Blot on the nation!
No words are strong enough to condemn the incident of a 16-year-old’s modesty being outraged by a mob of over a dozen persons after she came out of a restaurant on a busy road in Guwahati (Assam mob shames nation, DNA July 14) .
Blot on the nation!No words are strong enough to condemn the incident of a 16-year-old’s modesty being outraged by a mob of over a dozen persons after she came out of a restaurant on a busy road in Guwahati (Assam mob shames nation, DNA July 14) . This incident brings to fore the fact that crimes against women are growing in all parts of India and need to be tackled with harsher laws. It is a gruesome and heinous crime which requires the severest punishment and a swift trial. Such types of crimes should be awarded mandatory life imprisonment, ensuring such criminals remain in jail for the rest of their lives. Moreover, what is happening to the collective consciousness of people of this nation when a teenaged girl is being publicly molested by hooligans and dozens of onlookers remain mute spectators? —Ramesh G Jethwani, Bangalore.Sachin stumped? Saturday morning, it was good weather and I was sipping a cup of tea while reading DNA (July 14) . I came across your 10 Questions for Sachin Tendulkar and it put a smile on my face. It was good to read the questions that you would like to bowl at Sachin and I was personally really happy to see your intent of bowling them, since many of those were questions which I, too, had always pondered upon. Questions 6, 9 and 10 were hilarious. Hope that someday Sachin will face these bouncers without ducking and hook some as well. Keep it up!—Kiran Khair via e-mailIII have been critical about Sachin for some time now but the magic spell cast by Sachin on his fans will not change. The article you have written is too good and well researched and is a worthy critique of Tendulkar. —Jay Wadhwani via e-mailIIIAwesome article on Tendulkar. After all the media idolising of Sachin and the public treating him like God, it’s wonderful to see someone deviate from the norm. Really glad you wrote that article.—Natalie Chowdhury via e-mailIVIt is creditable to see your article about the questions asked to Sachin which thousands would have kept in their minds. At the same time it will certainly irk millions of Sachin fans! But the fact is Sachin is long past his prime, but continues to hog the limelight, thanks to the BCCI and MCA.
—Manoj via e-mailVI have always been a fan of your paper and its columns, so the recent column on Sachin Tendulkar came as a huge shock to me. I can understand that writing controversial things about Sachin is in fashion but I am absolutely disgusted with the piece and I hope DNA will take note of that.—Ayush Ahuja via e-mailPenalise them!With reference to the news item ‘Hit by a stone, commuter loses an eye’(DNA, July 13), innocent commuters are becoming victims of a cruel game played by anti-social elements. I have come to the conclusion that those who stay in slums, situated along the length and breadth of railway tracks should participate in stopping such incidents. The boys who throw stones and hit commuters know very well that they can never be arrested as it is simple for them to disappear into the slums! The only solution is to impose a fine/penalty on the slum area where such incidents occur. Once the nearby slum dwellers are penalised, these residents will be vigilant and alert and immediately catch stone throwers. Alternately, if certain areas are found to be free from such incidents for a long time, that area should be suitably rewarded!
—Bhalchandra P Waghe, GoregaonCruel khapThis refers to the news item: “UP khap panchayat bans women from stepping out . . . . and minister endorses it” (DNA, July 14). The khap panchayats have surreptitious support from the political and bureaucratic class which is deeply entrenched deep in certain states. Afraid of a backlash in the election, no political party worth the name is prepared to take on or question the archaic or atrocious diktats issued by this extra-constitutional power centre. The khap panchayats’ arbitrary behaviour is not acceptable in a democratic country like India. It is the lookout of the government to protect the womenfolk by keeping on leash the bad elements.—HP Murali, Bangalore
Un-PresidentialThe photo of UPA’s presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee meeting SS chief Bal Thackeray does not provide an honourable image for the highest office of the land for which the meeting was undertaken. The office of the President is the supreme position in our country and an apolitical post. In this backdrop of sanctity, it should not at all be necessary for the presidential candidates to meet political parties to seek votes. This implies return for the obligation after occupying the position of President. Just like Election Commission has directed that the issue of a party whip is not tenable for the Presidential elections, canvassing for the post also should become untenable. The electoral college is supposed to be fully aware of the profile of the candidate for whom they are casting their vote on behalf of the people they represent.—R Sridhar, Bangalore PM watchThis refers to the article ‘Welcome to the Club Dr Singh’ (DNA, July 14). Time magazine has dubbed our PM as an underachiever. In this context, the UPA government has tough tasks ahead. To begin with, the country’s security system needs to be revamped to tackle the growing insurgency unleashed by the Naxals and Ulfa. Second, the government needs to put into place urgent measures necessary to set right the increasing food prices and inflation and chart out new and bold economic strategies to accelerate the country’s growth. Third, improving the employment situation needs immediate attention of the government.
—P Senthil Durai, Andheri West