Editor,
A few days ago, a teenage spectator was gored to death by a teased bull while 11 competitors were injured during the bull taming sport of Jallikattu at Palamedu in Tamil Nadu. Now, who will own up to the death of 19-year old Kalimuthu and the injury of 11 competitors? It is a pity that we unite when our macho pride gets hurt but we do not care when inhuman practices cause a real blow to our pride. We cannot stop rape, ragging, teasing, lynching and bullying as long as violence is allowed to be enjoyed as a sport. It is the Taliban in us that makes us regard tradition as a static object. How can we cling to tradition when it challenges human rights and animal rights? Where are the animal rights when a Jallikattu bull is sadistically teased? And where are the human rights for the competitors in jallikattu? A cultural practice should not put the lives of people or animals in grave peril.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Rape : The most cruel act
Editor,
Apropos the news report item “Man jailed for raping minor.” (ST Jan 17, 2018), three years rigorous imprisonment for a rape accused does not sound like perfect justice but it gives a ray of hope that some punishment is better than acquittal. Perhaps all is not yet lost but three years in prison is not enough punishment for a perpetrator of such a heinous crime especially when compared to the pain and trauma suffered by the rape survivor and which she will carry for the rest of her life. Our society is such that we tend to look at the poor sufferer as the one responsible for her own fate instead of recognizing that the male in our society is psychologically deranged and depraved. Ever rape survivor has to live with this lifelong scar that no amount of balm can wipe out but the man will be free of his guilt after serving a jail term of three years.
However as the world thrives on hope we need to be optimistic that our young men will grow up to be caring individuals with empathy for the opposite sex. Perhaps this respect for women begins in the family among siblings. As women we long for a society that is purged of sexual and domestic violence and hope that we can live with mutual respect, love and reverence and most importantly for a peaceful co-existence between the sexes.
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email
Judiciary must heal itself
Editor
The recent spat among the top senior judges in India from the platform of the Supreme Court; their open press conference and the manner in which the Chief Justice of India has been criticized in public by them is both good and bad news for Indian democracy. The good news is that it strengthens the democratic framework of India on the public domain where the two pillars of democracy the press and the justice system strengthen each other by appealing to the ordinary citizens of the nation and expressing their helplessness. The bad news is that the chaos that is generating from India’s highest law dispensing body is not a good sign for the justice system of the world’s largest democracy. Irrespective of what the senior Supreme Court judges mentioned in the press conference, numerous cases across the nation have established the fact that there are two sets of justice systems available in the country; one for the poorest of the poor and those without any socio-economic and/or political influence and the other for the rich, super rich and political elites of the nation. The justice system has failed to cater to the nation by delivering orders in favour of the rich and influential citizens in numerous cases. It is time for the judges to think about their constitutional obligations while they defer cases from one date to the next, submit to politically powerful lawyers, political appointments of judges and extending the justice time beyond appreciable time frame in exchange for the huge salary and innumerable benefits they enjoy from the nation at the cost of the poor tax payers. Rich industrialists and politicians who are offenders are being released from jail under suspicious rulings for their heinous crimes while the poor are held in jails without any trial. This the time when Indian democracy is at the crossroads, every citizen, lawyers, judges, law makers need to reflect on the judicial crisis staring us in the face. If the nation does not fix the justice system then Indian democracy may have to be placed under ventilation with life support system in the not so distant future. If the Supreme Court of India cannot deliver real justice to the ordinary citizens of the nation then it is wll past its expiry date and new alternatives need to emerge.
Yours etc.,
Saikat Kumar Basu
Lethbridge AB Canada
Same old tired faces!
Editor,
On Friday evening I heard a discussion on television (DDK) on the forthcoming election where the editor of this newspaper was also a panelist. All the three discussants portrayed a grim picture of the outcome of this election. I agree with them because we the voters are actually very selfcentred and only want to use the MLA for personal gains. None of us think collectively for the larger good of the state and the people. This is what the political scientist, Partha Chatterjee calls the Politics of the Governed. Yes we who are governed also use our dirty politics to push our politicians towards corruption because we are ourselves corrupt. One of the panelists mentioned that with the MLA scheme even the Dorbar Shnong has been compromised since the office bearers of the shnong or their kin are contractors implementing projects from the MLA Scheme. And now people in rural areas are paid money per head to vote for certain candidates. We have a long way to go before we can understand the meaning of democracy. No MLA is interested in the state. Each one is interested in his or her constituency only. The statesman we had in the past have not left behind a legacy of good governance. We have not even understood the meaning of governance. Governance means a rule of law where the elected, the bureaucrats and the citizens participate in the implementation of every development project. Is this happening in Meghalaya? Do we know what the government is planning? Do we care? So we get the government we deserve. Let’s not waste too much time in discussing elections.They are a tamasha that come once in five years. And look at the profile of the candidates. They are the same old tired faces.
Yours etc.,
Hermon Nongkhlaw,
Shillong – 8