Readers Write
In the June issue I read the article “How I Became a Patel” by Rick "Patel" Beltz and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a very moving article and very inspiring. Like the writer, anyone who is down and out in life always has a chance to make a comeback. All he needs is a little care and love from someone—someone who can make a down person understand the virtues of life and give him a chance to try one more time. This article will inspire many who are facing problems in their life to give life one more chance. This was a very inspiring article, and I thank Khabar for that.
Chohan Bilal
Newnan, Georgia
Michael Kugelman (Sound Issues Trump Shrill ‘Isms,’ Khabar June 2009) says that promoting the issues important to very different constituencies is a surefire way to garner votes on Election Day. This analysis, I think, is an oversimplification.
Surveying the results, what strikes me is the fact that the Congress Party was able to forge alliances with a few regional parties that ensured a winning combination that would not have been possible if these parties had each contested against each other, as happened in 2004. Secondly, Uttar Pradesh presented great opportunities in many constituencies where Muslims have big majorities. Muslims have no place to go other than backing Congress. Manmohan Singh partnered with All India Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, DMK in Tamil Nadu, and Muslim League in Kerala. It is a question of arithmetic. Partners helped the Congress Party, whereas the coalition of the opposing fronts did not. The sad part is that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Muslim League are communalistic parties, which should be a matter of some concern. Another Dravidian Party, which had broken off from DMK a number of years ago, also scored victories, but was aligned with the losing BJP. The big surprise is that the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, which somesome years ago was led by the late movie actor N. T. Rama Rao who played the role of Vishnu and mesmerized the voting public, lost badly.
The best that can be said is that people voted for the status quo. We cannot read anything more than that.
Ramakrisn Raman (R. R. Iyer)
Tucker, Georgia
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