A New Taliban in Tamil Nadu

Ref bbabu #34

[half of brahmin females in chennai marry some non-brahmin dude.]

Centuries ago, in the book ``Les Liaisons Dangereuses``, one of the character says, ``A woman must have reason to give herself to a man. What better than to cry `rape`?``

Indian women haven`t advanced that far. They just use the word `love`.

Ref bbabu #23

{[....``It is getting clearer by the day that Tamils are ignorant morons. `` ]

Making a broad generalizations like the last statement is exactly what got Kushboo in trouble. Cuddalore is a prosperous part of Tamilnadu. Farmland sells for 2-4 lakhs per acre.}

Do you KNOW exactly what Khushboo said? Did you read the interview in India Today the first time or when it was reprinted recently?

The people who were protesting against Khushboo with sandals and rotten vegetables admitted they had not read the interview. In all probablity, they are illiterate. Most likely, they were paid Rs. 100 by the PMK to show up and protest.

Khushboo did not even say the word ``Tamil Nadu`` or ``Tamil women`` in her interview. So why should Tamil women feel that they have been insulted?

How many women show up daily at police stations in Tamil Nadu claiming to be cheated by their boyfriends and requesting police assistance? On a daily basis, how many unmarried Tamil girls commit suicide when they find they are pregnant? How many Tamil girls are unwed mothers?

Based on all this, YOU are the perfect example of what I meant when I said ``ignorant morons``.

harimau # 30

`` Tamil brahmins ARE a superior race. No one knows this better than Karunanidhi. After all, his tax accountants and lawyers are all brahmins.

The rest of India openly acknowledges it too. ``

half of brahmin females in chennai marry some non-brahmin dude.

harimau #29

`` So how many canals has the PMK de-silted in recent months that prevented floods in Cuddalore? FYI, the surroundings of Cuddalore was under water for days after the recent rains. The Collector of Cuddalore District was going around in a boat to reach villages.

Most likely, PMK is pissed that they don`t have enough people to cut down government trees which is how Ramadoss started his political career. Of course in the reality-distortion field called Tamil Nadu, he is called by his followers the ``Guardian of Greenery`` (Pasumai Kavalar).

It is getting clearer by the day that Tamils are ignorant morons. ``

Making a broad generalizations like the last statement is exactly what got Kushboo in trouble. Cuddalore is a prosperous part of Tamilnadu. Farmland sells for 2-4 lakhs per acre.

Ref dost-mittar #10

[While reading this article, I was wondering whether to call it a comedy or a tragedy.]

How can anyone think it is a comedy? It is a violation of a citizen`s right to free speeech.

Didn`t we blame the British for arresting people and jailing them for sedition for alling for India`s independence? If you consider that bad, how can you considwer the current actions good or comedic?

[You did not tell what was your chief minister`s reaction to this. Not only is she not a virgin, she didn`t even bother to marry her ``husband``.]

She is arresting only the PMK members among those who pelted Khushboo with rotten eggs and tomatoes. She is letting the Dalit Panthers go free. This is a ploy by her to split the Dalit Panthers from the PMK.

[``In the survey, 58% of college-age students in Bombay admitted to having pre-marital sex with their boyfriends``

Both boys and girls have sex with their boyfriends? ;) ]

Sorry, I was in a rush and didn`t even read the article a second time. As I came back after 6 days and looked at the article, the wrong choice of words stuck out like a sore thumb.

Anyway, blame the editor!

Ref Salim_Chauhan #11

[Very informative and interesting article. Thanks for sharing. But why blame Sardarjis for everything?]

As to truck drivers, all are not Sardarjis. The majority of them in Tamil Nadu are locals.

As to Manmohan Singh, he should have spoken up or at least tried to restrain the PMK which is part of the coalition at the Center. But since he has been castrated by his coalition partners, he has lost his manly voice and nowadays can barely eke out a squeak.

Ref theflatlanders #16

[And through all this .. business continued as usual in South India. Over $2 Bln worth of software was exported to US. 6 US Fortune 100 companies announced that they will ``enlarge`` their India operations in South India. Over 350,000 young South Indians applied for Visa to different countries in the world. Over 1 Million South Indians in the West continued to eat Idlis and Uttapum and hide Omaha Steaks and Beer from their visiting parents. The Khushboo news is as meaningless to India as Talibanism is to Pakistan. It is all about Bollywood and Corporatization baby. Rest is just a pathetic storm in a teacup.]

