A larger reform

Archaic, this

• It took the government over 50 years to allow Indians to proudly display their national flag when they want to. I think this time around too the Indian government should change its archaic laws. There is no disrespect to the flag by displaying the Tricolour on a helmet. In fact, I think it will be a matter of immense joy and pride for Indians around the world when they see Narain Karthikeyan in a race with the Tricolour on his gear.

— Anand Pitre Miami

Judging the judge

• This refers to the report ‘Work begins for swift judicial redressal’ (IE, February 25). Steps to reform and improve the judicial redressal system to ensure speedy delivery of justice are welcome. Even the Left parties in the UPA cannot oppose this. This would take away a lot of stress and misery out of the common man’s life. Currently the judge is taken to be the supreme authority and an all-knowing person in the system which has failed to deliver at the most basic levels.
A supra-judicial watchdog is required, so that even so called honest judges watch their step.

— F.S.K. Barar Jodhpur

Like the tsunami

• It is more than two months now since the tsunami hit Asia’s coasts. There is yet another type of tsunami that hits us everyday, making life miserable for large numbers of people. I refer to the gruesome traffic accidents that take place with clock-work precision, snuffing out innocent lives within seconds as was done by
the tsunami. According to a survey of traffic accidents in India, in a year, about a lakh of people are killed and many times more seriously maimed.

— V.S. Venkatavaradan Salem

A different state

• Apropos of your editorial ‘Kashmir’s agony’ (IE, February 25), in the name of secularism, Article 370 was imposed in J&K. This has led to the alienation of Kashmir from the rest of India. That’s why all this breast-beating by newspaper editorials isn’t going to help generate enthusiasm among the Indian public to organise relief operations.

— Vishwanath Rao Bangalore

Stay out of this

• The Rajasthan government is reportedly planning to bring in anti-conversion legislation. Such legislation is the violation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion. Religion is a private matter. It is about personal choice. I want the state to stay out of my personal life and freedoms. Obviously, the BJP government in Rajasthan neither cares about constitutional morality nor is it concerned about issues of governance. The Supreme Court should intervene and declare all anti-conversion bills that have been passed in different states as ‘‘ultra vires’’.

— Pranav Sachdeva New Delhi