Special stance

Sir — In an age where people often make a living out of replicating other people’s ideas — an influencer’s job is all about recreating trends — it is not surprising that there is also a rush to register trademarks. The Turkish shooter, Yusuf Dikeç, has decided to trademark his stance at the Paris Olympics which shot him to fame on social media. Among other bizarre things that people have filed patents for are chilli oil, the metal horns hand gesture, names of cats and so on. While it is understandable that people want to protect an idea that they have come up with, where does one draw the line? Dikeç, for instance, is trying to patent a stance that has long been used by shooters (even his partner in Paris used it). If this stance is patented, would Dikeç be the only participant at shooting events and thus the default winner?

Rishita Mukherjee, Calcutta

Legal distraction

Sir — The West Bengal legislative assembly has unanimously passed the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill, 2024 (“Unanimous House seal on anti-rape bill”, Sept 4). The government has been under attack for its handling of the rape and murder of a woman doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The passage of this bill will not be enough and since it proposes to amend certain provisions in Central laws it will need presidential assent. Moreover, it must also be pointed out that stringent laws already exist to prevent rapes. But these are not implemented until heinous cases come to light.

S.S. Paul, Nadia

Sir — The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, is trying to assuage the rage brewing against her government by passing a strict law against rape. She has to take responsibility for the happenings in the state under her government. What she needs to counter is the perception that her government is shielding the culprits.

Basudeb Dutta, Calcutta

Sir — While it is true that strong punishment against rape is the need of the hour, this may not be sufficient. Social awareness regarding such crimes as well as their root causes would go much further in curbing them. The family is the first institution where the minds of individuals can be shaped against committing violent crimes.

Manas Mukhopadhyay, Hooghly

Sir — The West Bengal government must be lauded for passing the bill seeking the death penalty for rape convicts. But this is not enough. What is required is an unbiased implementation of laws on the ground.

Bal Govind, Noida

Sir — The new law passed by the Bengal legislative assembly is just old wine in a new bottle. It is meant to divert public attention from the hapless Trinamool Congress government in the state. This will not fool the people demanding justice for the R.G. Kar victim.

Asim Boral, Calcutta

Keep count

Sir — The editorial, “Hear them” (Sept 2), rightly underscored that data from Census 2011 is too old to base government policies on. Subsidies are still being provided on the basis of data that is over a decade old. Thousands of Indians are not benefitting from the government’s free ration scheme owing to outdated data. As far as the caste census is concerned, collecting data on caste is crucial. Affirmative action policies cannot be implemented unless there is fresh data on caste. A caste census will not increase the cost to the exchequer. Adding questions to the existing census questionnaire is not a problem.

Sujit De, Calcutta

New hunters

Sir — A 2.5-year-old girl was killed and a 70-year-old woman injured in separate incidents of wolf attacks in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. This is unfortunate. News
of stray or even pet dogs attacking people is not unheard of. But wolves turning on people is shocking. Wolves have co-existed with humans in for centuries. What then has caused them to turn on humans all of a sudden? It is people who are to blame. Animals are increasingly being pushed out of their habitats and deprived of sustenance. The wolves that are being captured are paying the price for human greed.
Such conflicts will continue as long as human encroachment does.

Kirti Wadhawan, Kanpur

Sir — At least nine people, including children, have lost their lives in wolf attacks in Uttar Pradesh. The forest department and the police have swung into action now when the situation has already gone out of hand. Many lives could have been saved had the administration been proactive. It is the duty of the forest department to reduce man-animal conflict as far as possible.

Janga Bahadur Sunuwar, Jalpaiguri

Skewed balance

Sir — The retirement of Justice Hima Kohli from the Supreme Court has left a huge gap in the judiciary. There are now just two women judges in the apex court. The paucity of female judges will certainly have an impact on the verdicts passed by the court.

M.N. Gupta, Hooghly

Fatal strike

Sir — It is shocking that between 2000-2021, over 49,000 people died from lightning strikes across India (“Sky strike”, Sept 2). The rise in greenhouse gases, temperature and moisture levels leads to increased storms and lightning strikes. The lack of protective mechanisms against lightning strikes makes the situation acute, especially in states where they are not considered a natural disaster. The government needs to take immediate steps to protect citizens from future disasters that can be caused by lightning strikes.

Jayanta Datta, Hooghly