Editor,
It is very painful to go through the news item, ‘7-yr-old raped, killed in GH’ (ST April 30, 2019). One after another such vicious, remorseless and beastly crimes are being committed, leaving behind innocent girl children and often killing them outright. What can be more heart rending? Isn’t this a sign of social anarchy? What is the value of elections and the Constitution etc., when law and order is absent and the law keepers have totally failed to provide minimum safety and security to women? Today, minor girls and even the baby girls are not spared from the cruel clutches of the beastly criminals. Repetition of the same crime indicates that the culprits are not deterred by the criminal justice system. Where can we find solace in these depressing situation? Despite repeated agitations and appeals by reputed women’s organisations of Meghalaya, no moral change could be brought about in society. Women still live in the same darkness!
Following the recent heinous incident of South Garo Hills, the GSMC has rightly claimed death penalty for the rape-perpetrator. This should be an exemplary punishment for future offenders. Being a senior citizen and a mother at the same time, I feel outraged yet helpless! Will the fair days ever come back?
Yours etc
Uma Purkayastha
Shillong – 4
India should remain vigilant
Editor,
This refers to media-reports that some terror-elements in India were found linked with recent terror-attacks targeting Christian minority in the island-country of Sri Lanka. It is seen that Sri Lanka has taken several quick and bold remedial actions as safeguard against any such future terror-attacks. Since India has been a victim of many such terror-attacks, it should prepare itself by taking measures like those of the Sri Lankan government so that terror-groups may not find it easy to target any place of worship in India. It is significant that other countries also take the required steps without fearing of any criticism in name of so-called religious freedom.
Only an Israel-like policy of remaining in the offensive against any terror-attempt can wash away terrorist-elements from India. Israel is fortunate enough that different political parties are united in the fight against terrorism unlike in India where there are pseudo-secular political parties which resist any strong action by government in the name of human rights and religious freedom.
Yours etc.,
Subhash Chandra Agrawal,
(Guinness Record Holder & RTI Consultant)
Delhi – 6
International Workers’ Day
Editor,
May Day or International Workers’ Day is observed on May 1 to commemorate the eight-hour workday movement in Chicago in 1886. The labour movements against exploitation can also be called the movement for human rights. Such movements took many countries to the highway of welfare economics and human development.
We need labour movements in India more than before as we are heading towards privatisation and the contractual employment raj. Shop assistants in some malls are made to work more than eight hours a day. They are being forced to hand over their mobile phones during working hours. Being totally disconnected, they cannot be with their families in case of family emergencies. Sometimes, they are even denied a visit to the toilet. On other hand, the NGO Safai Karmachari Andolan has estimated that one sanitation worker dies in the gutter every third day in our country.
Since the workers can be fired at the drop of a hat, exploitative methods like withholding of wages, debt bondage, holiday hijacking and even physical and sexual torture have become rampant. Informal workers are highly vulnerable to exploitative practices as no record of contract has properly been maintained, thereby giving ample opportunity to the employers to adopt, use (and abuse the workers) and throw (the ailing ones) methodology. Moreover, two layered discriminations namely social stigmatization and economic marginalization are still prevalent in our country.
The Government needs to conduct regular labour inspections and force the employers to upload the medical check-up reports of the workers and the data of the contracts of the contractual workers every month.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Via email