October 30, 2005

Mother, gone

We were buying tickets at the Delhi Metro to go to the Red Fort for the sound-and-light show when I got a call from Bhopal: "Go home right now, there are blasts all over the city!" We returned our tickets and went home, to the accompaniment of Diwali firecrackers all around us. Half an hour later, I took the Metro after all, this time to go visit the hospitals. My account of some of what happened over the next few hours is up on rediff.com, here. (I hope to have some more soon).

Comments welcome. After all, I already have this one in response to it:
    Dear Mr. DSouza
    In view of these terrible blasts in New Delhi on the eve of the Hindu
    festival, Diwali, for once the media should blame the handiwork on the
    Islamic terrorists that have mushroomed in India thnaks to the
    pseudo-secularist attitude of the politicans and the constant minority
    appeasement by people like yourself, given the fact that you are a minority
    so would not be surprised if you owed your allegiance to the god-damn Church
    rather than Indian constitution.
    People like Sonia Gandhi and others should be burnt alive for trying to
    destabilize India, I am confident that you bloody semites, muslims and
    christians are in this together to target hindus, but never forget that if
    we have people like Mahatma Gandhi, we also had people like Maharana Pratap
    and Guru Govind Singh , whenever India, Hindusim or the Hindus are under any
    threat , there have been these great sons who have laid down their lives
    whilst vanquishing the maleechhas , yes that is a term that we use for all
    non-hindus as you guys use words like kafirs and heathens for us . The day
    is not far that inspite of the violence in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts
    of the country when India would be rid of all you inferior people.
    Damn Allah, Damn the Quran
    Damn Jesus Christ bastard, damn the bible
    You bloody bastards who have no sense of humanity and patriotism and have
    the guts to mess with the hindus, when we awake we shake the whole world.
    damn the islamic world, damn the westertn christian crusader nations.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool. All those fanactics are out there writing to Dilip who's every read to publish these letters.
Dilip any clue on the identity of this letter writer? Surely you couldn't make it up with your limited imagination, right?

Global Indian said...

Is this the time to target the reporter's religion or political allegiance? All he is trying to do is 'report' what he has seen in Delhi Hospitals.

If you feel what he is reporting is not right, come up with facts to disprove the report.

Anonymous said...

Ravi,

I don't know if Dilip is filtering his choicest hate email to post on his blog while at busy scrounging this Delhi hospital for the blast story. Do you?

Global Indian said...

Online magazine reporters and bloggers always have the 'credibility' problem. While we believe (sometimes blindly) reports from mainstream media, we tend to be circumspect about an online reporting. Ofcourse, nothing wrong because becoming a blogger is just the matter of creating a username and password.

Anon:

If he has time to file a report to rediff, I personally dont feel finding time adding his choicest email in the blog is big deal. Its just a cut and paste job. probably taking 3 mins time. Think that you are Dilip for a minute. You 'happen' to be in Delhi during the blasts. You want to report something that you see. How do you prove to the people that your report is credible? How do you prove to the people that you are infact there? Take a picture and put in the blog?? Might just work unless people condemn this guy finding time to pictures also.

Anonymous said...

Targetting innocent people - one of the most disgusting and inhuman thing to do. It's important to remember that such cowards have no religion or nationality.

The people who've commented on the author's faith and/or other conspiracy theories should know that they're far away from reality and that attitude helps no one. Although you might not agree with his opinions on issues, attacking him personally rather than arguing over his views is sick.

Although the pseduo-secularism and minority appeasement are things i hate thoroughly, (i think) they've nothing to do with these blasts.

Anonymous said...

Dilip,

Your Geelani friend who was rejoicing after Parliament attacks anywhere near Delhi this time around? And how about a petition to stop police investigation of this blasts, didn't you and your friends do it last time?

Anonymous said...

Ravi:

Online magazine reporters and bloggers always have the 'credibility' problem. While we believe (sometimes blindly) reports from mainstream media, we tend to be circumspect about an online reporting. Ofcourse, nothing wrong because becoming a blogger is just the matter of creating a username and password.


Dilip could easily post the name and email address of this bigot.
Wonder why he's not put that online? Any serious journalists tries to verify a story from atleast 2 to 3 independent sources. With blogs, Dilip's got an outlet and carte blanche to further his 'secular' agenda sans any oversight (not that there's around with our media). This cooked up letter (second in past month or so) from some Hindu frothing from his mouth seems as credible as Dilip's other stories.

Pareshaan said...

You do get the nastiest comments, what are all these comments about blaming the Abrahamic religions.Shouldn't we be concentrating on the TERRORISTS!

Anonymous said...

>>Shouldn't we be concentrating on the TERRORISTS!

Read the fine print Paareshaan, err that would his older posts/articles.

Indian Govt is a terrorits too - of course that's per Dilip's earlier posts. In fact he had even advocated a foreign power to take over India too! Not to mention petitions pro-Geelani.

And those idiots who send Dilip hate emails are bigger terrorists than the ones who killed 65 in Delhi. Now wonder Dilip's zeroed on the real problem within hours of this blasts by pasting the terrorists emails here.

Please let Dilip focus on real terrorists. And he's doing a damn fine job.

