Protest at Jantar Mantar
The ongoing protest of wrestlers, which includes some of our Olympic medal winners, highlights an inexplicable lack of political will among the top leaders of the country to take action when “sexual harassment” allegations are made by athletes or even other women. When the wrestlers protested for the first time this January, the government ought to have taken tangible actions against the complaints. Instead, the government went into ‘silent mode’. If the intention is not to save a few bad apples, it is not clear why the government needs to shy away from making the findings of the “oversight committee” public. The registration of FIRs (Page 1, “Delhi Police register two FIRs in wrestlers’ case”, April 29) after the top court’s much-needed intervention, should have offered a ray of hope to the wrestlers. It remains to be seen how long this protest is going to sustain its momentum, given the inertia of the government.
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
The perception is that the police and a certain national party are trying to shield a certain individual for the simple reason that he belongs to the party in question (Page 1, “ Kejriwal and Priyanka visit wrestlers, say govt. shielding WFI chief”, April 30). It is upsetting that the Sports Minister and Prime Minister have not found time to listen to the wrestlers’ grievances. What ever happened to ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’?
A. Jainulabdeen,
Chennai
The sad part is the response of the Indian Olympic Association chief P.T. Usha who is also a Member of Parliament. The perception is that she must have been obliged to the ruling party in the matter, as seems to be the case with Mary Kom.
K. Nehru Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam
The reluctance/refusal to file a first information report is denial of a key fundamental right under the Constitution. The fear of the wrestling champions that the police may frame weak charges against the accused with an aim to be acquitted is not unfounded. The saga reveals how powerful persons can subvert justice. The practice of appointing politicians to the highest posts in sport needs to be revisited.
Narendra Dani,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
The reticence on the part of statutory bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission of India and the National Commission for Women is both baffling and intriguing.
Ravi Mathur,
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Is a ‘tainted person’ more important to the country than our Olympic medallists? The statement by P.T. Usha is disrespectful to the wrestlers. Not listening to the issues raised by the women athletes is what tarnishes the country’s image, Ms. Usha.
Debasis Rath,
Puri, Odisha
It is disheartening to see young women, who are top medallists, break down in front of the cameras. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to wait till things cool down and the issue moves away from the front pages. Why are we, as a nation, so inert when young women cry for justice?
Rajesh Malik,
Bengaluru
Rabies control
I write this letter as the former head of the Department of Veterinary Public Health, Sree Venkateswara Veterinary University and FAO trainee on rabies control and vaccination at CDC, U.S. The reasons behind the ‘dearth’ of rabies vaccine are manifold, the prime reason being poor disease reporting, no laboratory diagnosis, and tardy strategies for prevention and control. Unfortunately, there are no tangible epidemiological studies. There are also meagre budgetary allocations made to the ID wards of many State hospitals. The success of any public health programme is reliant on political will. In the case of rabies, it is most often the poor who are victims. It is believed that unreported deaths due to rabies fall between 30,000 to 70,000 people. The WHO bulletin reports very few numbers due to gaps in the number of lab diagnosed deaths. The need is to establish a national commission on control of rabies. Intellectual infrastructure is available in preparing molecular epidemiological maps including control strategies and preparing an adequate quantity of vaccine. WHO would always be ready to back such a programme.
Dr. S. Umamaheswararao,
Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
