MyVoice: Views of our readers 15th May 2021

Improving human rights during Covid

The suggestion of the Supreme Court about placing convicts under house arrest is worth considering. If one may add, the release of political prisoners on bail or parole too merits consideration.

Political and civil rights activists are often incarcerated for speaking the truth to power or rebelling against the system or the government. Dissent is now a crime punishable with imprisonment!

It is a matter of immense significance in terms of human rights that the undertrials make up nearly 70 per cent of the total inmates in Indian prisons. Many of them do not have access to legal counsel or remedy. Pre-trial imprisonment in itself is punishment. As they say, process is the punishment in India.

It is a logical premise that the undertrials could be convicted or acquitted. Eventually be it conviction or acquittal, they cannot be kept in a place where they run greater risk of catching the coronavirus. They must be spared 'capital punishment' by the virus!

It is common knowledge that many of India's prisons are congested and have more inmates than they can accommodate and as such they remain hotspots for the contagious Covid-19. Needless to say, conditions in prisons are conducive to the spread of the contagion. When prisons are crammed full of inmates, it is next to impossible to maintain physical distancing. The incorporation of decongesting prisons into the pandemic response is a much-needed measure.

Prisoners share the right to health with those outside prisons for anyone to be dismissive of their greater in-house susceptibility to contract the virus. Non-violent and low-risk offenders pose no significant risk to public safety.

Releasing them will be a containment measure that has a health benefit by reducing the risk of transmission and an uplifting humanitarian gesture that affirms humanity in this pandemic time.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Second dose and senior citizens

We, super senior citizens, infirm and hardly mobility-friendly, are the worst fated lot in the present COVID-19 scenario. While the first shot of Covaxin was injected on 18th March for both of us,the second keeps us alluding since then.

For sometime, there were no stocks of the second shot. Soon after stocks arrived, we were told that the slots are reserved exclusively for the second dosers, and that the job is entrusted to Primary Health Centres as against private corporate hospitals earlier,.

Simultaneously we are advised not to venture out, thanks to the imposition of a lockdown after 10.00 a.m daily, due to the highly prevalent second wave. Online bookings show fully booked..It is simply awful to approach a Primary Health vaccination Centre without online advance booking, given the exposure to the heavy mob gatherings.

It would be most welcome and relieving if the 2nd doses are either arranged at their living places or a voluntary organization, as in Bengaluru,, here also comes up for facilitating vaccination and also transport arrangement,to the designated vaccination centre, of course for a competitive price.

Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

'Hanging' or haranguing?

The Union Minister Sadananda Gowda has reportedly asked: "whether people in the government should hang themselves for their failure to produce vaccines as was directed by the government". No Minister Sir, we the people don't want to hang yourselves for what you and your government. Who are we to make such demand.

We only want you to hang your head in shame for what has happened. Not you, your leaders but also other leaders who they did during the elections by presiding over the crowd without wearing masks and maintaining distance.

We want your leaders to hang their heads in shame when the new Assam Chief Minister went on claim that there is no Corona in Assam and he will not wear a mask irrespective of what PM or central government have to say when he was campaigning for the party.

We only want you all to apologize and hang your head in shame as this would go a long way to defuse the anger among the people in distress. Of course, we are not even demanding PM to hang his head in shame and accept his mistake of feeling proud when he saw a huge crowd in his last election meeting.

S Natarajan, New Delhi

Should India intervene in Israel- Palestine war?

Kudos to Hans India, for the in-depth analysis on the reasons for escalation of Israel - Palestine conflict, that is threatening to snowball in to another war and , disaster, whose consequences will be felt not only in middle East, but also in many countries of the world. (Politics behind tension in Gaza, 14 May). Besides politics, religion and land are also appear to be the key factors in this conflict.

May 10 is very significant to the pride Of Israel as a mighty nation , because on this day ,they could decisively defeat the Arab Nations in 1967 and won back the holy city of Jerusalem.

The right wing and orthodox Jews, permitted by Israeli government wanted to march in East Jerusalem to commemorate and celebrate the great victory in 1967 war, which gave the Jews their soul to the body that is Jerusalem.

On the other hand, it is alleged that the Palestinians have congregated in large numbers in the Al-Aksa Mosque , ready to obstruct and disturb the victory march of orthodox Jews in the east Jerusalem.

Hence the global powers like USA, Russia, England, China ,India should come together and broker peace between the two warring nations Israel and Palestine and maintain peace and tranquility in the holy city which is sine qua non to world peace.

P H Hema Sagar, Secunderabad