MyVoice: Views of our readers 22nd April 2023

Who killed 11 Naroda Gam Muslims?

Eleven persons were killed in communal violence in Naroda Gam of Ahmedabad city on Febrauary 28 2002. Now all the 68 accused have been acquitted according to a judgement by Special Court. In Naroda Gam case, Bajrang dal leader Babu Bajrangi in a sting operation admitted that he killed many Muslims. But now the court has acquitted Babu Bajrangi and all other accused. The acquittal of all the accused was due to insufficient evidence and this highlights the callous manner of prosecution. More than 1000 persons died in Gujarat in 2002 riots, and slowly all the accused have been acquitted by different courts. Who killed the 11 Muslims in cold blood? Who has burnt the shops and there houses? The mobs and the instigators must be given stringent punishment without delay. Then only common man will have faith on judiciary.

Zakir Hussain, Kazipet

Why is it that in cases of rioting, the big fish are almost never convicted? Even otherwise, more often than not the court verdict is 'not guilty' due to lack of sufficient evidence. Therefore, the acquittal of 67 accused in the Naroda massacre should come as no surprise. There is a long delay in filing charges and by the time the case comes to court, many witnesses turn hostile or even pass away. 18 among the accused passed away. It is easy to blame the witnesses for turning hostile but nobody knows what pressures they face in trying to speak the truth. Perhaps in the high stakes, the prosecution may deliberately keep some loopholes open for the defence lawyers to exploit. The cries of 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' on the deliverance of the verdict is a clear indication of how religion and patriotism is used for hiding crimes!

Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

Centre has hidden agenda for Hindi?

The UGC has directed all the universities in the country to permit the students to write exams in their respective local language irrespective of the medium they are instructed in. It is quite contrary to teaching and learning of the students. It is nothing but as per the official language committee headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In one of its meetings, it directed to implement Hindi medium in Hindi belt and local language in non-Hindi belt areas even in premiere institutions like IITs. In this process the main casualty is English, thereby curtailing opportunities to learners to prove their versatility as well global employment opportunities. It is alleged that with this, the Centre is going to implement its hidden agenda of promoting Hindi as official language across the country.

Pratapa Reddy Yaramala, Tiruvuru (AP)

Pay back terrorists in the same coin

It is the lack of security measures that led to the 5 Jawans losing their lives in Poonch sector. Even though we tried hard to stop terror attacks in the border area, such frequent attacks did put the security staff morale down. The attack has also come on a day Pakistan announced that its Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit India next month for the Shanghai Corporation foreign minister's meeting in Goa. Such cowardly attacks is a total misguidance of Pakistan's backstabbing and is not in good taste. It is time to give back to the terrorists in the same coin sooner or later.

Jayanthi Subramaniam, Coimbatore

Metro a cool saviour in scorching summer

The news report on Hyderabad Metro gave the true picture of what people have on their mind in enjoying the travel, under the present time when the midday heat is at its peak in the twin cities. It is without doubt a tremendous sense of relief experienced by the travelling public on several routes. The Metro allows to enjoy the cool and soothing air-conditioning in the train despite tremendous traffic on certain routes. This is the time to make innovative changes, by way direct and non-stop services; and by taking suggestions and inputs from the travelling public to further improve the situation.

S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

Will it be a boon or bane for India?

According to UN report projections, India is going to be most populous country this year, surpassing China. India with its good proportion of young populace can make the opportunity to the fullest if it plans well. The demographic dividend can only come handy, if the high calibre pool among human resources is expanded. Now there is wide gap between education, employment and employability. There should be proper planning for providing adequate social security for old aged population. The large human resources can either be boon or bane to the country like a double-edged weapon depending on the vision of the leaders.

Dr DVG Sankararao, Vizianagaram