Arundhati Roy: opinion
I do not find Arundhati Roy annoying. I have no problems with her activism (India needs such people), nor do I find her to be unqualified to speak on certain matters - I think every citizen of a country is perfectly qualified to speak on any public issue. But I do not agree with affording her celebrity status in the West.
She is, more or less, an irrelevant voice within India itself, but here, she regularly speaks to packed audiences and is treated like she is struggling single-handedly against injustice and is the only hope for the people. So, why doesn't she pull such crowds in India -does any of the organizations give that a thought before inviting her to speak?
She speaks so forcefully against globalization, but she is one of the prime beneficiaries of a global economy - and that's not by accident. She sells the Indian story to a Western audience and presents stories they want to hear in words they want to hear and profits from this.
OK, she is beautiful and speaks very good English. But her views certainly are not representative of what people in India are thinking. Not of the majority, not of any significant minority. She is a self-promoter above all. I can't hold that against anybody, but I cannot pay to go watch her talk.
She is, more or less, an irrelevant voice within India itself, but here, she regularly speaks to packed audiences and is treated like she is struggling single-handedly against injustice and is the only hope for the people. So, why doesn't she pull such crowds in India -does any of the organizations give that a thought before inviting her to speak?
She speaks so forcefully against globalization, but she is one of the prime beneficiaries of a global economy - and that's not by accident. She sells the Indian story to a Western audience and presents stories they want to hear in words they want to hear and profits from this.
OK, she is beautiful and speaks very good English. But her views certainly are not representative of what people in India are thinking. Not of the majority, not of any significant minority. She is a self-promoter above all. I can't hold that against anybody, but I cannot pay to go watch her talk.
posted by Kurma at 5/03/2005 10:23:00 PM
1 Comments:
I think Roy's views are indeed reflective of a significant minority in India.
Also, she is using her global appeal to get a message across. Nothing wrong in that.
I'm sure she does not begrudge other Indian writers from selling their books abroad and making money from that.
It's not that type of globalization that she abhors. It's the obviously monstrous and exploitative type.
She seeks a balance. Sometimes things have to lean far to the left or right before a happy medium can be found.
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