Letters to the editor

There is a great deal of artistic anguish in Ram Rahman8217;s piece regarding the self-imposed exile of M.F. Husain.

Picture of an exile

8226; There is a great deal of artistic anguish in Ram Rahman8217;s piece Why is he in exile? regarding the self-imposed exile of M.F. Husain. The painter8217;s depiction of Hindu gods and goddesses I do not mean Bharat Mata distresses me as a Hindu. I want to ask Ram Rahman whether he has seen the paintings of Sita, Hanuman and so on by this 8216;child-like8217; painter. If Hindus like me are deeply hurt by such paintings by Husain, do I have to get labelled as a member of the Hindutva brigade or the RSS? Are Hindus not justified in getting angry if their deities not icons are represented in such an abhorrent fashion? How is this 8220;art8221; ? Who defines it and who evaluates it?

8212; R. Venkatanarayanan

Noida

Son fixation

8226; I FULLY share and endorse the arguments and support the views expressed in the article, 8216;Gender bender8217; IE, September 17 with regard to the declining sex ratio. Son preference is deeply entrenched in Indian society, especially in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana, where people consider male offspring as the carrier of their family tree or 8216;vansha8217;. There is also the practice of dowry that goes to make daughters a liability. Today, there can be no denying the painful truth that obstetricians and gynaecologists mint money by conducting illegal abortions and sex determination tests.

Take my personal experiences. Our child is three-and-a-half. When my wife was expecting him, people kept asking us whether we have learnt of the sex of the child post-sonography, but we never sought such information from the radiologist. Finally when our son was born, we greeted him with the same joy that we would have greeted a daughter with. But people kept congratulating us on having a male child and keeping the lineage of the family going. These may be modern times, but tragically we are still living in the feudal age.

8212; Manoj Joshi

Mumbai

In Lord8217;s name

8226; IT WAS comical to see how the BJP leaders jumped up from their seats at the first glimpse of a very slight chance to score a point over the UPA. It was like the spectators jumping from their seats when a batsman hits a six! BJP politicians are so desperate, and they know it. Once having failed a peaceful and noble Ram in a most spectacular manner, even with all the power in their hand, it is more than certain that the good Lord Ram is not going to help them any more. If Lord Ram were Shiva, he would certainly have opened his third eye and you know what shape the BJP would have taken! In fact, it took the whole country on a wild goose chase with the fairy tale of a Ram temple!

8212; A. Prasad Ahmedabad

Everlasting inquiries

8226; THE Justice Liberhan

Commission has been granted yet another extension by the Centre. It is difficult to count the number of times the said Commission has been granted extensions over the last 15 years. In fact, it has attained the dubious distinction of being the longest-ever working commission of inquiry constituted till date 8212; in India and perhaps in the whole world. It has been observed by none else than the former chief justice of India, Justice R.C. Lahoti, that these commissions are nothing but a waste of time and just an instrument to divert the attention of the public from alarming situations or events. We need to immediately amend the Commission of Inquiry Act and incorporate a prescribed time frame with a limited scope for extensions. These commissions should not be allowed to become a post-retirement benefit for judicial officers.

8212; Hemant Kumar

Ambala