Gap remains
Sir — Children feigning a stomach ache to skip school is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Even if a child manages to dodge the eagle eyes of his or her parents with such excuses, Artificial Intelligence might soon make pretexts obsolete. The Norwegian company, No Isolation, has developed the AV1 robot to take children’s place in class, helping them stay connected with their classmates in case they cannot be present in person. The AV1 is fitted with a camera, microphone and speaker and can be controlled by students remotely using an app. The company claims that it can help chronically-ill children keep up with their school lives and their friends. But will not watching one’s friends play through an app make such children feel more lonely and isolated?
Sushma Saha, Calcutta
Shun the bias
Sir — In response to a petition filed by the journalist, Sukanya Shantha, a bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, directed all states and Union territories to make necessary changes to existing prison rules in order to root out entrenched caste discrimination (“SC frees prison from caste bias”, Oct 4). The court has now taken suo moto cognizance of discrimination inside prisons and asked the District Legal Services Authority to submit a joint inspection report to monitor compliance with its order. This is encouraging.
Samaresh Khan, Midnapore
Sir — The verdict of the apex court abolishing the differential treatment of prisoners based on caste is a long-overdue and a much needed step towards de-institutionalising the abomination that is the caste system (“Behind doors”, Oct 7). Despite 77 years of independence, the caste system thrives in India. No less than the prime minister of India has described the work of Valmikis as a “job bestowed upon them by Gods”. It is thus welcome that the Supreme Court has upheld constitutional morality over outdated ideas of purity and pollution. The states and the Union territories should comply with the top court’s directions and amend jail manuals within the deadline of three months.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Sir — It was shocking to learn that the inmates of Indian prisons had to face caste discrimination at the hands of the State authorities. The government should be the custodian of people’s constitutional rights. It must recognise that discrimination takes many forms and is often institutionalised. Probes should be undertaken to find out other kinds of institutionalised discrimination so that those can be abolished along with the revision of prison manuals.
D.V.G. Sankara Rao, Andhra Pradesh
Sir — Caste discrimination within law enforcement agencies exists even outside prisons. Some castes are treated as habitual offenders without any concrete evidence. After the recent apex court order, law enforcement mechanisms must be freed from caste-based biases.
Manas Mukhopadhyay, Hooghly
Sir — It is a matter of shame that caste discrimination in Indian prisons has lingered since colonial times. The orders of the apex court must be implemented with urgency and dedication.
Anshu Bharti, Begusarai, Bihar
Sir — While the Indian Constitution places equality and dignity of the individual at the heart of the republic’s legal and moral architecture, the discriminatory nature
of the colonial State apparatus has been retained by independent India in many cases. With the Supreme Court now championing the constitutional values of equality and dignity for the incarcerated, one hopes that prisons will be freed from the shackles of dehumanising caste practices.
M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
Sir — Why is it that when the Union home ministry revised the legal statutes of
the country recently to rid them of the imprint of the colonial State it did not consider taking a look at prison manuals? How could such institutionalised caste biases persist in the country for nearly eight decades?
Yashodhara Sen, Calcutta
Still unsafe
Sir — The rape and murder of a nine-year-old in Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas proves, yet again, how bad the law and order situation is in West Bengal. The inability of the police to check such crimes is worrying. Angry villagers who vandalised the Mahismari police outpost cannot be blamed for their outrage given the inaction of the police (“Mob outburst after rape & murder in Jaynagar”, Oct 6).
Shyamal Thakur, East Burdwan
Sir — The introduction of harsher punishments to deter rape has not had any real impact. Women of all ages are still unsafe as the rape and murder of a nine-year-old in Jaynagar has shown.
Anthony Henriques, Mumbai
Sir — While it is true that women’s safety is a serious concern, this is not a problem restricted to West Bengal alone. The politicisation of rapes hinders the smooth carriage of justice. The Opposition parties in Bengal should stop using this opportunity to try and oust the Trinamool Congress government in the state.
Kajal Chatterjee, Calcutta
New player
Sir — The launch of the Jan Suraaj Party by Prashant Kishor was timely. Kishor has been a skilled strategist for several political parties. His stints with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, among other parties, give him the unique advantage of knowing their strengths and weaknesses. So far, he has used his skills to win power for others. He will now do it for himself. It remains to be seen if his politics is any different
from that of others.
Singam Thiruvadi, Chennai
