?fodname=19951101&authorname=M%2EV%2E+Kamath&subsubsecname=Bombay
Some time ago, The Hindustan Times
asked me to review a book by Asghar Ali Engineer, generally considered
to be a Muslim liberal, on Muslims in India.In the book Engineer was somewhat
defensive about Aurangzeb's levying of the juziya on Hindus and issues
like building new temples (Aurangzeb forbade it). I was critical of Engineer--on
valid grounds--and wondered what the reaction would be from the newspaper's
Muslim readers. Either nobody wrote in or what came in the mail was too
hot to handle in the Letters to the Editor column. Then, out of the blue,
I received a copy of the News From Indian, a weekly published from New
Delhi. I was shocked to read it. An article by the journal's assistant
editor, Shahid Amir, gave away the magazine's political complexion. It
spoke of "communal-fascist Hindus", the "communal Hindu propaganda of The
Times of India", "bigoted Hindu Krishna bhakts" and how "the lifeless clay
icon of the Krishna (sie) proved to be the stinking rot of the gutter before
the might of Allah and Islam". In a long article reeking of insults, Mr
Amir talked about how Hindus "rendered spineless, timid and squeamish through
worship of 33 crore gods and goddesses" would be no match for Muslims "whose
sajda before the only Allah make their muscles steely and uncompromising".
1 would hate to quote more passages. But I wonder how such journalism passes
the Press Council's eyes.
Once Is Not Enough
I will be told not to mind the
language of News From India since it
would not reflect the thinking
of mainstream Muslims. I am not so sure. Vikas Publishing House has sent
me a copy of Omar Khalidi's book, Indian Muslims Since Independence, which
is no less virulent in the language used. Mr Khalidi is described as a
native of Hyderabad who took his PhD in Islamic Studies from the University
of Wales. He objects to Hinduism being "an inclusive religion" and insists
that "the tendency of Hinduism to absorb other religions is threatening
Muslims, Christians and Sikhs". According to him, the Indian elite have
tried to sabotage Muslim identity at many levels. I recommend this book
to Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, a fellow-Hyderabadi, to read and ponder over.
You Can't Beat The Mob
IN the late '40s, when I was a
reporter for the Free Press Journal,
I used to visit the Secretariat
(now called Mantralaya) in Bombay every day for news. It was easy to drop
in on ministers, most of whom I knew personally and had easy access to.
But then most of the time they did not have to cope with hangers on and
favour- seekers. The corridors of the Secretariat were empty. Recently,
I had reason to call on Maharashtra's chief minister and had to go to the
Mantralaya. The corridors were literally choked with people waiting to
see the chief minister (and other ministers). How on earth any minister,
in such circumstances, puts in an honest hour of work beats me. There was
a good deal of pushing and shoving and I had to literally charge through
a crowd to keep my appointment with the hon'ble gentleman. I wouldn't want
to repeat the performance again. I might lose my dentures.
Action, Justice Sawant
The new Chairman of the Press Council
of India, Justice Sawant,
recently said that hiring editorial
staff in newspapers on a contract basis, where permanent work was involved,
was a practice "detrimental to the freedom of the press" and the matter
could be taken up under the Industrial Disputes Act. He said journalists
could approach the state and Central governments in this regard. The only
paper one known about which hires journalists on 'contract' is published
from Bombay, Delhi and Ahmedabad and I would suggest to the learned judge
that he himself take up the issue on a suo moto basis. It is time some
newspaper barons are put on the mat.
Monitoring Medicine
I'M not sure that doctors will
be happy at the suggestion of the
Medical Council of India (Ma) that
they should put up outside their consulting rooms a small board with detail
of the fees charged for services rendered. That would bring the practice
of medicine to the level of barber shops where boards state what it would
cost to have a hair cut, a shave, a shampoo or just a plain massage. The
argument adduced is that a patient must know beforehand what the charges
of a particular doctor would be so that he is able to select a doctor who
suits him. I think this is hogwash. Most people have family doctors and
their charges are known. If the family doctor suggests that specialist
be consulted, the patient would have a rough idea about how much he may
have to shell out. But the MCI has a point. Far too often, doctors are
known to charge outrageous fees, especially if surgery is involved, but
there must be some other way of putting an end to such practices.
Those Were The Days
ONCE upon a time there was a famous
book shop in Bombay
called the Popular Book Depot whose
proprietor was the late Ganesh Bhatkal. A regular visitor to the shop was
Nani Palkhivala. In those days (1936-42) Nani was a poor student but Bhatkal
would allow him to spend as many hours as he pleased browsing and even
taking a few books home without charge. In a Ganesh Ramrao Bhatkal Memorial
Lecture the other day, Nani recalled this: "Not once did Bhatkal tell me
that I was taking advantage of his generosity.... If he were alive today
I would have an irresistible impulse to touch his feet." Nani recalled
Wordsworth's lines: "That best portion of a good man's life, his little,
nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." Ganesh Bhatkal could
not have received a greater tribute.
