Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

She is Indian first

This refers to the report "Muslim clerics criticise Sania" (Sept. 11). Those who have criticised the tennis star's attire on court should realise that she is an Indian first and only then a Muslim. She, like any other Indian tennis player, has the right to wear clothes in which she is comfortable.

She need not emulate the Iranian badminton players because she is not obliged to follow Iranian law or custom. Clerics should do to their job and leave sportspersons and sportswear alone.

R. Krishnan,
Chennai

Some sections of mullahs pose a serious challenge to secular India. If their unbridled freedom is not curbed, Muslim women will find that they are the biggest obstruction to their progress. The teenage tennis player has brought unprecedented fame to India, women, and Muslim society. She has to necessarily don sportswear while playing tennis. She should ignore the obscurantist clerics.

All right-thinking Muslim women are with her (she is by no means a corrupting influence). We wish her all success while hoping the mullahs do not harass her and dampen her initiative and verve.

Mumtaz Ali Khan,
Bangalore

The `fatwa' is most unfortunate and uncalled for. It will cause tremendous mental agony to the young girl and her family members. Mullahs should look elsewhere to assert their authority. Many cinema actresses and television stars hail from the minority community. Why don't the leaders spend their energy constructively in trying to impress upon them the need to observe decency in films, which are arguably the most corrupting influence today? This way, they will contribute much more to the cause of the entire nation.

Sharada Venkataraman,
Mumbai

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