Sir — Paris Fashion Week and controversies often go hand in hand. But the fashion brand, Kimhekim, really crossed a line. It had models carry intravenous drip bags as accessories with clothes that, at times, proclaimed, “sick”. That this is insensitive and makes light of illness, which can be exhausting, debilitating and fatal, goes without saying. People with illness — mental and physical — would never want to advertise signs of their infirmities. Items like IV bags would be a reminder of all the things that stand between them and an ordinary life. It is shameful that such an incident came to pass.

Roshni Sen,
Calcutta

Saving democracy

Sir — The prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, and the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, were cut to size at the same time much to the public’s amusement. On the one hand, the Supreme Court in UK declared Johnson’s suspension of Parliament “unlawful”. On the same day, across the Atlantic Ocean, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, announced an impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Expectedly, supporters of both Johnson and Trump have cried foul, claiming that the two gentlemen are only doing what is best for their respective countries. This is a familiar script to Indians, who are used to Modi bhakts crying foul at the drop of a hat. The thing is, the issues at hand are not about petty partisan politics anymore. In the UK, Brexit could tear the country asunder and in the US it is a question of respecting the Constitution.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
Faridabad

Sir — The ruling of the Supreme Court in the UK that it is the Parliament that reflects the will of the people and not the government will have far-reaching effects, especially in India. The government in India would do well to remember this lesson.

The judgment also highlights the importance of an independent and an empowered judiciary that has the courage to intervene when the rights of people are being compromised.

Sukhamay Biswas,
Calcutta

Sir — Latest events in Britain underline the need for the country to codify a proper Constitution. While the Supreme Court in the UK has proved itself worthy through the clarity of its ruling, this is not enough. A properly codified Constitution would have been able to foresee such adverse events and lay down laws to avoid it.

However, the larger issue to consider here is the abdication of legislative onus by the executive in the face of a knotty problem like Brexit. Petty party politics is what stoked tensions and led to the current situation. A fresh election will not be enough to guarantee a clear-cut solution. Only the legislative can now come up with a solution that satisfies all stakeholders concerned. Rushing deliberations or bypassing them is not the way out of this mess.

R. Narayanan,
Navi Mumbai

Festive message

Sir — This year, many Durga Puja organizers in the city have decided to base their pandal on themes that have some social relevance such as environmental degradation and the National Register of Citizens. For instance, a pandal in south Calcutta has been made up like a nursery of plants; global warming is the central theme. An artist in north Calcutta is creating the model of a city where all the water has dried up owing to climate change. And with the threat of NRC looming large over West Bengal, a committee in Kasba has taken up as its theme the plight of stateless people.

Durga Puja in Bengal is more a social event than a religious one. Puja pandals are crowd pullers; these can make instant connections with thousands of people. Pandals can, thus, be effective in spreading awareness and important messages to the society easily. Hopefully Puja organizers will be more conscious about their own wasteful practices as well as help ordinary people become more enlightened and responsible citizens.

Khokan Das,
Calcutta