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Re: Suhrid Ganguly
Dear Kush,
I hope that one is trying to send the message that there are other ways
than this (suicide) to change the system. There is no question whatsoever
of glorifying suicide.
However, and I would like to get your views on this: this particular
suicide, I think, was not a usual suicide in any sense of the word.
Instead, it was a strong political statement about our system from a very
educated and honest engineer. It was a statement, a punctuation, marking
the nadir of our "inglorious" attempts at state control of the economy.
If you note, this protest was against precisely the monopoly of socialism
that I have been talking about. It was about a telephone company in
Calcutta. We have complete government monopolies here. No competition
whatsoever. There is neither any choice before the people, nor any
rational way to meet the demand without bribing the petty functionaries of
our socialistic system.
I personally never had the occasion to bribe anyone, because I was
"sheltered" from all such stuff by the power weilded by my father, and
later, by me. I have always had the power in the system to get my phones
working, for example, by simply calling up the biggest official in
the system.
In fact, the telephones department has used my "services" to officially
inaugurate the modern telephone exchange at Barpeta, a district
headquarter, in 1989.
But this power of big officials on the 'system' is rapidly declining. For
I remember that I have had the occasion of going personally to the dirty
and filthy local telephone office - as an Addl. Secy. in Guwahati -
sitting with the junior engineers of the telephone department, requesting
them to attend to my phone, after repeated attempts to get the phone
repaired by other methods such as using my junior officers, and calls to
the big shots of the Guwahati telephone department, failed.
If that is my fate today, what is the fate of the Gangulys of India? No
bribe, no phone; no bribe, no repair. Etc.
I vouch for the fact that in Australia, when I - a complete foreigner to
that nation - occupied my house on the first day, I called the telephone
company from a public booth outside my house for connecting my phone and
within three hours, my phone was working and it never went out of order
even once in that one year. Similarly, in the US, things like phone, gas,
water, electricity, etc., are so well-managed - through private
competition, primarily - that I have ALWAYS felt better off as a poor
student in these nations than as a big-shot official in India.
Of what use is my personal prestige and power in India if everyone not in
similar positions - including perhaps my children in the future - is going
to suffer from the consequences of our mismanaged economy and polity?
If you like, I can remove references to Ganguly or his (I hope not quite)
meaningless attempt to solve the problem of India. Instead, I can dedicate
it to all those who have suffered in big ways or small, the consequences
of our state-run monopolistic systems.
I would like us to propose complete privatization of the telephone sector,
with the proviso that we have massive competition in the sector. That, in
my considered view, is the only way to competely eliminate the corruption
in this nasty department (by the way, which department is not "nasty" in
India?).
Sanjeev
On Wed, 22 Apr 1998, Kush Khatri wrote:
>
> Sanjeev: Your message regarding this brave young man was indeed moving.
> This is the first time I have heard anybody in the Indian community
> taking collective responsibility. We do not hear any such sentiments
> from the so-called leadership of India or the Indian community in
> North America. A society, a democratic society in particular, has a
> moral collective responsibility. This collective responsibility, in
> particular, is toward that community that nurtured us and helped us
> grow. This collective responsibility does not vanish because one
> begins to live away from his/her "original" community. It does not go
> away because we get green cards or different passposrts. I am so
> pleased that you brought up this concept which makes us human and
> politically righteous.
>
> This dovetails with what I have been saying ad neauseum: corruption
> is the number one problem in India. Why? Because it is corruption
> which perpetuates this tyrannical system. No one can afford to have
> a casual attitude toward the root cause of all problems. Especially,
> when people are dying because of it. The stance that you can solve
> other problems without even tackling this issue is beyond me.
>
> I have full sympathy for this young man and appreciate the sacrifice
> he made. My suggestion, however, is that instead of dedicating this
> list to ONE person why not dedicate it to all victims of tyranny in
> post-independent India? Remember the high incidence of suicide among
> cotton growing farmers just a few months back, I believe in Andhra
> Pradesh?
> (that is just an example that came to my mind)
>
> But in all this I have another concern: How do you do such a
> dedication without glorifying or encouraging suicide? We have to be
> careful here. There are a lot of emotional young people out there
> ready to immolate themselves if their passions are stirred.
> While we rightly take on collective responsibility, I will be opposed
> to any such message going out from us to the young people of India
> that suicide is O.K.
> Regards,
> Kush Khatri
>
> ---Sanjeev Sabhlok wrote:
> >
> > I wanted to take the permission of members of this list to dedicate
> this
> > list to the memory of Suhrid Ganguly, of whom I heard only today
> through a
> > news clipping. He was one among millions. One of us. There were many
> like
> > him before, there will be many more.
> >
> > I am summarizing the news clipping on this person. (full details are
> on
> > Clarinet News 1997, April 21, 1998.)
> >
> > April 17, 1998. A 22-year old Indian, Suhrid Ganguly, an engineer,
> > committed suicide in the eastern city of Calcutta... Ganguly's suicide
> > note said he was taking "an extreme step" as "there is no way to
> change
> > the system and get an honest right to live." B.B. Das, an official
> from
> > the telephone department said: "This incident is unprecedented," but
> > added, "I admit that taking bribes are commonplace."
> >
> > Though he was only one of millions (as are all of us, individually), I
> > genuinely believe that we need to keep these symbolic sacrifices (of
> life
> > and blood) in mind as we continue our debates.
> >
> > I had this poem on my page entitled: "We are a Nation of One"
> >
> > It is available at: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~sabhlok/Poems/life.html
> >
> > I think that this poem (written in 1989) needs to be dedicated to the
> > Gangulys of India, too. I believe that Ganguly did not commit
> suicide. He
> > was killed by us, collectively, and altogether, by our indifference.
> We
> > shall not be indifferent anymore.
> >
> > I have modified the web archive page accordingly. Please take a look
> at:
> >
> > http://www.cinenet.net/lists/search.html
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Sanjeev
> >
> > If anyone knows of Mr. Ganguly's family in anyway, anywhere, through
> > anyone, please let them know that his sacrifice shall not have been in
> > vain.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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