...But November isn't September, 2008 isn't 2001, Pakistan isn't Afghanistan and India isn't America. So perhaps we should reclaim our tragedy and pick through the debris with our own brains and our own broken hearts so that we can arrive at our own conclusions Full Story »
Posted by Shams Kazi
Arundhati Roy is one of the clearest voices out of India. This difficult and long analysis rejects simple explanations for the attacks at Mumbai. The atmosphere of fascism and lack of justice in India and hate attacks by hindus must be taken into consideration.
It is scary to hear there may be more FOX news-like broadcasters in India than there are in the US. No wonder Bush is trying to give them nuclear aid and ignoring the non-proliferation treaty.
I found it difficult to summarise Roy's arguments. It seems the main point of the piece is that "we" (?) must choose between "justice" and "civil war"; the logic the writer used to get to this conclusion was poor, in my view. The piece provided many accurate (as far as I can tell) and uncomfortable facts about terrorism and politics in India, e.g. a great deal of state-sponsored violence by numerous Indian governments in Kashmir or against Muslims had gone unpunished or even unnoticed. The tone of the piece is passionate, eloquent and almost apocalyptic. Given Roy's social activism, this is perhaps not surprising.
I found that some of Roy's articles were very effective at blasting through the evasions, excuses and lies proffered by governments, corporations or even by individual such as you and me, and revealing some of the great injustices in the world with clarity, passion and eloquence. On the other hand, her pieces can also be one-sided, simplistic, overly moralistic and possibly detrimental to understanding an issue. In the current Indian context, I believe her voice to be a valuable one.
Brilliant, insightful essay that provides essential background for understanding the complex issues facing India and her neighbors today. Roy calls for clear-eyed self-scrutiny and acknowledgment of India's internal history, factions, and questionable actions as essential context for determining the future: will India choose Justice or Civil War?
Roy also compares the current moment in India with George Bush's response to 9/11--yet carefully separating the two. I applaud her comparisons, and her insights that India must not make the same mistakes. I fear the US tends to see the Mumbai attacks through a self-centered view that will guide US policy toward ignorant and heavy-handed actions in highly volatile issues that have little or nothing to do with the USA. We could do well to follow Roy's advice and take a hard look at ourselves.
Arundhati Roy has properly deconstructed a media talking point with this piece. First, she gives us the reasons why the mediocre comparison of the Mumbai attacks to 9/11 are invalid. Then she gives us the resources to look elsewhere.
Arundhati Roy is asking us to look at some of the larger problems in India, a country that has seen similar terrorist attacks from multiple, disconnected sources over just the past few months. Any Indian scholar will tell you that India's experience with terrorism has been drastically different than that of the West.
"It's odd how in the last week of November thousands of people in Kashmir supervised by thousands of Indian troops lined up to cast their vote, while the richest quarters of India's richest city ended up looking like war-torn Kupwara" I echo the other comment: This piece is too simplistic and moralistic. The elections in Kashmir are being held in several rounds, the latest being today. Today, being no exception to weeks past, we read about Indian soldiers firing live rounds and tear gas. Of course when the esteemed BBC choose to headline this "Demonstrations mar Kashmir vote" can we excuse Arundhati Roy?
"It's odd how in the last week of November thousands of people in Kashmir supervised by thousands of Indian troops lined up to cast their vote, while the richest quarters of India's richest city ended up looking like war-torn Kupwara" I echo the other comment: This piece is too simplistic and moralistic. The elections in Kashmir are being held in several rounds, the latest being today. Today, being no exception to weeks past, we read about Indian soldiers firing live rounds and ... More »
Retrieving Comments