NO, it is about consitutional rights of the Indian citizen.

There should be no reason for anyone to self-censor his remarks. Nor can there be any attempt to muzzle someone when the Indian consitution explicitly gurantees the freedom of speech.

Was Periyar/Annadorai/Karunanidhi harassed like this when they took out processions of Hindu gods adorned with sandals? No. Instead, the police offered protection to their processions to ensure their freedom of speech. It is the same Karunanidhi who benefitted from freedom of speech who is now calling for self-censorship.

[Now if you had written about something more interesting - like how Tamil Brahmins are a superior race and are totally misundersood by rest of India - then it would make great reading.]

Tamil brahmins ARE a superior race. No one knows this better than Karunanidhi. After all, his tax accountants and lawyers are all brahmins.

The rest of India openly acknowledges it too.

Ref masanamuthu #20

[The trigger for ``protests`` against Rajini was that he commented against the ``forest brigand Veerappan`` (who is a vanniyar, BTW) as a ``rakshasa`` in Karnataka.. There were close links between ``tamil nationalists`` and Veerappan.. And commenting against Veerappan (a tamil) in Karnataka (there is a love-hate relationship between Tamils and kannadigas depending on monsoons over the river cauvery.. :-)) ) was the immediate trigger.]

So should we look at the caste of a multiple murderer before condemning him? Does caste provide protection for heinous crimes?

I remember that when Kannaki, the heroine of the Tamil epic ``Silappathikaram``, was asked by the God of Fire who should be spared while he went about destroying Madurai, Kannaki gave blanket exemption to brahmins. I would presume that is because brahmins are a peaceful lot. Should we grant blanket amnesty to Thevars when they murder Dalits in Tamil Nadu? Should some leaders of the Thevar community be asking for such amnesty? Would that be justified?

What matters: is it the caste of the criminal, the language he speaks as his mother tongue or justice for the victims?

[Moreover, the village youth (from the northern districts who they think should ideally form the workstrength of the political parties like PMK/DPI) were addicted to Tamil cinema and form the backbone for a lot of ``rasigar mandrams``(fan clubs). the political parties gripe is that these youth should ideally be helping in ``desilting canals / waterways`` or providing for their families instead of wasting time of films/movies/fan clubs.. ]

So how many canals has the PMK de-silted in recent months that prevented floods in Cuddalore? FYI, the surroundings of Cuddalore was under water for days after the recent rains. The Collector of Cuddalore District was going around in a boat to reach villages.

Most likely, PMK is pissed that they don`t have enough people to cut down government trees which is how Ramadoss started his political career. Of course in the reality-distortion field called Tamil Nadu, he is called by his followers the ``Guardian of Greenery`` (Pasumai Kavalar).

It is getting clearer by the day that Tamils are ignorant morons.

Ref Layman #22

[masanamuthu #20: Thanks for the info again.

On the issue of AIDS in India, Shatrughan Sinha is a major culprit. The former actor was the Health Minister in the previous (NDA) government and made statements such as ``AIDS is not a major problem in India.`` I feel that had we focused on AIDS much earlier, it would not have spread so much.]

The current Minister of Health has published a report stating that the increase in AIDS patients in India has been cut down by 78%.

This is pure nonsense because it is well-known that most men who visit prostitutes do not use condoms and then pass on AIDS to their wives. In fact, heterosexual contact is the primary mode of AIDS transmission in India.

When WHO questioned the statistics, the response of the Health Minister was that if the WHO did not have issues with statistics regarding any other disease in India, they should have none wrt AIDS!

Is that sticking one`s head in the sand or what?

Anbumani (``Love Jewel``) Ramadoss is the son of the founder of PMK. Ramadoss has said that he was starting the PMK only to further the cause of the Vanniar community and that if he or his family were to get positions of power, he should be whipped in a public place.

Bring out the cat o` nine tails!

