Letters

Uniform civil code

AS an adoptive parent, I am sharing my views on the necessity of a UCC from the perspective of adoption (Cover Story, July 28). Currently, there are different adoption laws for different religions. A UCC would provide a single set of adoption laws for all citizens. It would help increase social acceptance of and reduce the stigma associated with adoption. There is some opposition to the idea of a UCC, but the benefits for adoption outweigh the challenges

Vidyadhar Prabhudesai

Mumbai

IN view of the continuing violence in Manipur, it seems prudent to keep tribal communities out of the ambit of a UCC. The BJP, which has been in power since 2014, suddenly feels that a UCC is the need of the hour. Any UCC must take into account the ancient customs of people in different regions of the country.

B.R. Ambedkar was keen to bring reforms to Hindu laws governing child marriage and women’s property rights. It is heartening to know that women across religious communities would be granted equal rights and safeguards under a UCC.

Kangayam R. Narasimhan

Chennai

A UCC was felt necessary in Jawaharlal Nehru’s time also, but it was also well understood that it could not be brought about without a consensus among minority groups. The present government is hasty when it comes to bringing about changes and likes putting the cart before the horse.

S. Ramanathan

Hyderabad

THE BJP’s reductive approach to dealing with an issue as convoluted as a UCC is callous. There is not much scope for a single path to be pursued by all. If the BJP tries to peddle the idea that this is possible, it will exacerbate the problems beyond one’s imagination. Seeking the views of the public without making its intentions clear and without a draft UCC is a sham. Inherent imbalances in gender equality and individual rights should be set right first. The BJP has already spoilt economic and political fronts, and to continue in power, it has now decided to create chaos in civil matters.

B. Rajasekaran

Bengaluru

MINISTER of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that “around 40 to 45 per cent of the gamers in India are women, and therefore it was all the more important to keep the gaming ecosystem safe”. Does that mean men do not require a safe gaming ecosystem? Being a Minister, he should be more mindful of what he says. Forget about implementing a UCC, the country should focus on equality between the genders first before it goes into broader areas like religion and marriage.

M. Charitha Chowdary

Hyderabad

AN unnecessary hue and cry is being raised over the Union government’s proposal to introduce a UCC. Ambedkar spoke in the Constituent Assembly in support of a UCC: “I personally do not understand why religion should be given this vast, expansive jurisdiction, so as to cover the whole of life and to prevent the legislature from encroaching upon that field. After all, what are we having this liberty for? We are having this liberty in order to reform our social system, which is so full of inequities, discrimination and other things....”

A number of landmark judgments by the Supreme Court favoured its implementation to remove social inequalities. Goa already has a UCC that is being implemented without any hassle. If other laws have been implemented uniformly across the country, one fails to understand people’s apprehensions about the implementation of a UCC. India’s diversity and secularism would be strengthened and enriched by implementing a UCC after consultation with all stakeholders.

B. Suresh Kumar

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Documentary films

WHILE applauding the Cover Story (July 28) for its commendable focus on documentary films, I wish it had given due recognition to Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose documentary film A Tale of Four Cities (1968) faced censorship hurdles. Abbas took his fight right up to the Supreme Court and questioned the pre-censorship of films. In the film, Abbas challenged the unpalatable and unjust world of “haves” and “have-nots”.

In the film, the lowest strata of society in New Delhi was symbolised by the construction worker, in Kolkata by the sweating rickshaw puller, in Mumbai by the prostitutes in the infamous “cages” in the red-light district, and in Chennai by a handcart puller almost nearing his end under the hot sun. The film had no spoken words, although music was used in the background, and had real characters to add authenticity. It had a tremendous impact on sensitive and sensible audiences.

Sukumar Shidore

Pune, Maharashtra

THE article “The eye of the documentary” (July 28) encapsulated the history of global and Indian documentaries and to a certain extent Indian cinema. The beauty of the narrative was that it gave the reader space for interpretation. This is important as the rightist forces in India and leftists in Kerala are busy putting up iron curtains in all spaces of expression. All art forms have to register their protests against such forces. Intelligent artists can suggest many things covertly as those who live in theocratic, fascist, or dictatorial countries do.

The Buddha was dialectical throughout his life. When Sakiyas and Koliyas were in conflict on sharing the water of the Rohini river, the Buddha found a solution that took the middle way. Artists need to imbibe many Buddhist elements.

K. Aravindakshan

Thrissur, Kerala

Frontline

I HAVE been a regular and a devoted reader of Frontline since its inception. All these years the magazine maintained its unique identity by not succumbing to the temptation of going in for advertisements. The redesigned Frontline seems to have fallen prey to the lure of advertisements. I hope they will not pollute the magazine’s purity. After all, it is a fount of knowledge and information.

K.V. Rao

Dharwad, Karnataka