Where it hurts

Sir ? As a member of the great tribe of Indian males, I feel genuinely insulted and humiliated at the prospect of a diluted Playboy (?Now, a Playboy minus nudes?, Dec 3). India is approaching a cul de sac simply because our economic reforms are not accompanied by commensurate cultural reforms. India is the land of Kamasutra where sages did not forget to include kama as a step towards salvation. It is also a country of great voyeurs, as our epics confirm. There is no logic in undermining the Indian male. He deserves the best, at par with the international fare.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar

Hardly child?s play

Sir ? In several recent cases, embroidery sweatshops in the slums of Mumbai and in the suburbs of Delhi have been raided to ?free? hundreds of young boys working amidst inhuman conditions. The police and NGOs can take all the credit for this, but has anyone thought what is to be done next? What will the boys do once they are taken back to their native states, like Bihar or West Bengal or Uttar Pradesh? They will either return to the same jobs or drift into crime. We need to understand that the parents of these children depend on their income and they cannot afford to send the boys to school. In other words, we have created another problem instead of solving it.

Indian society is structured differently and NGOs have to explain that to their foreign funders. This is not to say that education is not good for these children. But first we have to ensure that they are able to go to schools regularly. Child labour is intrinsic to Indian society. In rural areas, the child shares the work of the parents both in the fields and at home. In cities, the extra money the child brings in supplements the family income. Through the sharing of work, the child becomes aware of society and learns to become confident and independent. The philosophy should be to feed the child first and then to educate him. We thus have to ensure humane work conditions for them.

Yours faithfully,
S. Kamat, Alto Porvorim, Goa

Sir ? In Calcutta recently, two things caught my attention. First, the number of children labouring in tea stalls, motor garages, pavement food stalls and similar other places. Wherever one looks, the sad overworked faces of these children stare back. A society which can tolerate this is sick. Second, there has been a lot of talk about buses running over pedestrians. Of course, the commission system has to be banned, but pedestrians should also be given pavements to walk on. Every pavement in Calcutta is taken up by some shop or the other.

Yours faithfully,
Santanu Mitra, Kathmandu

Proper protection

Sir ? The Supreme Court stay on the Waqf board?s claim on the Taj Mahal, which followed a petition from the Archeological Survey of India against waqf claims, may not be in the best interests of the archaelogical site. It may be possible that the ASI has no ulterior motive in laying claim to the status of the sole protector of the site. But the ASI cannot be said to have an entirely unblemished record in maintenance of old structures. It is awful to see that in mosques in Delhi and elsewhere which are under ASI protection, worshippers have difficulty in performing prayers. In Jamali Mosque at Mehrauli for example, the personnel entrusted with the protection of the monument are seen smoking, playing cards, and even drinking within the premises. Will both the Central and state governments in Delhi ensure that the mosques are left to Muslims for religious purposes only?

Yours faithfully,
Abdulruff Colachal, New Delhi