Chowk Staff,
Thank you very much for this logical advice. I fully agree with your statement and request Pakihunk aka Scout and others to stop copying, doctoring, and pasting this filth that is totally unrelated to the articles on FP. She has done this on a number of FP boards and I request that you ban this multi-nicked interactor. This is a very interesting topic about the perception of comments in Tamil Nadu and I have contributed with my views.
Thanks again,

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A state where lower level officials in the judiciary allow the filing of sundry lawsuits against someone for expressing their opinion is not a free one. Further, when the lower level judiciary runs a trial where the judge presides inside a court with thugs outside throwing rotten tomatoes and eggs at the defendant`s car when she arrives, is no different from a Talibanist trial. Khushboo may not have been stoned to death but she was humiliated as a woman, several times over, in this entire ordeal. Those responsible for causing it, and, indeed their defenders, are little more than partners in a crime against a woman who spoke out about sexuality, something that she had every right to do. All the talk about conflicts within political associations, film associations etc only detracts from the fact that someone`s right to speak about what was on her mind was infringed upon. Personal differences between political groups and within film associations do not give anyone the authority to muzzle someone for saying something completely unrelated to their differences. Had Khushboo insulted someone personally, there was a law that allowed her to be sued for defamation. The fact that the Indian state became a willing accomplice to her humiliation until sanity prevailed at the level of the higher judiciary shows that India as a nation and Tamilnadu as a state are currently under the jackboot of Talibanist elements who need to be weeded out. Any delay in acting against them would only allow them to grow like the cancer within the state and country that they undoubtedly are.

masanamuthu #20: Thanks for the info again.

On the issue of AIDS in India, Shatrughan Sinha is a major culprit. The former actor was the Health Minister in the previous (NDA) government and made statements such as ``AIDS is not a major problem in India.`` I feel that had we focused on AIDS much earlier, it would not have spread so much. Chandrababu Naidu, then CM of Andhra Pradesh, was intelligent enough to realise the problem and decreed that all public meetings should have large cut-outs of condoms to remind people... not sure how well that worked, though.

Well written, harimau. Miss your caustic wit on the interacts these days. This is a mrked departure from that style, but very suitable for an opinon piece.

What bugs me the most is that celebrities make any number of ridiculous, retrogressive statements that don`t ruffle any feathers at all except perhaps a few who wince over their morning coffee and go ``What a moron``, but when somebody offers a sensible opinion that has real social relevance, our sense of Indian morality comes bubbling up to the surface, scalding everyone in its comically indignant stream.

Khushboo has no need to apologise to anyone. Manmohan Singh has already set the right precedent by declaring on World AIDS Day that Indians should lose their inhibitions when it comes to discussing sex.

Pata nahi hum kab sudrengay...

Re: # 17

Layman:


BTW, I would be interested to know why PMK etc turned against Rajinikanth as well, and did not allow his movie `Baba` to be screened in Northern TN theatres. The official reason was that Rajini `promoted` smoking and the PMK etc was opposed to it - but surely there was some other underlying reason - I know our politicians are not saints. Was it sponsored by Jayalalitha who wanted revenge against Rajini or was it another anti-outsider move?


Let me try to remember.. No PMK was against Jayalalitha at that time.. The trigger for ``protests`` against Rajini was that he commented against the ``forest brigand Veerappan`` (who is a vanniyar, BTW) as a ``rakshasa`` in Karnataka.. There were close links between ``tamil nationalists`` and Veerappan.. And commenting against Veerappan (a tamil) in Karnataka (there is a love-hate relationship between Tamils and kannadigas depending on monsoons over the river cauvery.. :-)) ) was the immediate trigger. Moreover, the village youth (from the northern districts who they think should ideally form the workstrength of the political parties like PMK/DPI) were addicted to Tamil cinema and form the backbone for a lot of ``rasigar mandrams``(fan clubs). the political parties gripe is that these youth should ideally be helping in ``desilting canals / waterways`` or providing for their families instead of wasting time of films/movies/fan clubs.. They are always eager to jump on the tamil movie industry.. And you can see that even now in the Kushboo episodes..

One good thing is that ``movie stars`` are forced to realise it is not good to promote ``smoking`` in movies. Rajini has said he is not going to smoke hereafter in movies.. and the recent ban on ``smoking`` in TV/Bollywood (I don`t know how practical it will be) is a brainchild of PMK (the cabinet minister for Health now is from PMK). These parties do represent the masses and are doing some good things..