Manipur violence
The fissures and unrest in Manipur, between the Meitei community and tribals, is an unfortunate development (Page 1 and Inside pages, May 5). This is a State that takes pride in its literacy rate and advancement.
Therefore, it is a shame to witness people resorting to despicable acts.
There ought to have been serious attempts to facilitate dialogue and discussion. There needs to be reason and debate in a civilised manner.
Hriiyio Bayo,
Manipur
Misplaced optimism?
The interview with the Home Minister, Amit Shah, “Karnataka polls important; BJP will get full majority” (Inside pages, May 5), presents a picture of extreme optimism — that the BJP would secure a thumping majority in the forthcoming elections. But, this is a scenario that has not been seen in the State so far. The BJP is in power in Karnataka though it never received a decisive mandate. The dubious ‘Operation Lotus’ ensured the toppling of the Congress-JD (S) government after bad apples among the Congress and the JD(S) hopped across to the BJP. The BJP has come to power more than once but it has never won a majority in the Assembly. This time, there is the anti-incumbency factor apart from corruption charges galore against the Bommai government. Losing two prominent Lingayat faces might impact the party’s chances as well in a significant number of constituencies. The State BJP unit is banking heavily on the charisma of the Prime Minister but this factor has never been a decider in State elections in the South. Karnataka is no exception to this.
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru
Justice and delaying tactics
The developments in the Bilkis Bano case are symbolic of patriarchal muscle flexing. If the state tries to use tactics to scuttle the final judicial outcome, it only causes deep distrust about the motive of the government as far as women’s empowerment is concerned. This is more than a minority versus the majority issue. It is a direct attack on a woman’s security irrespective of her religion. The delaying tactics being employed by certain lawyers is distressing. The judiciary has to step in to question the government if it begins to walk away from ensuring women’s security. The government is expected to walk the talk on this issue.
Madhusree Guha,
Kolkata
