Exceptional courage
Kalpana Sharma’s article “Going public” (November 2) evoked indignation and sadness. It requires grit of an extraordinary kind to speak out in the face of such a grave adversity as rape. In this backdrop the courage shown by the nun from Orissa in going public is tremendous. Rape is yet another cruel and inhuman form of assault against women that is used as a weapon of war and to settle scores with the enemy. The only silver lining of course is the alertness shown by the media and the civil society against such ghastly acts.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Srirangam
The article has confirmed my belief that women are the most common victims of injustices. Be it be a communal riot or a war, women across the world have been the victims of discrimination from time immemorial. It’s true that their grief and sufferings cannot be lessened but justice can surely be given. The feeling of being neglected, of being crushed and denied justice drives these broken souls into chronic depression or in to taking extreme steps. Today’s woman moves ahead but not without hesitation, she stops and thinks a million times before stepping out and embracing the world. The feminist groups have always done their bit but now it’s in the hands of government to take steps to stop these horrific deeds and injustices to women.
Kavya Nair
Jhunjunnu, Rajasthan
Widening gap
This is in response to the article “Sleeping rough” (November 2) by Harsh Mander. The article reveals the ground realities and the agonies confronting millions of homeless people throughout the nook and corner of India. The dream the founding fathers of our nation “to wipe out every tear from every eye” only remains as a utopian dream. The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening rapidly, which is the root cause for social tensions, hatred, theft, murder and mayhem. A suitable public policy is the need of the hour, but who cares?
S.V.K.Chandran,
Thiruvananthapuram
The report on the urban homeless was deeply disturbing. I have often wondered how these poor souls make do with a flimsy blanket and a couple of times did give away old blankets. But Harsh Mander has opened my eyes to the deeper problem that exists. Is it so difficult to run soup kitchens and night shelters in our country, especially for women? If some information on how we could help the homeless in our city be made availble I am sure there are many of us who would be happy to contribute. Rita Reddy
Bangalore
Biased
Amitava Kumar’s article (Literary Review, November 2) on Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize winning debut novel is not an objective one. Moreover, the novelist is a young man of 34 years trying to look through fresh eyes the various dimensions of India. The reviewer’s charge that the novelist’s India is superficial is only a personal reaction. Realism, magical realism and similar words are only jargons. A novel has to be seen for its tone of artistic wholesomeness and its powerful appeal which transcend the limits of empty jargons are born out of curious specialised dissections. The young novelist deserves better treatment. On the other hand, the article on Le Clezio in the same issue throws light on the greatness of his novels.
Dr.M. Vathapureeswaran
Professor and Head Department of English, Vivekanandha College of Engineering for Women, Namakkal
New partnerships
Arvind Sivaramakrishnan’s article (October 19) about landmark experiments that have democratised access to water through partnerships between local bureaucrats and people describes a significant evolution in our approach to development challenges. The article, however, never uses the term, “public-public” partnerships and it is important that this new approach be referred to in discussions in this way. This novel mode of operating is starkly different from the “public-private” partnerships that have come to define much of the last decade.
In fact, any discussion on development will certainly include this now-stale mantra and a follow up plan to act on it. More people need to hear that “public-public” partnerships can work well too, depending on the context.
Sujatha Byravan
Advisor, Science, Technology and Development
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