The real heroines

IT was a real pleasure to go through the profiles of women like Dr. Lakshmi Sehgal, who was a medical graduate way back in 1938 and who joined the Indian National Army; Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, who took a stand against child marriage and the abhorrent devdasi system, then widely prevalent; K.P. Janaki, the Amma of the poor; Mallu Swarajyam, the brave leader of the Telangana armed struggle; Ahilya Rangnekar, one of the founders of the All Indian Democratic Womens Association; Suseela Gopalan, once tipped to be the Chief Minister of Kerala; K.R. Gouri Amma, the longest serving member in the Kerala Assembly; and Mrinal Gore, fondly called Paniwali Bai (Cover Story, June 6). These women, who carved out a space for themselves in the public sphere at a time when it was much more difficult for women to do so than it is today, are the real heroines of our country.

Amitabh Thakur LucknowWomens reservation

MUCH has been written in the past 15 years on the subject of reservation for women in legislatures (Cover Story, June 6). Yet, the Bill was blocked whenever it was placed in Parliament for want of consensus among the political parties. Politicians should know that reservation for women in legislatures is a global trend though different models may be in place in different countries. Womens representation in Parliament is necessary if social justice, inclusiveness and the right to dignity are to acquire real meaning.

A movement to increase educational opportunities to girls is going on in the cities and in the countryside. Proportional representation is the best bet for greater representation for women, but India does not have this system. Hence, the principle of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and in the State legislatures is the answer.

K.R. Srinivasan Chennai* * *

THE profile of Lakshmi Sehgal says she was Indias first woman presidential candidate. But two women contested the presidential election before Sehgal did: Manohara Holkar against Dr. Zakir Hussain in 1967 and Furcharan Kaur against V.V. Giri in 1969.

Kumar Uday Chennai* * *

AMMAS (K.P. Janaki) name invokes excitement even today. Her joining the theatre to carry forward the freedom struggle needs to be viewed in the backdrop of severe oppression and gender discrimination that prevailed in those days.

S.V. Venugopalan Chennai* * *

THE higher-caste women who are clamouring for reservation for women in the legislatures belong to those sections that oppose reservation for the weaker sections of society, along with their men. They presume that, as women, they will be able to give protection to all other women.

S. Singha Chowdhury Howrah* * *

WHY is womens reservation necessary and how can it usher in empowerment of women in India? Who will benefit from this? Only women from the powerful and elite sections of society, who hardly need any help for their uplift, will benefit.

Sikta Samantaray CuttackJaipur blasts

IT was rightly pointed out that the response to the Jaipur blasts was remarkably mature as politicians refrained from blaming any community openly (Blood in Pink City, June 6). Some Muslim leaders condemned the attacks immediately after the explosions. It is sad that such a thing should happen in a city like Jaipur, which has a tradition of communal harmony.

S.K. Aggarwal Amritsar* * *

THE Jaipur blasts chillingly underscore how India is proving to be a soft state in dealing with terrorists. The government appears to be in no hurry to learn from past mistakes on internal security or to come up with an effective strategy to thwart terrorist strikes. Report after report of various inquiry commissions investigating terror attacks have been gathering dust. It is high time political parties demonstrated a sense of purpose to tackle this menace.

The government alone may not be able to tackle this problem. There must be a collective soul-searching exercise in society. The need of the hour is to introduce identity cards for all citizens.

Bichu Muttathara PuneTerrorism

I AGREE with R.K. Raghavan when he says in his column that the offensive against terrorism has lost its momentum (The watch on terror, June 6). Is it not shameful that we are silent and helpless victims of terrorism while all that our leaders do is mouth some platitudes about the foreign hand? Did not the government at the Centre have something to do about incidents such as the Jaipur blasts?

And could the State government not come up with a better response than to blame the Centre? It might have looked at its own track record vis-a-vis the Ajmer Sharif incident. Must this blame game go on only because the two governments are run by different parties?

Dr. Nutan Thakur LucknowUnfair treatment

PARTHA CHATTERJEE in his article Different strokes has given an ideological and political twist to his arguments in favour of M.F. Husains depiction of Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude (June 6).

Husains detractors may have overreached and engaged in senseless violence, but it must be asked if he could have artistically engaged with his own faith in the same way. Salman Rushdie suffered for much less.

N. Harinarayana Chennai* * *

The article on the harassment faced by M.F. Husain and Binayak Sen was insightful.

Muhammed Irfan KozhikodeWall of shame

CONGRATULATIONS to the Tamil Nadu government for its prompt action to demolish part of the wall that was erected in a Madurai village to keep Dalits out of some common areas (The fall of a wall, June 6). Despite all the achievements in education, every so often there are reminders of the existence of untouchability in the country.

A. Sivakumar Erode, Tamil Nadu* * *

IT is shameful that untouchability continues to be practised 60 years after Independence. In the words of the Mahatma, untouchability is a crime against God and man. The wall at Uthapuram is a blot on civilised society. All such walls and barriers, both physical and mental, which discriminate and divide, should be pulled down. The Tamil Nadu government and the political parties and other groups that helped to bring down this wall deserve congratulations.

B. Suresh Kumar CoimbatoreMyanmar

THE Myanmar government was prudent in not allowing in the United States relief team (Imperfect sympathy, June 6). The U.S. has a reputation for fishing in troubled waters. If the Cubans could survive a five-decade-long U.S. embargo, the gritty people of Myanmar can do without help from the U.S.

K.P. Rajan MumbaiGene map

I READ with the great interest the article Genetic landscape (June 6). Many studies in human genetics have been carried out in the past. This study is more important because of the changing pattern of bioinformation. The HopMap data are more important for the biomedical point of view. The Indian Genome Variation Consortium project is unique in the field of Indian genomic research. It is a historic achievement.

Anand Mohan AllahabadAgni-III

THE highly successful launch of the Agni-III missile is indeed a quantum jump in terms of technology (Full of fire, June 6). The launch will facilitate the timely acquisition of the missile by the Army and will also accelerate the development of Agni-V.

The event is a morale booster for other project teams of Defence Research and Development Organisation. Congratulations to all the scientists and engineers of Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad, for this remarkable achievement.

U. Krishnanunni New DelhiANNOUNCEMENT

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