Ban skin show

This is with reference to ‘Dear countrymen, let’s look within’ (Dec. 22). The molestations, rapes and gang-rapes aren’t only the problems of Delhi, Mumbai and other cities and towns, but also of thousands of the remote villages of India. The root causes of all these anti-female crimes lie in the giant sized ad hoardings on the roads with skin showing female models and film stars. Besides, we also come across women’s skin show in nearly all the TV shows and newspapers one way or the other, including the ads. Such obscenity incites the man of any age to commit molestation or rape. All such skin shows should be banned legally with immediate effect. Such a stern step is the need of the hour to stop any kind of anti-female physical crime. Further, such animal-like cruel criminals deserve nothing less than the death sentence as demanded by the BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. Why are all the women’s rights associations keeping mum on this all round skin show? When will they wake-up?
—Hansraj Bhat, Borivli

II
The gang rape of the girl in Delhi is not merely a gang rape which means forced sexual assault by a group of men; it is something more. It is a heinous and brutal assault on a hapless girl and the culprits must be meted out with gory death in public view that they deserve. The protest marches all over India are indicative of the resentment and indignation of all people against the slow and insensitive attitude of the government. Though the Parliament is not in the session, a special session can be called to discuss the issue to handle this evil. After all, the issue concerns each and every woman and their families. It is high time our senile rulers realized that the root cause of this malady lies in the problems such as population explosion, deterioration of family values and vulgarity spread by the filmdom. The pornographic material freely available on the street, the innumerable item songs that portray women as saleable commodities, the free sale of liquor on every nook and corner are some of the reasons that propel the crimes against women. The decision of the Delhi Police Commissioner to force close all pubs after 1am is not sufficient. In fact, all public activities and even the innumerable TV channels must be stopped at 11pm and no one should be allowed to roam freely during the night except in emergency. The Italian government has taken such decision in the view of deterioration of its youth due to their nocturnal activities. Also, all the anguish and the propaganda against the evils does not reach the bottom of the society; it reaches only the middle class and is neglected and frowned at by the upper class. It is for the social organizations and NGOs to undertake sustained movement against these evils rather than reacting after the incidents.
—Ramdas G Patil Khaniwalikar, via email

Address train woes
The decision to levy surcharge on suburban local trains travel from Jan 1, 2013 is outrageous (‘From Jan 1 you will pay more for train travel’, Dec 21). This move will again stoke inflation and mete out harassment for the common man. There is no justification for levying any such surcharge as the number of suburban local trains plying on the Central Harbour and Main Lines and Western Lines are grossly insufficient and unable to meet the commuters’ requirements. Before introducing surcharge, the following issues have to be addressed immediately - an increase in the number of trains on existing routes, new routes from Panvel to Dadar via Kurla, Kalyan to Churchgate via Dadar, Panvel to Vasai via Diva, Panvel to Karjat via Chikhale-Mohape, Dombivili to Churchgate via Dadar, Virar to Dombivili via Diva, Panvel to Kalyan via Thane, Andheri to Kasara via Kalyan, Panvel to Matheran via Karjat . This will decongest the main stations and also reduce the load on the buses. There is no need to wait till the metro or monorail is launched and this can be started immediately. The fourth seat in the suburban local trains defy all means of travelling in dignity and travelling safely. Affordable means of transport and safe mode of transport is what the commuter needs and which the government has to provide by increasing services immediately. It is an honest and fervent appeal to the authorities to not levy such surcharge
—Vaidya Nathan, via email

Punish all rapists
The ‘ulta-Pulta’ (UP) Government has made a strange decision. It proposes to enact the Natiional Secruity Act against those who rape minors. That means raping adults is not recognised as a bigger crime. Perhaps this is because the Samajwadi Party has several MLAs who are facing rape charges. If only raping a minor is an offence, then many of these MLAs will be free to attend the assembly without fear or shame. Parties that give tickets to those who have rape allegations against them must be rejected by the people. The ongoing agitation against rape must highlight the number of MLAs who have been charged with rape. Having agitated for so many days in cold winter, it will be a pity if the agitation/protest is withdrawn without any firm decision of the punishment for a rapist.
—MVN Raj, Bangalore

Self-defence must in schools
I strongly support, ‘Make self-defence must in schools, colleges:Youth’ (Dec 21) that self-defence should be made compulsory in schools and colleges. It should be part of physical education and the students should be trained to take part in defending themselves. This will help them, mainly the girls to stand against eve teasing and other such acts.
—Cajetan peter deSouza, Ghatkopar

A well deserved win
‘Brand Modi wins. Eyes 2014’, (Dec 21) is a testimony to the continuing good form of Narendra Modi. He has worked hard to win the election thereby stopping his detractors in their tracks. The remarks by Congress leaders were most uncharitable. It seems the Congress has not learned their lesson and is extremely stingy in conceding defeat. They are patting their backs for the win in Himachal as if it was bigger than Modi’s victory. This only shows their hatred for this much-loved man who is poised to take higher responsibilities in the near future. It is high time they understand the mood of the voters to be able to sustain the flood of their fury in 2014.
—Yash P Verma, Pune