Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Press freedom

The survey published in the Tamil daily Dinakaran — based on the views of a cross-section of the people of Tamil Nadu — has created havoc in the southern districts of the State. The violence at the Dinakaran office in Madurai claimed three lives and damaged property. Some of the survey findings were general in nature and some sensitive.

While their publication was not altogether wrong, comments with regard to the working of the Central Ministers from the State and issues such as who would succeed whom were avoidable. How much damage a survey can cause is there for all to see now. Who is responsible for the damage? Certainly not the people.

S. Vanmeekanathan,
Chennai

The murder of three persons in the Dinakaran attack is the most disgraceful act that can take place in a democracy. Surveys are only unreliable ways of gauging the people's feelings. The violent incident is an attack on the press as well as individual freedom of speech and expression. The fascist action deserves universal condemnation.

P.M.G. Pillai,
Thiruvalla

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