Disrespect to sentiments
Following the widespread outrage, organisers of the controversial event ‘Tales of Kamasutra and Christmas Celebration’ have cancelled the four-day event. The action was taken after repeated police inquiries and complaints about the promotional posters and advertisement on social media that critics labelled as offensive and insensitive. Christmas happens to be a solemn and a family celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Church in Goa has expressed its deep anguish over the controversial advertisement which relates the celebration of Christmas with explicit and unrelated themes. Such portrayal disrespects religious sentiments of the community. The event may have been cancelled after intense backlash, however the controversy surrounding it has not deterred the organisers from continuing the booking, as it appears that they remain committed to hosting the event. The exact venue has not been mentioned in the advertisement and bookings are expected online as there is no sale of tickets. This raises doubts about the motive of the organisers. The police need to be vigilant since the event could take place on the sly. The organisers should issue a public apology for hurting the sentiments of Goans and the Catholic community.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Violence against women
Two condemnable offshoots of patriarchy are gender inequality and sexual violence against women. Violence against women and girls is most often unreported because of the stigma attached to it, though the rate of violent incidents has reached pandemic proportions. When the United Nations declared November 25 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, its hands were obviously full. Sexual violence against women is categorised, among others, as unwelcome sexual advance, rape, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, human trafficking and female genital mutilation. Forty-nine countries have no laws to tackle domestic violence. Early marriage enhances the ‘marital longevity’ of a woman. A shocking number reveals that 750 million women are married off before they attain their 18th year of life. Only 78 countries have criminalised marital rape.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Linguistic fanaticism
Nobody holds any legal and moral right to physically assault anybody irrespective of the issue. So those Marathi zealots, who drove Arnav Khaire to end his life for the latter’s act of uttering few words in Hindi, must be awarded harshest punishment possible. But by which moral right can BJP accuse others of sowing poisons of hatred about other languages for political gains. Without offering minimum support to the suicide abettors, it must be said that those zealots were at least flying the flag of Marathi on the soil of Maharashtra. In contrast, BJP strives to impose the language of a few North Indian states upon this multilingual country where non-Hindi speakers form the overwhelming majority. Just because of the ‘sin’ of speaking Bengali language, innumerable honest hardworking Bengalis are being targeted, tortured and detained in BJP-ruled states, compelling many of them to escape to West Bengal by forsaking their livelihood.
Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata
On clarity and ambiguity
The recent five-judge Supreme Court verdict interpreting the constitutional provisions on the role of Governors and the President in acting on bills passed by state assemblies marks an unfortunate departure from the sound reasoning of the earlier two-judge bench. The earlier judgment had correctly interpreted the Constitution and, importantly, set much-needed timelines for constitutional authorities to decide on pending bills. That landmark ruling was widely welcomed by supporters of democracy and legal experts alike for resolving a long-standing issue. In contrast, the new five-judge bench decision has reversed this progress. Instead of building on the clarity offered earlier, it has introduced ambiguity and revived the very uncertainty that had finally been laid to rest. What was once a decisive step toward accountability has now been left in limbo.
Tharcius S Fernando, Chennai
India arm-twisted
India has agreed to buy 2.2 million tonnes of natural gas—about 10 per cent of our needs—from the United States. This comes soon after we stopped purchasing oil from certain Russian companies in compliance with US restrictions. The message seems clear: we are discouraged from buying from one country only to be steered toward another. If that is not arm-twisting, it is difficult to find a gentler term. Publicly, we maintain that India’s energy choices are guided by our strategic and economic interests, not external pressure. Yet these selective announcements appear aimed at softening public reaction to an unfavourable outcome in the ongoing trade talks with the US. It is disappointing to see India yielding to US pressure while simultaneously purchasing billions of dollars’ worth of American defence equipment which primarily strengthens US interests and its arms industry.
S Kamat, Mysuru
