MyVoice: Views of our readers 29th March 2025

High in position, yet narrow in mindset

This refers to Hans editorial: “Stop trivialising sexual assault on women” (28-03-2025). Assaults are happening unabatedly despite changes brought to legal codes. Women undergoing such cruel assaults lose their purity permanently. But the criminals go scot-free with minor punishments. Why cannot punishments be awarded for castration which will act as a deterrent. In Indian culture, touching any part of women’s body is tantamount to crime. Court judgements are, at times, not in accordance with our traditional systems and values.

N Ramalakshmi, Secunderabad

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The recent interactions between the Apex Court in New Delhi and the Allahabad High Court are getting curiouser in the matter of an act of rape. In no other instance of crime, the maxim that “Justice delayed is justice denied “stands truly vindicated and what is worse, it gets rewarded in the increased frequency of similar crimes thence. Every prospective rapist or an outrage of a woman’s modesty, in other words, gets emboldened by the slow pace of justice dispensed in such cases. Prompt and the right amount of punishment can only be an effective guarantee, and all other measures merely remain as “also rans”

Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

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It’s good that the Supreme Court has expressed annoyance over the insensitive remarks of an Allahabad High court judge and suspended his order in a case of attempt to rape. The trivialising of a heinous crime, particularly against children and women, is a sign of deep malady in society. It’s unfortunate that the people in higher positions are no exception to narrow mindsets. The system should not tolerate such erratic expressions, especially from higher positions as the consequences would be wider and influential. The judges who had shown gender insensitivity should be made not eligible to take up such cases further.

Dr DVG Sankara Rao, Vizianagaram

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As there was a deep sense of pain and anguish in the Allahabad High Court overlooking the dignity and honour of a young girl molested by two men, the Supreme Court rightly stepped in to stay it. Ironically, the court did not look at the sexual assault and safety of women, which is vital in the first place, by granting bail to the perpetrators. It only goes to reveal its insensitive to sexual assaults. Despite Nirbhaya case being a watershed moment for Indian society, the court’s action exposed its slide by underplaying the seriousness of the issue. It amounts to blaming victims instead of taking serious view of the crime committed by the misguided and wayward men.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

Popn-based delimitation unfair to South

It is commendable that the TG Assembly has passed a resolution, stating that population alone should not be the criterion for Delimitation 2026 (Telangana rejects delimitation based on population, 28 March). In this regard, there is considerable merit in the argument. The 5 states which religiously controlled the population and added to the national wealth are likely to be penalised with less representation in LS. The BIMARU states, which increased their population and depleted the treasury are likely to gain more representation in LS. This will create awful imbalance in the representation in LS.

P H Hema Sagar, Secunderabad

Tariff war will ultimately hurt US

I think the USA is digging its own grave of late, with Trump taking autocratic decisions on tariffs. The other countries in general and Canada, Mexico, Japan and China in particular, are very much agitated and are getting ready to retaliate. Trump must know that Japan and China are much ahead of it in technology. These two countries could take over world trade if the USA acts big. Those days when the USA had the advantage of technology were no longer there for it to exploit. Already affected countries are retaliating by announcing counter tariffs on imports from the USA. If this tit-for-tat continues for long, the world gains and a debt-ridden USA will suffer.

Govardhana Myneedu, Vijayawada

End of days for political satire

Kunal Kamra’s brush with Mumbai’s politicians shows that they have an ultra-thin skin, thinner than that of the finest condom ever made. Having denied us our due share of the basic amenities that go into making a city livable for its citizens, they now want to grab even the occasional slice of fun that comes our way in the form of jokes by a stand-up comic. Writer Mary P Poole had said, “He who laughs, lasts.” However, with our SS (Shiv Sainiks) going about with the clinical precision of Hitler’s most dreaded SS (Schutzstaffel, German for “Protection Squadron”), one wonders if Kunal Kamra will at all last in his chosen field, that of a stand-up comic. The violent retaliation following comments he made in his show clearly indicate that the powers that be do not have the stomach for Kamra’s comic act.

Avinash Godboley, Dewas (MP)