Sir — The response of the home minister, Amit Shah, in Parliament to queries regarding the Delhi pogrom was not only shocking but also ridiculous. Does he think that Indians are living in a fool’s paradise? The bloody and chilling images of the massacre — covered by intrepid reporters — are evidence of the passive role reportedly played by the Delhi police, which is under the direct control of the ministry of home affairs. The violence was a clear attempt to terrorize the minority community as well as dissenters.

The right-wing majoritarianism in India closely resembles Nazism. The communal regime in India has undermined the Indian Constitution. Such a savage carnage cannot take place in a civilized society unless all democratic institutions have been effectively perverted. In this institutional neutering, the greatest loss has been that of the judiciary. If the Indian judiciary does not speak up on this matter, such violence will become the norm instead of the exception and the right to free speech will soon become extinct. By defending this extreme anti-minority sentiment, the government has lost all rights to rule.

Biswanath Bhandari

Calcutta

Crazy stories

Sir — News channels have hit a new low. After the Bollywood actor, Sridevi, died some of them had enacted her having wine in a bathtub before getting a heart attack. Following the failure of Chandrayaan, news anchors dressed as astronauts were superimposed on a fake moon. Worse, recently in Madhya Pradesh, an anchor celebrating the BJP’s ‘victory’ in the state said, ‘Haar ke jeetne waale ko baazigar kehte hain’. What happened to objective news reporting?

Prisha Pathak

Lucknow

Just outcome

Sir — The former Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, has been sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment on grounds of rape and criminal sexual act. This is a win for the survivors of sexual violence and activists who have been working against such violation through campaigns like the MeToo movement. The verdict underlines that even powerful perpetrators are no longer invincible.

The judgment also highlights the need to change work culture and policies. This will help us bring other perpetrators to book.

The Indian judiciary could learn from the jury of the United States of America and mete out speedy punishment to perpetrators of sexual crimes to restore people’s faith in the legal system.

Venu G.S.

Kollam, Kerala