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Whose honour is being violated?
Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees the fundamental right to life and personal liberty to every person. The editorial ‘Horror stories of love’ (November 30) aptly tells the abysmal state of honour killings prevailing in our society. What is ‘honour’ and whose honour is being violated? Love, a beautiful gift of nature should be accepted with all its serenity and dignity. Moreover, the Supreme Court has also recognised choosing a life partner of one’s choice and getting married to him/her as a fundamental right. This heinous offence is on the rise because of lack of implementation of laws. The law enforcers must take up the issue on priority basis as one right move may save many young lives in future. Honour killing is a bestial act which preys on caste and religion. It should be a defunct practice in a secular and democratic nation and must be condemned. The guilty need to be punished severely in a deterrent manner so that the indictment of honour killing does not befool the society. Dr SUNAINA, Mohali
Modify IT Act
Section 66A of the IT Act uses the expression ‘grossly offensive’ and ‘menacing character’ (editorial “Modify the IT Act”, December 1). These two expressions are inclusive in nature and give ample power to the police to arrest anyone who sends such information by means of a computer resource or a communication device. These expressions are also not defined under the Act due to which there is possibility that this provision of law can be misused.
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Only two options are available to neutralise the effect of this draconian provision. Either the said expression is interpreted by the judiciary so as to limit its scope or the legislature should amend the provision so that its misuse in the future can be avoided. Section 66A should not encroach upon the fundamental right to speech and expression of the citizens. The need is to counterbalance Section 66A and Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India. KSHITIJ GUPTA, Narwana (Haryana) No majority issue New Minority Affairs Minister K. Rahman Khan has decided to push up 4.5 percent sub-quota issue, although the Andhra Pradesh High Court has struck down this quota and the Supreme Court also refused to stay the High Court judgment. Muslim population during independence was below 24 per cent in undivided India, and the territory of Pakistan including Bangladesh was slightly more than 24 per cent. The Muslims have already liquidated almost the entire Hindu and Sikh population from Pakistan and Bangladesh. They enjoy equal rights and privileges in our country as all other citizens, what more are they asking for? ANAND PRAKASH, Panchkula Social deterrent Every time a death sentence is executed in India, debate resumes whether capital punishment should be done away with from the statue books. In a democratic society, state is not a person but represents a collective mind which decides the well-being of the society. In the past, kings were considered an incarnation of God on Earth to regulate society, to protect righteousness and to bring an end to evil. In the rarest of the rare cases, where a person becomes a threat to law-abiding society and after due process of law if capital punishment is awarded, it holds some kind of assurance to civil society. Anti-social elements like terrorists who live to kill people for no fault of theirs, child abusers who kill innocent children after abusing them and rapists are a threat to the well-being of a society. Scrapping death penalty would mean that the state is more concerned about the right to life of criminals than its law-abiding citizens. Dr SANJAY PATHAK, via e-mail Official apathy A public notice issued by Secretary-cum-Director General of school education in some newspapers mentions that many teachers have been absent from their duties for the past 5-17 years. They are being served a show-cause notice giving them 30 days time to prove their innocence. Their absence has resulted in huge loss to students and as a result, it is a great loss to the nation. These teachers should be fired from their jobs with retrospective effect. Instead, the officials should be served a show-cause notice for being in a slumber for the past so many years. The teachers’ sincerity also needs to be addressed in the Right to Education Act; otherwise it can’t be implemented in its true spirit. SURBHI
AGRAWAL, Chandigarh
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