Letters to Editor

Hush no more!

For long the Indian society has hushed upon sex, a basic human instinct. As the society is finally coming of age, it is time to let this emotion too take its natural course. In today's world where pleasure comes with a hefty price tag, sex is absolutely tax-free! Both men and women are entitled to simple pleasures. It is no more just about procreation but also about recreation.The survey conducted by your magazine (TSI, July 25-31) too echoes this sentiment.
Sunil Melwani
Pune

The curse of malnutrition

“Just Calories” (TSI, July 18-24) by Prasoon S Majumdar highlights the significant issue of malnutrition amongst the Indian children. It is a matter of great concern that malnutrition is more common in our country than in Sub-Saharan Africa. One in every three malnourished children in the world lives in India. Malnutrition limits development and the capacity to learn. Malnourished children are less likely to perform well in school and more likely to grow into malnourished adults, at greater risk of diseases and early death. Mr Majumdar has aptly suggested the development of a Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) to educate the masses about balanced and healthy food habits.
Suman
Noida

Ignorance is bliss?

This refers to the editorial “Ever wondered why, while attacks in Mumbai keep happening,....” by Arindam Chaudhuri (TSI, July 25-31). In Bengali, there is a proverb, sarsher madhye bhut (ghosts are in mustard seeds). Treachery of our own people breaks the very spinal chord of our nation. Our administrative system lacks transparent and responsible officers. Unfortunately, official appointments in India are made either through paying bribes or through personal contacts. In the garb of reservation many under qualified people get appointed at crucial posts. By blatantly ignoring merit and skill we pose a serious threat to our country's very survival.
Uttam Kumar Bhowmik
Tamluk

Mamata to the rescue

Apropos “The State of Health” (TSI, July 18-24)), I would like to state that Mamata Banerjee has rightfully taken upon the task of improving the standard of medical facilities in West Bengal. Due to utter negligence and apathy of former governments, the standard of medical treatment meted out even in prime government hospitals is far from average. Doctors frequently indulge in strikes overlooking medical ethics and disrupting the hospital’s normal service. Unless the CM enforces a strict check on discipline within the state medical fraternity, there would not be any improvement. The arrangements should also be made to increase the bed strength in existing hospitals and to update the medical equipments. Furthermore, the government should strive to open super speciality hospitals in every district possible.
Ranjit Sinha
Kolkata

A developing nation

The edit “Ever wondered why, while attacks in Mumbai keep happening,....” (TSI, July 25-31) was very revealing. There are innumerable reasons which can be attributed to the continuous blasts. India is a developing country with majority of its people being unsatisfied in some way or the other. Terror attacks are means of drawing the government’s attention towards their demands. Secondly, India is the second most rapidly developing country in Asia after China. Our neighbours viz Pakistan and China are jealous of our booming economy.
Bhaskar Jyoti
New Delhi

Viva la revolution

This refers to the editorial “A big challenge ahead for Salman Khurshid” (TSI, July 18-24) by Arindam Chaudhuri. I'm personally looking forward to a revolutionary couple of years ahead. Going by the central government's own admission there are more than three crore pending judgements in various courts. The maxim, “Justice delayed is justice denied” is most appropriate for the Indian judicial system. Arindam Chaudhuri’s suggestion to increase the number of judges substantially and the provision to hike the judicial budget is practical and worthy of serious consideration. The expenses would be easily reimbursed as the speedy disposal of judicial cases would act as a deterrent.
V.N. Gopal
Madipakkam, Chennai

Toothless tiger

The editorial “A big challenge ahead for Salman Khurshid” (TSI, July 18-24) by Arindam Chaudhuri is very insightful. Of late, it appears that the Indian Judiciary has embraced the profession a bit too keenly as the colour of the dress seems to have entered its soul. The judiciary needs to realise that it is supposed to be a watchdog, not a pet. The biggest misfortune of our judicial system is that although it is authorised to award a death sentence, yet it is not eligible to place the order for a 10 ft. long rope to execute it. The pending hangings of Kasab and Afzal are the glaring examples of this handicap.
Kabir
New Delhi

Need of the hour

Arindam Chaudhuri in his edit “Ever wondered why, while attacks in Mumbai keep happening,....” (TSI, July 25-31) raises some very valid questions. The recent Mumbai blasts demonstrated that we have miserably failed to heed the lessons of 26/11. Mumbai has again become a terror target, the situation commands more than a mere knee-jerk reaction. We need a comprehensive anti-terror law to deal with the challenges thrown up by terrorist groups. Focus should be laid on the woefully inadequate counter-intelligence system in the country. We need to look into the anti-terror laws enacted worldwide and study the reasons for the failure of POTA and TADA before enacting a comprehensive law. Moreover, it is important to create an anti-terrorism system that would comprise of a well-trained separate police force, a team of public prosecutors and trained judges.
Dilbag Rai
Chandigarh

Off track

Apropos Musings, "The Track of death" (TSI, July 25-31), Prasoon S. Majumdar has made an apt analysis of the Indian Railways. The twin tragedy of the derailment of the Howrah-Delhi Kalka Mail near Malwan in Uttar Pradesh and the blast on the track near Rangiya in Assam, have once again turned the spotlight on railway safety. It is unfortunate that despite a spate of accidents, the railways have done little to ensure passenger-safety. Unmanned level-crossings, a laid-back attitude and the failure to fill up safety related jobs and a lack of interest in the Railway Ministry have all contributed to the problem. With the changing times the lost lives have become pawns for political mileage. A series of such unfortunate incidents in quick succession is bound to dent passengers confidence.
Bhanupriya
Mohali

The cultural renaissance

Ravinder Bawa’s interview with Sonal Mansingh, the great classical dance exponent and choreographer, "Culture is low priority..." (TSI, July 18-24) hit the nail on the head. In fact, the culture is not even a priority for the government. Our nation is full of rich culture and its legacy has always made India surpass the ethos and pathos of the people of rest of the nations. At this transitional stage of diminishing halo of classical dance and fast escalating hallowedness of modern dance, an important question that arises is, why is the beautiful art of classical dance dying in India? George Bernard Shaw once said, 'the true artist will let his wife starve, his children go barefoot, his mother drudge for his living at seventy, sooner than work at anything but his art'.Is the prevailing situation not enough to serve as an eye opener for the government? In this post-liberalised era, the Indian society that is moving ahead with the medium of social networking, Facebook,  blogs, Twitter, Rock and Pop music, reality shows and the kaleidoscopic scenery of satellite channels, everything that used to be gold has lost its shine. It is high time that the government takes serious and sincere initiatives to bring about a cultural renaissance that is long overdue in India.
Shreeprakash Sharma
Samastipur, Bihar

Busting the myths

I am a psychiatrist by profession and I see scores of patients coming with sexual problems everyday. The findings of the TSI sex survey were absolutely interesting. Sex is coming out of the closet in our country but there is another aspect which requires serious thought. This relates to sexual problems arising from the inadequate sexual knowledge, especially  among the young unmarried males. As pointed out by your survey too, only 9% of the respondents considered going to a counsellor. Most of the young adults have inadequate sexual knowledge and end up going to a quack. Many hours of productivity are lost because of the anxiety arising out of sex problems. TSI deserves to be commended for an objective and dispassionate review of a difficult problem that besets our society.
Dr Deepali Gul
Jalandhar