An email that might visit your inbox

First, I am NOT a great fan of such jingoism..
Next, the version of the mail that is going the rounds is plain “WRONG”.
It gives the impression that one Mr.Vijay Kranti is a dean at IITM and that he went fasting. None of this is true. I am tired of seeing blogs with this interpretation. Thus.. the clarification lands up at desipundit.
Prof. Idichandy (Dean, Students) sent the FWD to the students (thro the student gensec). The fwd was from some person who was quoting this mr.vijay kranti. Here is the original version :

——-mail start———–

Subject: Fw: MUST READ.. This is a moment of pride for all Indians From:

“chandy”

Date: Mon, October 3, 2005 10:02 am

To: “General Secretary (IIT Madras)”

Prasad, Please send this mail to all students

Dear friends,

Please read this mail. For those of us who went through the difficult times, the mail is an inspiration. For you, who did not know the troubles our country went through, it should atleast serve as a reminder not to waste food. regards Chandy Dean Students

One of my friends in India wrote this mail and sent to many including me. Please read.

Dear Friends,

Here is a personal experience, as well as a moment of national pride, which I want to share with you. Hope you find it worth the time you put in reading it :

“In the middle of 1965 India-Pakistan war, US govt – then a close friend of Pakistan – threatened India with stopping food-aid (remember “PL-480″?). For a food deficient India this threat was serious and humiliating. So much so that in the middle of war, Prime Minister (Late) Lal Bahadur Shastri went to Ram Leela Grounds in Delhi and appealed to each Indian to observe one-meal-fast every week to answer the American threat. As a school boy, I joined those millions who responded to Shastri ji’s call. I continued the fast even when the war was over and India became self sufficient in food.

Hurt deep by the national humiliation suffered at the hands of the US govt, I had vowed to stop my weekly fast only when India starts giving aid to USA.

It took just 40 years. Last week THE day arrived. When Indian ambassador in Washington DC handed over a cheque of US$ 50 million to the US govt, two plane loads of food, medical aid and other relief materials were waiting to fly to the USA. Time to break the fast?

With no bad feeling about the USA, and good wishes for the Katrina victims, this humble Indian feels proud of the distance India has covered in 40 years. Let’s celebrate a New India!”

- Vijay Kranti.

——-mail end——

I have seen various versions of this mail in the blogosphere.. most of them just don’t contain the initial few “dear friends”.. and some of them are signed “Vijay kranti, dean iitm”. Come on!.. Even I don’t agree with such an expression of patriotic feelings.. but keep the facts right!
This fwd-doctoring is bad. Signing the fasting bit with “dean iitm” is plain prank-playing.

Aswin
(I got the mail first hand.. from the gensec)
IIT Madras
http://aswin.travisbsd.org/