L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Copying is not right

Apropos ‘All emotion, no reason’ (Spectrum, June 10), Bobby Bedi has rightly commented on the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010, as deserving serious discussion. The amendment in the Indian Copyright Act was necessary, but is not sufficient to protect the interests of stakeholders in the knowledge economy. Creators, inventors and authors should be able to earn more than just livelihood through royalties, which they are often denied. The negative implications in terms of increased cost of seeds, medicines and books, however, must be looked into with concern.

Dr M.M. Goel, Kurukshetra

Obscene!

I wonder content of what potency earned the “obscene” tag from none other than Khushwant Singh (This above all, ‘Don’t get obscene’, June 10). Although I have read almost all books by the author and am one of his ardent fans, yet some of his writings I am compelled to hide from my children as those contain near-porn stuff. Have the tastes and preferences been changed by the passing years? Hope not, for his fans would want to hear the same naughty notes in the same tone, otherwise they’d believe their Singh has lost his unique musk at the hour of dusk.

Sanjeev Trikha, Fatehabad

Siachen impasse

“No thaw till Pak signs line on map” (June 10) by Arun Joshi gave valuable insight on the Siachen issue. If India pulls out of Siachen at this moment, there is every possibility of Pakistan taking control of the heights. We should thus not accede to any such proposal just because Pakistan seems keen on it. There are many issues on which India has been seeking Pakistani initiative, such as ending terrorism. Moreover, the conditions India has put on Siachen are only reasonable.

Navjot, Sunam

II

Given Pakistan’s dismal track record of honouring commitments, it would be futile to hope it would not attempt any military misadventure in the area, even if it agrees to authenticate the 110-km long AGPL. We must not repeat the folly of 1972, when our political leadership gave up everything on the negotiating table during the Simla Agreement. No cost can be too high when ensuring the security of our country, more so when the area in question is surrounded by two highly distrustful neighbours.

Parmendar Pawar, Sirsa

Everyman’s English

“How to understand, and speak, Indian English” by S. Nihal Singh (Spectrum, June 3), was an interesting study on the language in its myriad manifestations. A Bihari at a railway platform cried out “Raid ho gia”, sending out an alarm, but as it turned, all he meant was the signal had turned red. Americans pronounce ‘schedule’ as ‘skejul’, which is Greek to most Indians. A typical Punjabi would, on the other hand, pronounce ‘Ottawa’ as ‘Ottaawa’ and ‘Canada’ as ‘Kaneda’. It is each to his own English, a language that has unmatched adaptability and variation, and is yet precise.

B.M. Singh, Amritsar

Right to choose

“UK to ban ‘forced’ marriages” (Fifty Fifty, June 10) brings to mind the status of women in India too. A strong law of this kind is needed here too, when we talk of life term for dowry deaths. A case of attempted ‘honour killing’ for a couple getting married against the wishes of their parents in Safedpur village of Pataudi town reported recently shows why a law is needed to put an end to such outrage. ‘Arranged marriages’ cannot mean forced marriage in the name of honour.

Dr M.K. Sehgal, Yamunanagar

Ache of absence

Apropos “Distance makes heart grow fonder... does it?” by Radhika Bhirani (Spectrum, June 10), absence does make the heart grow fonder, but due to separation, the fondness is soon replaced by insecurities and apprehensions. Whether you are a girlfriend or wife, absence does affect you. A feeling of rootlessness comes in, and the insecurity soon engulfs a person, especially women. Absence diminishes commonplace passions and heightens the higher ones, as the wind extinguishes candles but kindles a fire.

Anjali Sharma, Hamirpur