Letters from Readers
Indian-Americans: Great editorial, but please drop reference to caste
Your editorial in the February issue (“A Great Time to be an Indian-American”) was excellent. It described the Trump era very well, as also the joy Indian-Americans are feeling with the election of VP Kamala Harris. No doubt, Trump was a self-serving President. In my 40 years of living in the U.S.A., this is the first time I have witnessed such a thing as not conceding the election result, not inviting the President-elect to the White House, calling the election system fraud, innumerable incidents of abuse of power, sending rioters to the Capitol Hill, disturbing the count of electoral votes, disrespect to experts such as Dr. Fauci, and demanding absolute loyalty from the government officials and cabinet members for himself rather than the nation. He was rightly called out in the editorial for having “the personality of a mafia boss.”
Also very useful is the Uniform Lifetime Table for the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) that was provided in Rajesh Jyotishi’s article (“Navigating Your Required Minimum Distribution”) for people who are over 70, like me.
I would like to request writers to refrain from mentioning the caste of the dignitaries. Several times in the past few months I have observed that when writing about Kamala Harris, they mentioned her maternal uncle or family caste as Brahmin. She is at this position because of her efforts, knowledge, education, and belief in herself; not because she was born in a Brahmin family. The caste system is the ill of Hinduism. Dr. Ambedkar burned copies of Manu Smriti publicly to make sure people are not discriminated because of their caste in independent India. To me, it does not matter whether somebody is Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshatriya, or Shudra. What they have achieved in their lives, and how people have benefitted from their work, is what matters most. Gandhi ji was also against the caste system. And yet, unfortunately, it is still very much alive.
Ajay Mehrotra
Greenville, SC
Enlightening article on the Bhagavad Gita
After a chance encounter with Professor Bhaghirath Majmudar at Emory University, I enjoyed reading many of his articles, particularly the one on the Bhagavad Gita in the January issue (“Bhagavad Gita: A Cosmic Compendium”). Given his erudition, experiences, expertise, and interests in diverse fields, I think that he is worthy of being considered a Renaissance man. Dr Majmudar has splendidly demystified the Bhagavad Gita, “one of humanity’s most revered sacred scriptures . . . a timeless and universal guide that is more spiritual science than religious dogma,” as he notes.
I am amongst those “who are unfamiliar with this scripture,” and I have been intimidated by the task of embarking on this journey of discovery. Therefore I am most grateful to Dr. Majmudar for explaining “some of the salient features of its timeless wisdom.” As he mentions that there are so many other pearls of wisdom that he did not dwell on in this article, it would be a great service to the readers if the author plans to cover some of them in future essays.
Nizar Motani
Atlanta, GA
Interested in writing for Khabar?
Writers are invited to contact us at editor@khabar.com for submission guidelines. Please include links and/or attach copies of published articles, if any, as samples of your work. A review of our back issues online will give you a good idea of what we like to publish. Pitches or unsolicited articles that haven’t appeared elsewhere are welcome as well. If there is further interest, Khabar will respond with an offer or provide more information on our requirements.
What’s on YOUR mind?
We welcome original, unpublished letters from our readers. You could either respond to a specific article in Khabar or write about issues relevant to our community. Letters may be edited for length and other considerations. Longer submissions by readers may be considered for the “My Turn” column.
Email: letters@khabar.com • Fax: (770) 234-6115.
Mail: Khabar, Inc. 3635 Savannah Place Dr, Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30096.
Note: Views expressed in the Letters section do not necessarily represent those of the publication.
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
