Pune BPO rape-murder ruling is welcome

Pune BPO rape-murder ruling is welcome
This has reference to ‘Death confirmed for Pune rape, murder convicts’ (Sep 18). When courts award the severest of punishment to the accused in such heinous cases, people’s faith in the judiciary is most likely to be restored and retained. Very importantly, there is every possibility of potential offenders thinking twice before indulging in such crimes against women. The confirmation of the death sentence by the Bombay high court in the Pune BPO case will warm the hearts of all women who go out to work. The judgment should alert all employers, more so those who employ women in night shifts, to provide a secure environment to them. Women, on their part, have to be extra cautious when they notice odd behaviour on the part of any person with whom they travel to offices.
—Ganapathi Bhat, Akola

II
Bombay high court ruling in the Pune BPO staffer’s rape and murder case is a welcome one. Safety of women in the society is of foremost importance. Women shoulder all the major responsibilities in the household and still attend office work in order to eke out a decent living. Travelling in Mumbai is getting more and more insecure now.  Incidents of chain snatching, eve-teasing and molestation are becoming common. There have also been cases of acid throwing. Social activists and the government machinery should join hands to make sure that women lead a fearless life just like men. This can be possible only when culprits of crime against women are not allowed to go scot free. However, with this landmark court ruling we can see light at the end of the tunnel.
—Subbu Jayanthi, Navi Mumbai

Growth Vs inflation
This has reference to ‘Chidu almost tells RBI to cut interest rates’ (Sep 18). All nations are naturally aiming at quick growth with control over the inflationary factors for a stable economy. However, it is a Herculean task to balance the situation for any developing country. In fact, in any developing economy, growth invariably accompanies inflation due to elasticity of demands. Finance minister P Chidambaram has also pronounced his wish that RBI should adopt the ‘cheap money’ policy and initiate steps to cut interest rates, which will augment growth of our economy. Though it has been amply clear that the minister has directly hinted at the RBI governor to implement it very soon, being wary of possible criticisms of intervention in the autonomy of the country’s premium financial institution, he preferred to clarify that he is not ordering the respected monetary institution. But it is natural that the RBI governor will be more than glad to fulfil the minister’s smallest wish as his ‘de facto’ immediate boss. If the governor prefers to follow such hints ignoring the economic factors, it will fuel the  inflationary pressures ultimately wiping out the benefits of growth, if any.
—KK Ved, via e-mail

Candid views, indeed
This has reference to ‘I am Dhoble: The comeback by the Indian State’. Kudos to the author, Abhinav Kumar, a serving police officer himself, for taking a long hard look at the system, the police force and the brutish mentality which encourages police employees like Dhoble to become self-styled conscience keepers of the society through intrusion in private space of citizens. Reminiscent of the medieval ages, or the recent Taliban experience in the luckless country of Afghanistan, such police employees may be genuinely committed to what they believe is their cause with a mistaken notion that they are cleansing the society! If Dhoble’s actions were supported by the highest authority in the Mumbai police hierarchy, we have a very strong case for counselling at the highest levels. This is the first time I have come across such refreshingly candid views from a person who is part of the system himself. He has won an admirer in me!
—Praveen Chaturvedi, Mumbai

Sons of the soil
This has reference to ‘Letting bygones be bygones’ (Sep 17). Blood may be thicker than water, but self-interest is always supreme for everyone in the political rat race. Rushing to the side of the ailing cousin by one, or the other backing a political move in return, is just a shrewd give-and-take meant to garner some positive mileage. Such gestures do often serve to enliven the hopes of a reunion of the warring cousins for the ever credulous Marathi manoos. Unfortunately, this very credulity is stretched to the limit when the innocent sufferers are left wondering, sorely disenchanted, whether the cousins mean what they claim day in day out, and whether the interest of the Marathi manoos is really they are after. The patch-up, if eventually comes about, is expected to do some good at the elections in 2014, at least so they say. The patch-up will be a patch-up after all and it can never be sound. And this seems to throw the question whether the expected ‘goodwill’ will get translated into general good for the Marathi manoos. At this stage, nothing can be said with certainty. None of them can be expected to climb down from their high pedestal. The patriarch is in his sunset years, and with him, the sun also seems to be setting on the thought of welfare of the sons of the soil.
---KK Wajge, Mumbai