Women must pay

Sir — Our patriarchal society is usually quick to transfer the blame for any misdeed on to some hapless woman. The Priyanka Todi case is no exception. Even when a husband beats up his wife, in most cases, the latter suffers in silence because, as Bhaswati Chakravorty says in “An easy way out”(Oct 14), “the morally righteous who demand that she speak up will not be there to protect her thereafter— from society, from criminals, from the administration, from her relatives and her family”. Priyanka’s confidence and security have been compromised, following the death of her husband. She has been left with little choice but to stay with her father. Apart from the trauma of having to live with a father who might have caused her husband’s death, Priyanka might be facing other difficulties too. Presumably, the Todi family and its well-wishers have started blaming her for all the troubles they are undergoing right now. Perhaps it is just a matter of time before the Rahmans follow suit. In this situation, asking Priyanka to ‘speak out’ would amount to another violation of her rights.

The general consensus that Priyanka should make a martyr of herself is only to be expected in a society which lauds mythical figures such as Sita because of her willingness to sacrifice her life for a husband who refused to believe in her. The fact that many people think that Priyanka is guilty in some way is because, for them, a woman can either be like Sita or Sati.

Yours faithfully,
Md. Aslam Parvez, Calcutta

Sir — Only a heartless person can demand that Priyanka Todi return to Rizwanur Rahman’s home after the latter’s tragic death. With the person she loved no longer in that house, who will she relate to there? And is there any guarantee that Priyanka will get unquestioned support from the Rahman family, at a time when her father is being suspected of having a hand in Rizwanur’s death? After Priyanka gets over the shock, she should be allowed to start life afresh. The women’s commission should ensure that Priyanka does not lead a blighted life hereafter by giving her the means to support herself if she decides to leave her parents’ home.

Yours faithfully,
Ravindra Kumar, Calcutta

Sir — Bhaswati Chakravorty seems to have made a heroine out of Priyanka Todi. Since every person is responsible for his or her deeds, it is futile to speculate, as Chakravorty does, on who is to guarantee Priyanka’s safety if she decided to speak out. Priyanka must have known that her match with Rizwanur Rahman was an unequal one. If she had really loved him, she would not have put Rizwanur’s life in peril by marrying him in the first place. But as she went on to do just that. It is Priyanka’s duty now to let the world know the truth so that Rizwanur’s family gets justice.

Yours faithfully,
Chameli Pal, Batanagar

Sir — Bhaswati Chakravorty seems to believe that people are eager to make the grieving Priyanka Todi face the media’s glare. But what was demanded of Priyanka were not interviews, but a willingness to cooperate with investigating agencies to help them find the truth about Rizwanur Rahman’s death. Now that she has spoken to officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the task of pinning down the guilty has now probably been made easier.

Yours faithfully,
A.S. Mehta, Calcutta

Time for a different tune?

Sir — It is impossible to avoid the sense of a schadenfreude (pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune) while reflecting on the backtracking of the Congress over the nuclear deal, especially after witnessing The Telegraph’s fanatical support for the anti-national deal and the paper’s constant urging that the ‘honest’ prime minister call for elections. Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are now in full retreat in face of opposition from the Left. Thus, the nuclear deal will, in all probability, fall through. Does this mean that The Telegraph will now accuse the two leaders of betraying the nation?

I wonder what it is that makes those at The Telegraph assume that people will vote for Manmohan Singh. Even if the Indian middle-class is brainwashed by the media to vote for the Congress, the party has no chance of winning any election since it has thoroughly alienated itself from the masses. The Congress will come to grief if the country goes to polls, just as the Bharatiya Janata Party did last time with its India Shining campaign.

I am also waiting to read what hilarious excuse Malvika Singh finds for the pathetic failure of the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh duo this time.

Yours faithfully,
Biswapriya Purkayastha, Shillong

Sir — In the name of ensuring alternative sources of energy for the country, some people are pushing India to the brink of destruction. Nuclear fuel is extremely dangerous for all forms of life. What happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only demonstrated its immediate destructive power, but also its long-term effects on life.

The waste management of nuclear fuel is a cause for perennial concern. Any leakage of the spent fuel from storage cans might spell disaster for the biosphere. Moreover, spent uranium fuel can be used for making nuclear weapons by rogue nations. Utilizing such material as the source of our daily requirement of energy is unwise when the earth has not yet run out of alternative sources of energy.

Why cannot we think of solar energy to meet the country’s needs? We also have perennial springs, which can help generate hydro-electricity. Bio-diesel, Methane and Ethanol are being considered as additional sources of power.

These myriad sources of energy taken together can effectively fulfill India’s energy demands and secure the country’s needs in the future. So why go in for the risky alternative of nuclear power?

Yours faithfully,
Proma Bhattacharjee, Calcutta