Anonymous said...

>>Please let Dilip focus on real terrorists. And he's doing a damn fine job

Great! The DSOUZA in DILIP will always rule. That's DSOUZA for you!

Anonymous said...

So said Bush - "Brownie's doing heck of job"

Anonymous said...

People who commenting on the author why do u forget that U being a Hindu haven't done anything. This is not about religion or nationality....this is about a crisis that has been seen by the reporter. Even if its not true and his imagination don't u all think this really do happen. As the ministers pour in the relief work or any kind of work just comes to a standstill.

Why do u all forget that ID (muslim festival) is also around the corner and there might be muslim who are also shopping and also the stores may also be owned by them.
Stop thinking about religion and start thinking about what u can do. How many Hindus are not there who have betrayed their country... So its more of a human nature than a particular religion

Anonymous said...

>>This is not about religion or nationality....this is about a crisis that has been seen by the reporter

Seen by reporter!! More like reporter parked his behind in front of a computer and waited for hate email to surface so that he could share it with us.

Damn right that this blasts were not about religion. So there's not much of a difference between the hate email writer and the Dilip who published it on his blog to give a religious slant.

Anonymous said...

'Is this the time to target the reporter's religion or political allegiance? All he is trying to do is 'report' what he has seen in Delhi Hospitals. '
True and very objective. Note the only political leader he ran into belonged to the BJP.
The problem is not with ordinary Muslims and Hindus. The problem is with the professional secularists. Remember the petition to free Geelani. Selectively he has published a letter from some psychic and the entire issue is diverted. I repeat -these people have not been able to find an excuse for these blasts. No riots in Delhi and a secular govt in power. But wait there were riots in Mau - but reports from there seem to show that more Hindus and Dalits have been victims. Now will these people wake up to Islamic extremism or will they continue to blame some loose cannons from the Hindutva brigade.
Sorry for all the victims of the blasts be they Hindus or Muslims

Anonymous said...

What!!! There riots in Mau!! That secular news hasn't hit 'Death Ends Fun' yet, has it, has it?
Hm-umh.. riot deaths in secular states ends fun, I guess?

Oh, should a crow drop in one of those communal states we'll surely hear about it from secular journalists.

Anonymous said...

The blasts were designed to hurt the maximum number of people - crowded markets, days before two of the biggest festivals.

It was also designed to hurt those who can't fight back, won't get any redressal, will be forgotton soon.

The families did not even get a chance to say good-bye...This is sick, criminal and has nothing to do with any religion...

The VIPS also F*%K is up by just being present....do they not realise that their words mean nothing and that their sheer presence is a nuisance.
____________________________
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action --
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Anonymous said...

Suketu
No chance of it hiting Death Ends Fun. First it has happened in a Secular state. Secondly (ok this is thanks to Hassan Naqvi and Sandhya Jain), the instigator and main culprit behind the riots is Mukhtar Ansari. Only Praveen Togadia and the anonymous letter writer are bestowed the honor of being featured here. Biggest surprise here: The TOI editorial. Seems to be written by a saffron brigade type. Wonders never cease. Here it is reproduced below:

We can either dismiss what happened in Delhi on Saturday as just another in a long line of terror attacks on Indian soil, and pray that there’s at least a decent interval before we are hit again. Or, we can send out a hard-hitting, unambiguous message: that we are not willing to accept such outrages as part of our fate, and are determined to do whatever it takes to protect our citizens. This is no occasion to be genteel and ‘civilised’ in our response. It’s time we got angry. Not a blind anger that lashes out at everything in its path—for that would play into the hands of the very people who perpetrate such acts of terror, and be self-defeating. But an anger that builds resolve, that ensures we do not forget the mothers, fathers and children who went shopping for Diwali and Id and whose pictures poured into newspaper offices a few hours later, except that they were disfigured and charred beyond recognition.

This is an act of war, doesn’t matter that it’s not been officially declared as one. It calls for a scale and intensity of response comparable to London’s, where the number of deaths was actually fewer than Delhi’s and far, far fewer than Mumbai’s in 1993. This paper has consistently waged a war for peace, and we remain committed to that path. But it’s equally clear that peace cannot be a one-way road. There are indications that the perpetrators of the serial blasts may have been schooled in jihadi hatred on Pakistani soil. The burden of evidence points to the Lashkar-e-Toiba; one of its offshoots has already claimed responsibility for the crime. LeT had tried to mar August 15 and were waiting for the next big celebration to hit India. The group has sleeper cells across the country and doesn’t necessarily depend on Kashmir to ferry in terrorists. It can call in operatives based in Nepal and Bangladesh. That it continues to enjoy Islamabad’s patronage is no secret.
It may be premature to walk away from the negotiating table, at least not until such time as there is clinching evidence of Islamabad’s complicity. But New Delhi must tenaciously work at building a case that proves that Pakistani soil remains the springboard of terror attacks and go international with it. On the domestic front, there is a crying need to strengthen our soft infrastructure: just as we need world-class roads and ports, we also need world-class law and order, intelligence and anti-terror agencies. Finally—and much as we may dislike the idea—we need to accept that in times such as these, even a democratic, civil society must accept that there can be limits to freedom. The US has made itself extremely unpopular with its new homeland security laws, but if that’s what it takes to save innocent lives, it’s a sacrifice worth making.

