M A I L B A G

Rooting out the menace of rape

Our ancient culture declared thousands of years ago that “Gods live where women are worshipped” (Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devta). Strangely, the same reverence is not translated into action when we come to deal with our mothers, daughters, sisters and women in general.

The question of rooting out the growing menace of rape needs a comprehensive treatment. First, why does one defile the chastity of a woman? There is some serious flaw in his upbringing. Second, society has abandoned its responsibility of ensuring that none of its members is subjected to inhuman, beastly treatment like this. Unless we tackle this challenge effectively, all our dreams of taking the country forward will be reduced to ashes.

The topic should be discussed openly in each family. Parents should properly educate their sons that the ultimate humiliation they can bring to the family and to themselves is the violation of a woman’s chastity in any form. The subject should be given due coverage in school and college curricula. The voice of protest should come from all corners — religious congregations, educational institutions, social organisations, offices and the media. The women and the students must accept the ugly fact that they can no longer ignore the question of their own safety and should be adequately armed with self-defence and other measures. They must assert their right to live a dignified life.

KANWAR PAL SINGH CHAUHAN, Chandigarh

Securalism, Congress style In Congress-ruled states, churches and mosques have been liberally encroaching government land. Also, government doles out grants and aids to Christian and Muslim educational institutions. As per soft Hindutva, state governments have to control all the Hindu temples. Strangely, the moolah from these Hindu temples are diverted to the development of mosques and churches. Hindu temples get back hardly 20 per cent of the money from the temples for their development. The temple priests do not get their salaries regularly either. Some of them are in pathetic condition. These days, Congress leaders and ministers treat the Hindu temples and their resources as their personal property. After looting all the money centres, temples have become a good “hunting ground”. Karnataka is a shining example. Each state government should come out with a White Paper since Nehru’s secularism came to India. Let this also include the free land granted and the money from taxpayer to the churches and mosques. Most of the Hindus are for Sri Ram temple at Ayodhya without delay; majority are against conversion by force, allurement or fraud; and majority are against police inaction during communal riots by the Islamic fundamentalists in Congress-ruled states. Surprisingly, hardly any cases are filed against Muslim rioters in Kerala! If Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her sycophants still talk of secularism, probably they imagine that they can fool majority of the people. These double standards and massive corruption have reduced the Congress strength in Parliament; it will sink further. Mrs Gandhi has converted the Congress to Italian Muslim Congress. ashok kumar prasad, Mangalore (Karnataka)

Mahathir’s legacy

This has reference to the editorial “Goodbye, Dr M” (Nov 4). Dr Mathathir Mohamad had been the chief architect of the robust economy of Malaysia which has a GDP growing from $12 billion to 210 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 8.3 per cent. Malaysia, which has a per capita income of $7,640, has only 3 per cent of arable land. Yet, it is one of the world’s richest producers of rubber, tin and palm oil, besides rice, timber, tobacoo, petroleum products and electronic equipment. It has iron ore, gold and bauxite as its major mineral resources.

The long tenure of Dr Mahathir has led to the all-round prosperity of the country. He demostrated firm determination to establish civil order by ruthlessly crushing terrorism and even by stamping out opposition and rival centre of power by going to the extent of flinging corruption and sodomy charges against Anwar Ibrahim and putting him behind bars. Nevertheless, he has been the chief architect of his country's privatisiation programme.

Since 1998 onwards, he has played the lead role in building a modern Malaysia and making it a key player not only in South East Asia and ASEAN, but also in APEC and the Organisation of Islamic countries.

DEEPAK TANDON, Panchkula

Audhya & Ayodhya

Apropos of Mr Dalip Singh Ghuman’s letter on the subject (Sept 27), the Far East has been under the cultural, religious and linguistic influence of India from time immemorial. In recent past, Tamil princes of West Coast sailed to Indo-China and established kingdoms there. Apparently, a scion of Raghukul (Rama’s dynasty) went to Siam (Thailand), established a kingdom there and had the capital named Ayodhya and took the title of “Rama”, his illustrious forefather.

Ayodhia, in due course of time, degenerated to Audhya. Phra-Karan (ear) in Thailand, Bhumiputra for native Malays in Malaysia, Megawati Sukarnoputri, the President of Indonesia, are examples of Sanskrit influence in the area. Ramayan is popular in Thailand and Indonesia even today. In fact, Ramlila of Bali is very famous and popular even amongst the Muslims there. As regards two cities bearing the same name, even at home, we have more than one Rampur, Bilaspur, Fatehabad etc. Incidentally, Dili Medan is the Capital of Sumatra (Indonesia).

m.k. bhardwaj, Chandigarh