No child’s play

Sir — It may seem an amusing idea to have dolls which look like Saddam Hussein and that dance to cheesy pop music at the flick of a switch, but does it go well with the sentiments of young children (“Dancing dictator dolls” June 1)? Dolls are supposed to be a source of entertainment and some education, but dolls that look like Hussein and carry toy guns may send the wrong message to the young. While an adult can appreciate the irony in a miniature Saddam dancing to the tunes of the people he once ruled, will children be able to comprehend it? Children usually love and cherish dolls without going into what they represent. But do we want them loving and cherishing Hussein? When little girls play with Barbie dolls they often dress the way Barbie does. Do we want kids with Saddam dolls emulating the gun-toting former dictator of Iraq? Such cynicism on the part of those who designed the doll may be dangerous. For by creating a Saddam-doll — in the guise of mocking him — they are actually making a hero out of him.

Yours faithfully,
Payel Ghosh, Calcutta

Hanging on

Sir — I was bewildered by the statements of the Bengali literati that the death sentence would not be punishment enough for Dhananjoy Chatterjee. However, they are unable to provide any other alternative.

Mrinal Sen is a fence-sitter: his comments seem to stem from the same labyrinth of his thought process which has produced his characteristically esoteric films. The only thing clear is that he has urged the president to pardon Dhananjoy. Sunil Gangopadhyay has termed the death sentence “barbaric”. I hope, he has reserved a harsher word for the crime itself because if he has not, Hetal Parekh’s parents might accuse him of merely romanticizing the issue instead of addressing it directly. But, of course, Gangopadhyay has nothing to fear — the Parekhs have shifted to Mumbai and know how hollow words like “even-handed justice” are. Aparna Sen is of the opinion that violence cannot be met with violence. May I ask her to try and place herself in the shoes of Mrs Parekh? After all, she has two daughters. As Oscar Wilde had said, it is only about matters that don’t concern us directly are we able to give a perfectly unbiased opinion, which is also the reason why an unbiased opinion is of no value.

In the end, do such offhand and noncommittal statements by the intelligentsia amount to anything? Or are they reminiscent of adolescence (which, presumably, we have all grown out of) when we were all rebels without a cause?

I wish the Bengali intelligentsia would stop romanticizing this crime and the verdict, and see things as they are. Whether society is going to degenerate into a gladiator’s arena is not the question here. What is important is sending out a deterring message far and wide. Clemency in such cases would be the real seed of degeneration. Justice has already been delayed by our circuitous legal procedures. Let it not be denied altogether. The most important thing to remember is that this is an issue in which we must necessarily be subjective. Objectivity would be callous grandiloquence.

Yours faithfully,
Arup Lal Chakraborty, Indore

Sir — The Human rights organization Amnesty International India claims that death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that violates the right to life. In India the rate of rape and murder of young women including minor girls is growing at an alarming rate. Criminals like Dhananjoy should be severely punished. Social activists should not hinder the judicial process. They should instead try to generate consciousness among the people about the dignity of women.Yours faithfully,S.A. Rahman Barkati, Calcutta n Sir — The question whether to hang Dhananjoy Chatterjee is fast gaining political colour. First Buddhadeb Bhattacharya issued a statement that Dhananjoy must be hanged and then, his wife stepped into the limelight, crying that no mercy be shown the rapist and murder. Why must politicians have their finger in every pie? One hopes, the Hetal Parekh case does not turn into something like the tandoor case, where everyone makes statements but we have to wait for another decade or until the natural death of Dhananjoy to have a positive decision made on this matter.Yours faithfully,Soham Gupta, Calcuttan Sir — Human rights outfits like the Association for Protection of Domestic Rights argue that since many convicts have been found innocent on reinvestigation, the death sentence should be abjured since it leaves no chance to set right a wrong verdict. Is there any doubt about Dhananjoy Chatterjee’s guilt? Is there need for Tehelka-like tapes of rapes and murders to prove guilt? As for human rights, didn’t Hetal Parekh have any? By his heinous crime, Dhananjoy not only killed Hetal but also left her entire family devastated.

Yours faithfully,
Sushmita Sinha, Calcutta

Sir — Dhananjoy Chatterjee’s crime is heinous and he deserves the punishment prescribed by law. However making a hero out of the hangman, Nata Mullick, as the media has been doing, is unnecessary.

Yours faithfully,
H.P. Mitra, Calcutta

Sir — In India, it is extremely difficult to pin a rape case since the onus of proof lies on the victim and not the accused. In spite of these loopholes, it has been proven that Dhananjoy Chatterjee raped and murdered Hetal Parekh. Those appealing against the hanging should remember this and also that mercy should never be at the cost of justice.

Yours faithfully,
Bishakha Ghosh, Bangalore

Sir — The media should stop raising such a hue and cry over Dhananjoy Chatterjee. Instead it must focus on other criminals like him who must be caught and taught a lesson. Take Sunil Mahato, who was flung out of a bus when he protested the molestation of his wife. The criminals in this case are no less contemptible than Dhananjoy, since they deprived a family of a bread-earner, a wife of her husband and a son of his father.

Yours faithfully,
Rakesh Bhatia,Calcutta

Sir — Dhananjoy Chatterjee deserves no mercy. After committing a crime of such heinousness, he confessed unabashedly and is unrepentant even after so many years. Yours faithfully, Mukesh Tandon,Calcuttan Sir — Crimes against women are on the rise. The accused get bail in a few days and commit the crime again, in a more sophisticated manner. Those who are convicted and put in jail are also seldom reformed. They spend the time playing cards with other prisoners, and getting food on time without doing any work. The death sentence could work wonders in this situation by instilling fear in the minds of probable rapists and murderers. There are many other ways to show mercy to Dhananjoy’s wife and parents than to save his life — for example, giving them monetary compensation.

Yours faithfully,
Sanjoy Kumar,Calcutta

Sir — The only justifiable purpose of punishment being reform and cure of the criminal, the elimination of the criminal would not be a solution. Previously it was assumed that punishment deters those who might be tempted to commit a crime. But such assumptions are belied by the evidence. No doubt Dhananjoy Chatterjee must be punished, but his death will not help society. Maybe some other form of punishment would bring about repentance. Perhaps it is best that the culprit be left to nature’s justice.

Yours faithfully,
Abhijit Roy, Jamshedpur

Sir — There has been a resurgence of sexual violence in India lately. Capital punishment is the only answer for a crime like rape. Some women activists and intellectuals have been teaming up together to have the death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. Why should a man of this kind, bereft of any human feelings and emotions be allowed to live? Hopefully our so-called intellectuals will get rid of their imaginary sense of justice make better use of their rational faculties. Yours faithfully,Samir Mukherjee, Calcuttan Sir — It has already been proven in every court that Dhananjoy Chatterjee is guilty of raping and murdering Hetal Parekh. The last minute intervention has made a mockery out of the judicial system. There is no legal or humanitarian justification why the capital punishment has not, at least in this case been enforced. Yours’ faithfully,Anuradha Chowdhury, Calcuttan Sir — The stay order on Dhananjoy Chatterjee’s execution makes a mockery of the judiciary. Why wait for the day before the hanging to move a mercy petition in court? And why did the court entertain such a petition at all? Capital punishment has not been abolished in our country, hence this is no time to debate its merits and demerits. Is it not strange that the caretaker of a multi-storeyed building has been able to gather a lobby that has the resources to fight a case in the high court and Supreme Court? The stay order has been sensationalized but the inordinate delay in punishing the criminal is hardly highlighted.

Yours faithfully,
A. Roy, Calcutta