Anonymous said...

Oh-Oh. He is a typical VHP Firebrand. Never mind. The term TERRORIST is bet suited for these kinda guys. The Term for Non-hindus, maleechas, he said we call them this. Who is thie WE? RSS? VHP? Guess Mr. D'souza must know that too :)

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone forget .. tat those were killed were only innocent human beings .. take away religion from em .. they were humans !! ... being a muslim, hindu, christian ,jain etc shouldnt matter at an hour of crisis right now.. n all those hate mailers.. instead of talking big .. why not go out there on the road , in the hospitals and support the grieving families.. they need support , not online hate mails condemning each others religions. .. terrorists are neither muslims, nor hindu's ... they r jst inhuman ppl.. walking on the wrong path .. maybe opening yr arms n welcoming them might soften em n make em a lil human ..

Anonymous said...

Earlier, I found such stuff strange. Now it's just funny and it'll soon be commonplace enough not to merit even that tag.

Anonymous said...

you know, dont you, dilip, how powerful a single such story can be... much much more than cold statistics of so many blasts and so many dead... "my mother gone". what can I say? she probably went out for diwali shopping for sanjay and the family.

Anonymous said...

2:57 PM, Anonymous:
>>Biggest surprise here: The TOI editorial. Seems to be written by a saffron brigade type

Dilip D'Souza doesn't read ToI (or any newspaper which had any listings of riots/atrocities committed by "seculars").

Strange that we don't hear from those secular essay bloggers - Uma, Paareshan, Naqvi etc. Maybe a bounty or a prize money offer could lure them to write a "secular" response to this.

Anonymous said...

Radhika,

This is sick, criminal and has nothing to do with any religion...

Absolutely true. And let me use that logic and extrapolate that guns, knives, grenades, RDX bombs, nuke bombs etc too has absolutely nothing to do with any religion.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely true. And let me use that logic and extrapolate that guns, knives, grenades, RDX bombs, nuke bombs etc too has absolutely nothing to do with any religion.


LOL!! That's a keeper.

Anonymous said...

okie dilip .. the fizz is over.. come out with a more spicier n raunchier story next time.. who knows.. someday u'll end up making a movie of one yr imaginative stories.. dont 4get ropin in ms sherawat for the spicy n raunchy effect ! .. lol !
GROW UP DILIP , STOP PLAYIN WITH PPL'S FEELINGS ONLINE N TRYING TO CREATE A SECULAR INDIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MAJORITY N THE MINORITY ! ..
next time try focusing on a day to day event rather than wat the politicians n the terrorists are doin ! .. THANK U FOR NOTHING!

Dilip D'Souza said...

And silly me, I thought multiple-personality disorder was discredited at least two decades ago...

TTG, missed meeting up again. I hope you were safe after the blasts.

Charu, what can I say. Spending those hours with Sanjay, rushing about Delhi, made the sadness more real than reading about it might have been.

Anonymous said...

Dilip: Yea, silly you. Trying to pass of your inbred fears as rants of a looney. Nice try though.

Anonymous said...

i read the piece in rediff. somehow personlising the story makes the impact even greater.
I guess Stalin was right - when 1 person dies its' a tragedy, when millions (or sixty) do it is statistics.
the vitriol in some of the comments on this and other posts are chilling. And yes, i know people who think like that.

Anonymous said...

Harini
I saw some vitriol only in the Anonymous letter writer. Oterh than that can you point out any vitriol? If somebody blames Islamic terrorism, is this vitriol or is it just sating the facts. But no, as per many people - this is vitriolic but criticism of Hindutva is secularism. Never mind if facts show something else.
At least be thankful that vitriol is only on blogs and not in crowded marketplaces where 69+ people are killed instantaneously or in ethnic cleansing of non-muslim populations.

Anonymous said...

Do we still have hope?

I really don't care who is behind these bombings. Whoever it is, is really sick in the head. Dilip, I believe that you have the right to write whatever you deem right and the people who send you hate mails have their rights as well.

However what amazes me is how they mention Mahatma Gandhi, Maharana Pratap and Guru Gobind in the same paragraph as burning someone alive. How different is this persons mindset from those who blew up Delhi? Think...

There is not much i can do but offer my condolences... Wish world were a better place

...sadness
.....peace
......love

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 7:09:
Don't hold your breath, Harini Calamur won't be back to point to vitriol in this set of posts. I think it was Guromoorthy who coined the term for such people: hoot-n-scoot secularists. She (or He) 'hooted' and has now 'scooted'.

Anonymous said...

anonymous - you and i obviously have a different view of vitriol.

fanqar - some of us have to work for a living, sans PC:) kya kare - karna padta hai.

Anonymous said...

Harini,

>>fanqar - some of us have to work for a living, sans PC:) kya kare - karna padta hai.

Really? You did fool me there :)
Khoi bat nahi, laghe raho... don't let a few facts get in way of earning your daily wages. Dilip's a great role model in that respect.