Rama Bijapurkar’s article “The fuel that fires Anna-ism” (August 20) captured the irony of India by mentioning a young European anthropologist who asked why Indians, including the poorer sections, think of themselves as consumers first and citizens later, and consequently answered her own question by saying, “I suppose in your country being a citizen gets you far less rights than being a consumer.”
The anthropologist has asked a relevant question on behalf of those whose perspectives have been overwhelmed, in Bijapurkar’s words, by “the ball-by-ball commentary on television.”
Ashish Rai, on email
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