After reading the article and messages, there seems to be a clear division in the way of thinking among people. On one hand, we have the "IF YOU SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT INDIA YOU ARE NOT PATRIOTIC" club. On the other hand, a club which seems to temper its enthusiasm and pride in India's achievements with the right doses of reality.
I for one have always believed that generalization of any kind is not correct. While India is on the brink of achieving real greatness, America has in the past, and will for the forseeable future, remain one of the most powerful nations in the world. As citizens of India and residents of the US, we will always be knocked for having divided loyalties and that will be something I have to learn to live with.
That being said, if the realists on both sides, can get together and forge a plan for the general upliftment of the beaten down sections our own societies, can you imagine how much better the world will be?
As a person, who has family in Mumbai, and, having visited New Orleans in better times, my heart goes out to the people of both cities. May they have the power and resolve to rebuild a safer New Orleans and make Mumbai a truly world class city.
Initially it sounds as if its an impartial piece of writing. But it turns out to be too long, boring piece of a legal case. The author has taken up the role of an advocate for the US. Its idiotic and its considering that people as dependent on his convincing of the US case. bullshit will be a correct description of all such matter. Plesae avoid encouraging such mercineries to take over Rediffmail.
Hello Rambhau, I can not understand what you have written. You hold such a responsible position having such a nice IIT degree. Your job is not to abuse the email or emailer but as a responsible and loyal US citizen (I think you are) you are also an Indian......share some thoughts on risk management which India needs to tackle these problems. All of our efforts should be targetted not to abuse such emails but to learn something from what happened.
Though I agree with Mr Kelkar but there are still certain aspects in which I disagree. My comments will be centred on 1)government of 2 cities 2)people 3)Ideology 1)There is hardly any question that the US government is far more supperior, well planned and Honest than the Indian counter parts. The relief and rescue operations in New orleans were much more prompt and methodological. Thus even though Mumbai has sprung back to narmalcy there are places very close to mumbai where the relief is yet to reach 2) The people: We have ourselves blamed Mumbai of being unsensitive to other people during the normal course of business but they have often shown the tendency to rise up to the occassion. I myself was stuck up in the rains and I hardly noticed any body taking advantage of the situations. I saw slum dwellers helping school children stuck up in the rains. People walked by unattended jwellery shops but there was no untoward inidence My wife lost her purse in the chaos but some unknown person called us to tell that he had found it. I dont want to just highlight the positives, there well aslo incidents where the sterios were stolen parked vehicles
It is very wrong to compare the Mumbai deluge to what happened in New Orleans recently or vice versa. Lessons need to be learnt from both the unfortunate events and all need to be better prepared for the worst.
Those childish habits along the lines "My parents are better than yours" doesn't go away after ages. I am a resident of mumbai and I was their on road, stuck in a bus on that unfortunate day. People have been helpful and demonstrated humanity because it was in their reach. I agree to the following para of yours
"New Orleans is not Mumbai. Getting assistance into a city which is 80 per cent under water which is 20 feet deep in places and has nowhere to go is quite different from ankle-deep, waist-deep, or even neck-deep water, which drains away albeit ever so slowly. A city drowning in a lake is not the same as a city flooded by admittedly unprecedented levels of rain that floods the drainage system."
What happened and what followed in New Orleans is quite natural. There is nothing to compare. There is nothing to feel happy or proud about Mumbai. Similarily there are no reasons to make ugly inhumane remarks about New Orleans.
Each day brings in new hope and along with it, new challenges. May everyone live in peace.
The line about the change from self-deprecating to self-glorification was interesting. Why should that be a problem? Problems are at both the places, politicians are corrupt in both countries, if they are more developed than certainly we are more humane. Looting, rape and murder happened in New Orleans, no one can say it will not happen in other places in US. If Banda Aceh mayor was involved in this loot than it doesn't justify the whole thing. In mumbai, if you believe that there were no opportunites for looting then you are mistaken. Probably some loot was involved as well. But we did not hear a case in which some stranded female was raped by people at large, neither did we see/hear a murder incident with someone taking advantage of a helpless soul. Our society, economy, governence will take some time before we can come out of the effects of historical plundering of our country by british. We will certainly come out of it. Meanwhile, why point fingures at ourselves and suspect even our good deeds. And don't draw comparisons with China at every 2nd moment. China is a social, envir & political disaster. Good luck to them if they are able to clear the mess they are hiding.
The subject itself talks my mind. What else can we expect from Ram who is currently staying in the most developed nation and sitting in a nice A/C room having a nice cool PC in front of him. Debacle is debacle when we talk, think.. no excuse please.. US failed is a fact and having all the facilities such as accurate weather predictions, state-of-the-art communication system (satellite phones and many other) at their disposal still they lack that particular instinct. By the way, why New-Orleans was out of communication for so long when they must be having satellite phones which does not depend on land-lines or anything else ? other surprising fact is, they didnt have high capacity pumps and generators to drain water ? This and many other aspects are possible to illustrate.. but Ram you will not think of this and more but you will feel happy to snatch away the happiness people get by saying Mumbai is superior than US..Any comments ?
I agree with the overall argument of Ram. But what belies me is his attempt a subtle justification for the arson and looting that took place in New Orleans post Katrina. Is rape and murder a justified reaction to not getting food and water for 3 to 4 days. Let us not forget that even in Mumbai there were people who dod not help even after 3-4 days. But no such thing happened. Ram is only trying to satisfy his ego since he is working in the US. We Indians are better humans and definately ready to help each other in time of crisis. This is infact part of our culture. Ram seems to have forgotten this since he stays in the US
