Letters

I find your articles very interesting and informative and look forward to each edition. I am of Indian race, born in the United Kingdom to Indian-Jamaican parents. We migrated to Florida 20 years ago. Although not raised in a traditional “Indian” home, I feel close to my Indian heritage. I am very interested in attempting to trace our Indian ancestors who left India in the late 1800s-1900s and arrived in Jamaica under the East Indian indenture program. Unfortunately, I have very limited demographical information with which to conduct a search, but will still persevere in this endeavor.

One of my favorite pass times is to watch Indian movies. I have well over 150 Indian movies in my collection and still growing! I do have mixed feelings however, about the image, values and principles some Indian movies portray. I just finished watching Baabul and loved the movie, but was propelled to ask this question: Why are there not more dark-skinned actors/actresses in the movies? Secondly, and I am far from being a racist/prejudice person, but what is this obsession with having white people or the lightest-skinned people in Indian movies especially in dance scenes? What’s wrong with darker-skinned people? Are they only good enough to be behind the scenes? Or serve as extras? What is wrong with this picture? What image are these movies portraying? That Indians, especially the dark ones, are not good enough? Can someone explain this to me?
Sophia, Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Maniratnam has been blindfolded and extremely insensitive in making Guru.

It is so unfortunate that a renowned film maker who has gathered so many accolades puts a character in his movie without any fact finding! In Guru, Vidya Balan plays a patient suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. But the way the whole disease is summed up in the movie is wrong and heart-wrenching to all the sufferers of MS and people related to them. Vidya Balan dies of Multiple Sclerosis and that too after 419 days, although the disease is not fatal. This is misleading and hurts the victims who need hope. MS sufferers have normal life expectancy and with available treatments they can keep the attacks also at bay. The character played by Vidya Balan makes the holes in the hearts bigger for the people who know their every day life is battle (due to unpredictable attacks) but they are struggling to live by it.
Raushnee, New York, N.Y.

As an American woman involved in a relationship with a married Indian man I suggest you do an article on this issue. He is in an arranged marriage and very unhappy. We have been secretly going out for six years. Why do so many Indian men have affairs with white women? Why are they so unhappy?
Anonymous, Via email

Though a man, I am able to empathize with Indian women and their status, as ably presented by Mohini Kumar in “Jai Hind?” (January 2007). I urge all Indians to watch not only Deepa Mehta’s Water, but the more disturbing, direct Matrubhoomi by Manish Jha. 
It is politically convenient to talk about reservation of seats in parliament for women, but it will take us several decades of sustained work to bring about dramatic changes in our society. Deep-rooted superstition and historical distortions perpetuated by men, have subjugated Indian women, even in the cities. The cruelty has gone on for centuries and we should begin to instill a sense of equality among women. I congratulate Kumar on her no-nonsense piece.
S. Vaidy, Sunnyvale, Calif.

I am what you have so aptly described in your editorial as belonging to the “fading generation,” of Indians who migrated to the U.S.A. in the early 1960s. I read with great interest the article “Academic Stars” by Lavina Melwani. I was struck by the notable omission in the essay of Dr Fareed Zakaria, a gifted scholar, writer, teacher, political scientist and journalist of great repute.

Qamar Khan, Alpharetta, Ga.