The ‘X’ factor
Sir — The presence of the Y chromosome — passed down from father to son — determines the male sex of an offspring, thus playing a key role in evolution. A recent study has suggested that the Y chromosome is degenerating owing to its failure to undergo genetic recombination and might even disappear in 4.6 million years. The shrivelling Y chromosome — although it might not lead to the extinction of males — presents us with an opportunity to imagine a future where the world is run by women. Even though the Y chromosome is clearly weaker, men have long been considered the stronger sex. Given that even evolution has proven that females are anything but the weaker sex, a matriarchal world order might not be such a bad thing.
Dyuti Ghosh, Bengaluru
New hope
Sir — With the vice-president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, formally accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidential polls, the battle lines for the November elections have been clearly drawn (“Harris pledges a new way forward”, Aug 24). Harris’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention ticked all the right boxes.
The Democrats seem to be back on track after months of uncertainty. This has rattled Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, who fears being prosecuted on criminal charges if Harris ends up winning the race. Trump is thus desperately looking for ways to counter her growing popularity. However, Harris must understand that merely criticising Trump will not guarantee her victory; she should come up with an action plan to chart a new way forward for the US.
Khokan Das, Calcutta
Sir — Kamala Harris spoke from her heart while accepting the presidential nomination at the DNC. This struck a chord with not only the people of her country but also the global audience. At the Convention, she spoke about her upbringing, the struggles she faced in her career as a prosecutor, and her worldview quite candidly — her words were in stark contrast to those of Donald Trump, who is a white supremacist and a divisive figure. The pledges that Harris made have gone down well with the undecided voters. She seems to be on the cusp of breaking the glass ceiling.
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Formidable threat
Sir — T.C.A. Raghavan’s article, “Dragon in the room” (Aug 23), offered excellent points on China’s growing clout in the geopolitical and economic spheres. Coming out of its worst period of famine, anarchy and chaos in the 1950s and the 1960s, China built its strength bit by bit and emerged as the leader in various indicators of social progress like education, sports and technology. Perceiving China as an adversary is imprudent. India must continue its balancing act with China and view it pragmatically as a hub of opportunity.
Sukhendu Bhattacharjee, Hooghly
Strict punishment
Sir — It is appreciable that the Securities and Exchange Board of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 crore on Anil Ambani and barred him and 24 others from the securities market for five years for the alleged diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd (“Anil weighs legal options against Sebi ban”, Aug 26). The severity of the punishment imposed on Ambani is welcome given his fraudulent actions.
However, one wonders whether Madhabi Puri-Buch, the chairperson of SEBI,
who is herself under the cloud for an investment in an offshore fund linked to the Adani Group, has the moral right to penalise others for violating norms. The allegations against her in the Hindenburg report are serious. If she is innocent, she should have resigned from her post and allowed a fair investigation into the charges against her.
Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai
Sir — Anil Ambani, once the sixth-richest man in the world, descended into an economic mess over the past few years owing to a series of setbacks. The SEBI ban on him is the latest downturn in his fortunes. The market regulator deserves to be lauded for exposing Ambani.
Arun Gupta, Calcutta
Gross misnomer
Sir — Referring to the victims of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and the R.G. Medical College and Hospital rape and murder as Nirbhaya and Abhaya, respectively, is inappropriate (“Erased by a name”, Aug 23). Millions of women are victims of such heinous crimes, which are the result of patriarchal society’s disregard for a woman’s agency. Victims of rape are helpless and valorising them as ‘Nirbhaya’ or ‘Abhaya’ is an act of insecurity on the part of society.
Avinash Godboley, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
Sir — In her column, “Erased by a name”, Chandrima S. Bhattacharya rightly draws attention towards women who suffer the same fate as that of the woman who was gang-raped in a bus in Delhi in 2012 or the postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at R.G. Medical College and Hospital. But these women go unnoticed. Violence against women must be equally condemned irrespective of the political significance attached to the case.
Sujit De, Calcutta
Scary comeback
Sir — A two-year-old in Meghalaya has tested positive for polio — the first detected case in the country since 2011. This is a matter of grave concern as India was declared polio free by the World Health Organization in 2014. The return of the highly contagious disease that can cause fatal paralysis must be taken seriously by the authorities. It also highlights an urgent need for India to ditch oral vaccines and switch to inactivated polio vaccines.
Shovanlal Chakraborty, Calcutta