Rape
IS India capable of protecting children and women from rapists? (Cover Story, May 11). On the one hand, there is the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana, and on the other, there are budget cuts to the Nirbhaya fund, which speaks volumes about the government’s sincerity in dealing with crimes against women and children. The Prime Minister was silent on the rape-murder of a minor in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another minor in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP does not seem ashamed that a good number of its politicians have been accused or charge-sheeted in incidents involving such crimes in various States. Many people are afraid that the ordinance that allows courts to award the death penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 is another gimmick by the government to blunt criticism. The government must answer the Delhi High Court’s question about whether it did any research before coming out with the ordinance.
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad, Haryana
THE Kathua and Unnao rape incidents were as brutal as the 2012 gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya in New Delhi and shook the conscience of the nation, forcing the Centre to take action. The frequent occurrence of crimes against minors is not only disturbing but also reflects the way society is degenerating to the point where women and girls are not safe either within or outside their homes. It is the moral responsibility of people to come together to put an end to this. We can only call ourselves an egalitarian society when every individual irrespective of gender and age can move about freely.
K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad, Telangana
CRIMES against women must be firmly dealt with and no leniency must be shown to the offender. It is the duty of every citizen to help the police in tackling this menace. In general, right from their birth, women in many parts of India undergo intolerable suffering and are victims of unpardonable crimes.
A.J. Rangarajan, Chennai
IT is shocking that some fundamentalist groups are trying to communalise heinous crimes such as the rape of minors. The process of justice is being brazenly subverted by people who are supposed to stand by the law of the land. What is ironical is that those who are supporting abolition of Article 370 are making use of the same Article to try and deprive the Bakarwal and Gujjar communities of their rights to forest land under the Forest Rights Act. In Kathua and Unnao, the sinister nexus between political leaders, including Ministers, and the administration is explicit.
Buddhadev Nandi, Bishnupur, West Bengal
THIS refers to the article “‘Kathua’ gets law student a suspension” (May 11). In this so-called independent country, the right to speak and express one’s views is being curtailed. A law student was suspended for speaking about the rape of a child and her suspension justified on the grounds that the topic spoiled the college environment. The situation today is such that the rape of an eight-year-old girl is just headline news to be discussed on a particular day, and the next day we move on to other news. If a female law student is not allowed to air her views, what will be the plight of other women?
J. Indumathi, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
PERPETRATION of crimes has become the hallmark of Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government (“Hall of shame”, May 11). The Chief Minister did not show remorse even when people from his own party criticised the inaction of the government machinery in the rape case in Unnao and the custodial death of the victim’s father. Should the High Court have to come into the picture to help a victim get an FIR filed? How can a democratically elected Chief Minister remain oblivious to those seeking protection and justice at his door? While the flames of communal hatred and religious oppression are raging in the State under political patronage, the Chief Minister is not shy about campaigning for the BJP in election-bound States.
B. Rajasekaran, Bengaluru
Rohingyas
THE best solution to the problem of Rohingya refugees is to send them back to Rakhine State with full security and dignity and rehabilitate them there (“Refugees in limbo”, May 11). But this is not likely to happen. India has turned a blind eye to the tremendous human rights violations by the Myanmar government, which has resulted in the exodus of Rohingyas to Bangladesh. Donating rice to Bangladesh is just not enough. The root of the problem needs to be addressed quickly.
Sukumar Shidore, Pune, Maharashtra
Cauvery
NEITHER the BJP nor the Congress when in power at the Centre showed any visible interest in resolving the long-pending Cauvery issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (“Tamil Nadu’s angst”, April 27). Until now the issue was considered a dispute involving two southern provinces of Tamil Nadu. Now people from all over Tamil Nadu cutting across party lines have started protesting in solidarity with those who live in the Cauvery delta basin because they realise that in some way or the other the whole State will have to face the fallout of a dried-up Cauvery and the subsequent loss of livelihood. The proximity of the present ruling dispensation in Tamil Nadu to the Union government has not helped it get the Centre to implement the Supreme Court order on the Cauvery issue.
Janakiraman Ramalingam, Chennai
