Don’t underestimate the public, Justice Katju

Don’t underestimate the public, Justice Katju
Justice Katju’s views of Salman Rushdie and his readers seemed a bit lopsided as he was quick to notice that Indians have ‘colonial inferiority complex’ and any writer living abroad is regarded as great by us. He failed to notice that the west also suffers from the ‘superiority complex’. There is no accounting for taste and we aren’t disrespecting his views of Rushdie’s works but we wish he’d stopped at that and didn’t question readers understanding of English and literature.

American’s and English’s dislike for Asians is not hidden and if they recognise the work by an Asian and felicitate him with the Booker prize then it’s enough food for thought. No doubt that Mr Katju is a man of great stature but while terming Rushdie’s work as poor and substandard it seemed if he was trying to be economical with the truth or maybe he found it a psychological moment to garner some lime light.
—Gunjan Sinha

Safety first
Safety is the foremost important thing in an individual’s life. With the invention of ‘smart helmet’ by six students of VJTI, Matunga, they have made the life of bikers much safer and protective with use of this. Today’s generation is in full swing in developing out nation and this is one of the best examples to be looked upon and praised. We come across uncountable accidents, deaths, injuries of bikers but using this helmet will surely result a downfall in rate of bike accidents.
—Simrin Manwani, Mumbai
II
Apropos to your report “Put this helmet on, else bike won’t start” (DNA, January 28), I think its a very innovative idea. I suggest that the first lot should be presented to Mumbai Police as all their officers and beat marshals drive two wheelers without helmet arrogantly and both the Police Commissioner and Joint Commissioner Traffic are not ready to do anything in this matter but encourage violation of Motor Vehicles Act by the Police themselves. I also appeal to the Chief Minister that he should withdraw this rule so that citizens are fined but the police get off the hook. When drawn to his attention, the Police Commissioner mentioned that the Chief Minister has withdrawn this rule in Pune.
—Sharad Kumar, via email
III
The invention of VJTI students will definitely ensure road safety and it should go out sooner for mass production. But the question remains of whether the masses that already have bikes would incorporate it or no? We know that the youth like to show off their biking skills and try to imitate their favourite action stars and copy their stunts, plus it’s a fad to cut in lanes and breaks signals and speed limits. Recently, the number of two-wheeler accidents has gone up and even though the Traffic laws have made it mandatory to wear a helmet, we see a large number of riders who don’t. My question is how do you get the existing riders to use this helmet and does wearing a helmet necessarily mean that the rider won’t overspeed anyways and cause accidents?
—Rudhayaini Mukane, Mumbai

Not the BEST drivers
This is in response to the article ‘BEST bus crushed man on WE highway’ (DNA, January 28). The statistics clearly shows that the Western Express highway is the most susceptible to fatal accidents nearing 50. Seeing this, the BMC needs to take some serious action. Accidents have been happening here almost ever year but no action has been taken clearly showing the shortcomings of the BMC and the government in fulfilling their promises to the people. BEST buses on the other hand are not maintained properly. The MSRTC is to be blamed for this. BEST drivers need to be screened thoroughly before being admitted. Rash and negligent driving has become a frequent problem in India and bus drivers are known to be very rash. The MSRTC gives complete freedom to the drivers, there is no reporting facility and the conditions of the buses is pitiful. Strict action needs to be taken.
—Rahil Shaikh, Andheri

Traffic policing?
Recently there was a report in the media about the illegal methods of the traffic police to tow away vehicles. Since then, nothing has been done to highlight the issue. One such illegal method is to carry vehicles (including two wheelers) over the tow away van. Another issue is the traffic police issuing receipts without any record at their end. The receipts given to the customers are although original, the duplicate receipts are not marked for the fine paid and are often blank. One wonders if such methods adopted ensure the collections from illegal parking or otherwise reach the government. Also another malpractice arising out of this is towing away vehicles which are perfectly parked and yet showed as wrongly parked to unsuspecting citizen. How can a citizen prevent himself from such a menace?
—Anup Kothekar, via email

Do it like Paes
Playing with Leander Paes is a pleasure and even the legend Martina Naratilova enjoyed his company.  Doubles tennis is all about the team and Paes has come together with the likes of Mahesh Bhupathi to win laurels for the country.  Now after parting ways with Bhupathi, Paes has chosen Radek Stepanek to annexe the doubles crown at the Australian open. Paes and Stepanek upset Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 6-2 to win the Australian Open doubles title on Saturday and foil the American twins’ bid for a record 12th grand slam crown. It was a fantastic display of power to become Champions in doubles.
—Calicut Krishnan, Navi Mumbai