This is an article written by Madhu Trehan. She writes regularly for
Outlook and in this
she is replying to a letter by a reader. Both the letters are shown below.


Hi Madhu,I have read your articles ever since I was a kid and you were at
India Today. You have often come across as a balanced person not prone to
Gandhi nonsense, until now. I live in a White Nation (the US) and never
felt like a second class citizen. Only a blind and a deaf person can
compare the pride of a US citizen with the indignity of being an Indian.
A US citizen trusts his government, knows his/her death will never go
unpunished, while an Indian soldier is there to die. Elite is a bad word
in India because 95% of our country lives in abject poverty. Next time
ask the waiter in Taj who served you the Rs 400 drink, how much he makes
in a month. The Durwan who opens the door for you, ask him how much he
makes? I bet his monthly salary will be around your dinner bill. Shame
on you and journalists like you who have failed India in the past with
coloured reporting and are doing so now. They should feel ashamed. Rather
than calling Bush names, may be we should hang our heads in shame on PM's
like Vajpayee who is too old to walk, too much of a coward to protect
his people. Maybe, just maybe, the day people like us (the English
educated hence smarter) start feeling ashamed enough we will start making
changes in India rather than just exploiting our servants and labour
class. It anguishes me to read this national character articles. A nation
that cannot feed its people (a la Orrisa) has no character, a nation whose
children move around naked (Mumbai) has no reason to feel proud, a nation
whose elected reps call religious riots, has no future.
Once again, shame on you and all of India. I am ashamed to be an Indian
and shame on you for suggesting anything else.
Chet (Chaitanya )

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Her response was:

Hello Chet, I will answer your letter point by point.

*Your name. You can be Chet or Jet, stay away from the sun, fake an
American accent, but you will never be able to run away from Chaitanya. He
will always be there even though you hate him today.

*Gandhi, whom you hold in such contempt, despite all his controversial
behavior, is largely responsible for the fact that there is no white boot
on a part of your anatomy today.

* You live in a white nation but you are not white and never will be. You
can fool yourself to believe that you are not treated as a second class
citizen. You choose to forget the Dot Busters, the Sikh who was killed
because he looked foreign and rampant racism. How many times a week do you
have to explain where you are from and spend your time EXPLAINING India to
the Americans? I cringe to think what you say to them about India. We do
not need spokesmen such as you. You will never be able to share a good desi
joke with any of your new friends. If you can't laugh together, you cannot
understand each other.You will always be an alien.

* Yes, we are economically poor compared to US but we do not have to suffer
the highest rate of teenage pregnancies, kids coming into schools and
killing students and teachers, the highest rate of suicide among college
students, alienated parents and children, lonely old people dumped into old
age homes, drugs being offered to eight year olds (as my daughter was when
she was in the UN school in New York), serial marriages and divorces.

* The US had a president who was senile and deaf (Reagan), one who turned
out to be a serial sex offender (Clinton), and now you have one who didn't
know the heads of state of major countries and ignored warnings of a
terrorist attack months before it took place.

* The US is responsible for massacres in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, Chile
and the list goes on. The rest of the world does not view America with the
rose-coloured glasses you have been brainwashed by the US media to see
thorough.

* And, how much does a waiter in Jean Georges restaurant in Trump
International Hotel, New York make compared to the price of the drink he
is serving? The labour class is exploited all over the world.

* You seem to very upset that I am pointing out we have a national
character to be ashamed of and we should do something about it. Your
insistence that we stay ashamed and do nothing about it is perhaps to make
it easier for you to live in a country where the only religion is to hang
out at malls and accumulate consumer items you don't really need but have
been dictated by advertising to buy that, to keep the US economy going. It
is not by
accident that Americans are flocking to yoga and meditation classes to buy
happiness.

* You have done well to leave a country you are ashamed of. Call yourself
an American but sooner or later your disguise and American Halloween
costume will frighten you enough to get rid of it.

*I love America's energy and have good friends there. New York is a centre
for an enormous outpouring of creativity and imaginative thinking. Every
country has its own problems. It is for the people who belong there to take
responsibility for change.

*If you are so far removed from India, ask yourself why you are so
anguished with my article. Chaitanya is raising his head, Chet is in
trouble.

Regards, Madhu Trehan

I am extremly support Madhu and extremly opposed Chet.

Chet is Confussed Desi. He is a Desi but wants become White.

Chet go and stand at highway or major Road and check each Car and tell me did you find any white people with Desi in a Car? count and tell me.

They White never count our as friend. They are totally different, They are not trusted person. No Trust between husband-wife, childern-parant, neibour-neibour, employee-employer, etc.... Even though Chet has trust on them. HHHHAAAA Foolish man.

Like Chet there are some more Desi there and belived that India is Garbage country. Please dont compare India with US. India is Great country.

Chet, you are very poor. Please getout from here. this message board is for Indian Desi.

God bless chet.

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Kap

Hi Moderator/Garvo,

I am concerned that such posts would serve any pupose.

When the persons in question are not themselves involved on the message board, how can we make sure that our comemnts are evident to them.

While appreciating sahib98 for bringing to the highlight of all CDs, I would suggest you to kindly shift this post in a particular section which is meant for reading alone.

We must promote Live Discussions and avoid unnecessary wastage of time.

Your comments/views are most welcome.

Have a nice day !

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Manan

Quote:

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Orginally posted by Manan Gupta

Hi Moderator/Garvo,

I am concerned that such posts would serve any pupose.

When the persons in question are not themselves involved on the message board, how can we make sure that our comemnts are evident to them.

While appreciating sahib98 for bringing to the highlight of all CDs, I would suggest you to kindly shift this post in a particular section which is meant for reading alone.

We must promote Live Discussions and avoid unnecessary wastage of time.

Your comments/views are most welcome.

Have a nice day !

---

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

I am sorry to have aroused some negative responses to the article. I just thought Madhu Trehan (Outlook) response to Chet was quite significant to many a desis here. I saw no harm in her response.
I also made it a point to post the article under the "Article" category not under any other Charcha discussion.
My apologies to those that showed disappointment to the posting. I personally did not find it obnoxious.
I would appreciate the moderators comment.