Changed style
Sir — The sale of sarees soars in West Bengal before the Durga Puja. But buying a saree was just the first step towards being Puja-ready. The next step was perhaps even more important than buying the perfect saree — it was finding a local seamstress willing to sew a fall onto the new saree and do the pico (stitching the loose threads at the end of the saree). Every locality had dedicated women who made some extra money by doing these tasks. But sarees now come pre-stitched, not only do they not need a fall and pico, but they also rarely need to be draped. This has lost local women an important source of income.
Ruhika Das, Calcutta
Deepening crisis
Sir — The Israeli army ordering one million Palestinians to move from North Gaza within hours is inhuman. Creating such panic among people is a recipe for disaster. If the Hamas attack on Israel is despicable, so is Israel’s so-called retaliation against Gaza. People on both sides are victims of circumstances, of history and of political manoeuvres of the West.
India has responded to the issue maturely. The prime minister, Narendra Modi, rightly condemned the Hamas attack unambiguously. But the Indian government has also clarified that it continues to support the Palestinian cause, besides standing against all forms of terrorism. World leaders must know that an act of injustice somewhere is a threat to the cause of justice everywhere. Israel and Palestine should find a lasting solution to their woes instead of living in a state of constant insecurity.
D.V.G. Sankara Rao, Andhra Pradesh
Sir — Israel has been emboldened by the support of the United States of America to persist with its indiscriminate air strikes on Gaza, leading to the deaths of thousands of Palestinian citizens. While the Tzahal can take action against Hamas for its inhumane acts, such as the butchering of Israeli citizens, it should not ignore international laws and kill innocent Palestinian civilians. The Israel-Hamas clash is threatening to destabilise regional equations completely. The international community should strive to broker peace through diplomacy and dialogue.
M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
Sir — A striking feature of three recent crises — the Russia-Ukraine war, the Armenia-Azerbaijan clash and the Israel-Palestine conflict — is the targeting of civilians. Citizens are no longer collateral damage in wars: they are the targets of planned mass killings. Such atrocities can be termed as war crimes and the criminals responsible for them should be prosecuted.
Arka Goswami, West Burdwan
Sir — Mukul Kesavan’s article, “Philistines & Pharisees” (Oct 15), was incisive. He presented a historical account of the persecution of Jews and the creation of Israel. His Biblical quote was extremely appropriate as well. Both sides are engaging in inhuman acts.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
Sir — What sin did the people of Palestine, particularly the women and children, commit to suffer brutality at the hands of Israel for more than seven decades? Hamas thus had ample provocation for its attack. Why should the US and other Western nations that turned a blind eye to Israel’s slaughtering of hundreds of Palestinians now condemn the attack by Hamas? This lopsidedness of the West’s support has emboldened the Israeli occupation.
Manoharan Muthuswamy, Chennai
Sir — While the war is allegedly between Hamas and Israel, the residents of Gaza are the real victims of constant attacks from both sides. Israel is expected to launch a ground invasion in Gaza. If this happens, the status quo in the region will be destroyed completely.
Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai
Sir — The editorial, “Useful lesson” (Oct 13), raised an important issue: the need for an elected government to pay heed to dissenting voices. But the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government in Israel has not done this; otherwise, the horrific attack by Hamas and the retaliatory war could have been avoided. It is unfortunate that instead of taking peace initiatives, world leaders are picking sides.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly
Neglected lot
Sir — It is not surprising that the percentage of working women in India is the lowest among the G20 nations. Girl children are still treated as burdens by Indian families. Most girls are taught that taking care of their families and managing the house are their only job. This has to change. Women must be encouraged to earn a living and seek independence from an early age.
Ganesh Sanyal, Nadia
Parting shot
Sir — As per the new pension scheme, about 10% of the premium is deducted from the salaries of employees and 14% is contributed by the government. This is disheartening. A person who has served the government for about 60 years should get enough pension to spend the rest of his life comfortably.
N. Mateeni, Mumbai
