Posted: Wednesday, 16 March 2011 10:46

Blog: Cannot Care for Cowardly Comments

DelWine has always tried to be bold but objective- sticking to facts and at times giving the viewpoint, clearly indicating so. We are never offensive to individuals or groups, be they importers, individuals, producers or governments. There are times when our viewers do not agree and tell us so. We carry out their comments religiously.

There are occasions when people have suffered in the industry due to individuals or companies and it upsets them so much that they tend to write to us anonymously. There is perhaps no better example of being financially hurt in the wine industry than by Indage. There are people who did not get salaries. I saw wine still lying in the tanks when I visited Nashik last month because Indage did not pick up the wine produced for them two years ago.

They did not allegedly pay a penny for participation in a wine show three years ago. There are suppliers and farmers who face ruin because of the Chougules. We have carried comments from most of our subscribers relating to these issues, only blanking out the ones that attacked Mr Shyam or Ranjit Chougule personally or were abusive.

As an example of what we do not accept was a comment from one Ramesh sent from ram_5624@gmail.com cursing a producer about whom an article was recently published. I politely wrote to him that ‘I find your comments shocking but also very personal. We cannot publish the same unless they are related with some specifics. But if you have a specific instance of unfairness, by all means please let us know.’ Surprisingly, the mail bounced.

A few days ago one Vijay wrote from vijay1954@yahoo.com about the same producer, abusing and cursing him. My immediate answer to him was that it was not fair to accuse someone personally; certainly our eMagazine is not a platform for such below- the- belt allegations. This time, it did not shock me when the mail bounced back.

Another mail came to me yesterday from Vijay, this time from vijay1959@yahoo.com writing, ‘Why Mr.editor Not posting my genuine and True comments. Does it hurts you,’. Here is my instant reply, ‘Dear Vijay, it does not hurt me to place your comments- I had sent you a mail earlier saying it was more a personal attack than on the issue. You need to temper a bit and stick to the problem. We will publish it. Incidentally, the mail I sent to you bounced back earlier.’ No wine prize for guessing what happened to my  reply.

After scratching my head I realised that the only way to get my message to this reader Ramesh, Vijay or whatever his real name is- and with a fictitious address, was to reach him and the likes of him through this Blog . Apparently he has been badly stung financially by this producer and I understand his curses and indignation. Although my full sympathies are with him but I wonder about his need to be a coward and why he could not be more specific about the issues rather than repeatedly condemning him to hell.

It is not out of place to point out that the contents of some of our articles may not be flattering to some group, company, importer or a producer; more importantly the crusade against the unfair tax regime and the archaic rules and procedures of our government.  But we are never offensive to the individuals, be it in the industry or the government and just try to show our point of view which we believe is the only right one.

It might seem presumptuous to talk of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who stood his ground against injustice or Nelson Mandela who followed him and opposed the regime promoting apartheid. They fought for a common cause, never attacking individuals. We can surely be civil and not throw stones standing anonymously in the middle of a crowd. If you have specific complaints, you need to get redressal help from the law. Unfortunately, we may not be of much direct help. But if you are bold enough, we shall gladly carry your comments, even if it hurts me or any of our panelists. Otherwise...   .  

…we cannot care for such cowardly comments.

Subhash Arora
March 15, 2011