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ShareWaiting for the rains
The predictions about rains this year are changing from 95 per cent rains to 74 per cent rains to a drought. The government doesn't seem to be bothered about the rain shortfall and its present and long-term consequences. At approximately 7 per cent storage levels, how long will Mumbai's water supply last. Why can't we attempt artificial rains by seeding the clouds at least over the catchment areas? And if the city has to be evacuated, where will the people go?
--Suresh Purohit, Mumbai
Accepting homosexuality
The Delhi High Court ruling comes as a respite to gay activists fighting a legal battle for over eight years now ('Homosexuality is not a crime, rules Delhi HC', DNA, July 3). Discrimination on the basis of sexual preference is depriving a person of his/her basic civil right and the verdict has rightly put an end to it. Yet, in a multicultural society, acceptance is more important than mere provisions. If the professed gays are shunned by the 'normal' people, then their freedom becomes too limited. So requires another law to be passed which will term ridiculing or disrespecting gays as a punishable offence. Hence, the acceptance of people with alternate sexual orientation by the society at large will be reflective of the success made by the latest judgment.
--Priya Amrute, Thane
II
There are several misgivings surrounding homosexuality, one being that it is a conscious choice. On the contrary, it is understood to be an unalterable psycho-physiological makeup of some individuals which is considered as a normal variance not requiring any intervention. The concern that legalising homosexuality will corrupt society is nothing but unwarranted phobia as sexuality cannot be taught and no one can be induced to become a homosexual. If our country holds on to homophobia in the name of culture or religion even when a country like China has accepted homosexuality, I am afraid we will have to question our status as the world's largest democracy. It also shows our lack of tolerance and ignorance of the complex nature of human behavior which cannot be encapsulated within somebody's religious perception of what is natural since nature's ways are too complex for such simplistic deductions.
--Dev Narayan, via email
Potential victims
As Anil Dharker has pointed out, trial by media, the cops, and the uninformed public has become a common occurrence in India ('Trial by the police and the media', DNA, June 22). As far as I know, once the case has been registered, the media is not allowed to comment on it, at least not in the irresponsible way that news networks in particular have been doing in several 'high-profile' cases. Why is the law of sub-judice not applied to them? The root of the problem is the ease with which the police pick up people and detain them. In any civilised society, suspects can be questioned at length, but they can only be detained for long periods of time if there is fairly substantial evidence to justify the detention. We have seen time and again that this is not the case and the 'suspects' having been detained by the police and crucified by the media, are then let off for want of evidence. We must raise our voices on this issue because we are all potential victims of this appalling practice.
--Sherna Gandhy, Pune
Wrong intentions
This is with reference to 'Beyond the veil' by R Jagannathan (DNA, July 2). The ban on the burkha by the French president has understandably started a fierce debate within the Muslim community. However, the logic given by the Muslim clerics is that the burkha is necessary to keep out unwanted attention from the men which may lead to acts of eve teasing, molestation or even rape. Isn't this akin to saying that instead of identifying the criminals in society and putting them behind bars, we should lock ourselves up in our homes where they won't be able to see us thereby minimising any criminal act on their part?
--Anirban Banerjee, Pune
