Cut the dirty things

One-sided view to garner publicity
The story ‘Girl, 5, caught in transcontinental custody battle’ (April 18) presented a one-sided view and was an attempt by the opposing counsel to garner publicity. I am the concerned mother of the girl in the story.

My daughter was born in India and holds an Indian passport. I have taken care of her since birth. After my divorce, she remained primarily in my care and we lived in South Africa (SA). Her father has three ex-wives, and has now taken a fourth. In 2011, I left SA for India with my daughter because it was unthinkable for me to leave her behind.

I approached the Indian courts for protection because her father has a history of violence, abuse and kidnapping children. Three domestic violence orders issued in SA against him detailed abuse such as beating his ex-wives while they were pregnant and threatening them with a gun. The father is a powerful politician with a history of extra-judicial and corrupt activities. He was expelled from the SA Communist Party for appropriating funds and was fired from government positions for corruption. He is not above using his influence to harass his ex-wives. Given all this, the judgment handed by the guardianship judge was unfortunate and sets a dangerous precedent by using technical reasons to deal with such matters. The welfare of young girls must be paramount in determining issues of this nature.
—Dr N Misra

Qualification of a Prez
This has reference to ‘Pawar wants apolitical prez’ (April 23). The presidential/vice-presidential team is a predictable one. If one is from the north then the other should be from the south. If one is from the majority community then the other is usually from the minority community. The best is to have an atheist for both posts. This way, everyone will be equally happy or unhappy. And the VVIPs would also be able to demolish the rumours of certain qualities associated with such posts.
— TR Ramaswami

II
The suggestion for a non political person as the next president by Sharad Pawar is very timely. The next incumbent will most likely face difficult situations, if the next elections result is a hung Parliament. During his tenure as the president, Dr Abdul APJ Abdul Kalam brought dignity to the post and was universally liked by all. Having had a missile engineer in the post, it is high time we have another professional as the next head of state. The candidate who, in my opinion, will fit the bill is Ratan Tata. By having such a person, the country will benefit from their vision for the future instead of one just adorning the post.
—AG Ramasubramanian

Cut the dirty things
The Dirty Picture is rightly taken off from TV viewing as this kind of movies is just not fit for family viewing. Airing of cheap and vulgar scenes or programmes on TV must be controlled. The standard of movies has been taking a nosedive in the recent times. It is sad that with the changing times and because of Western influence foul language is often passed by the Censor Board.

One example of such a film is Delhi Belly. The time is not far when our Censor Board will pass topless scenes. But such leniency can have a damaging effect on adolescents and the society at large. Offensive expressions must always be censored in all forms of communication — cinema, television and the print media. Our moral values must be maintained.
—M Kumar

II
Apropos of ‘This picture is too dirty, says I&B ministry’ (April 23), the ministry should be thanked for stalling the telecast of an utterly objectionable movie on time and averting what could have been a moral disaster.

When crimes like rape and molestation of women and girls are on the rise how can the irresponsible TV channel even think of airing the ugly film on television? In this context, the Central Board for Film Certification should be held responsible for passing such movies. These are definitely going to subvert the ethical values of our society.

An advice to actress Vidya Balan: You are no doubt talented. Do rise to fame by sticking to a good piece of acting and not stripping.
—ANIL R TORNE, Talegaon Dabhade

Bad headline
The front page headline ‘Women corporators in fight for Right to Pee’ was badly worded. It was disgusting to see that you chose such a heading.
—Karthik

II
Many thanks to DNA for the front-page story that explains how women are wrongly charged for using public toilets. However, the question of payment for using toilets is secondary because the mute point is that there are inadequate number of public toilets for women. It is high time that women corporators, while fighting for Right to Pee, should ensure hygienic toilets for women at reasonably regular intervals, because unlike men they cannot urinate anywhere.
—Vanita Shenoy, Mumbai

Leopard released
The story about the rescue and release of a hungry leopard from a suburban school left me with a deep sense of relief and sadness. It was relieving to know that the poor animal  escaped being beaten or shot to death (as happened in Nasik last year) and was released in the wild instead of being caged up for life.

Man has selfishly and greedily usurped the habitats of these majestic animals and the shy reticent creatures have to prowl around human habitation in search of food. It is high time we stop encroaching upon forest areas and learn that balance and harmony in nature is critical to conservation and even to our own survival.
—Brinda Upadhyaya, Andheri