Letters to the editor dated Aug 14, 2020

On its 74th Independence Day, India is shining, ready to meet the aspirations of people from all walks of life and all sections of society. It is an India that identifies well its economic priorities and there is also a strong political will towards better governance and greater transparency at all levels. India is also one of the fastest and best-performing economies in the globe.

There is an air of optimism and noble ideas are flowing from all quarters. We have today a deeply committed and inspiring leader in Narendra Modi, who has earned international goodwill.

The approach to the future must be a more human-centric one to derive the strength of togetherness, unleash the potentials, and convert them into growth opportunities. While India leads the way, it is now Jai Hind all the way.

Nagpur

This refers to “A win for women” (August 14). The landmark ruling of the apex court would bring an end to the perennial injustice done to women in alienation of inheritance rights by HUFs and other male-dominated businesses.

As aptly brought out, women’s empowerment isn’t possible merely through regulatory pronouncements, securing the inheritance rights, protection from triple talaq threats, or mandatory nomination of women directors on company boards.

There has to be a change in the mindset of citizens, not to view women as a property to be married off, but to recognise her as an equal partner in ensuring the well-being of society.

The efficacy of the new ruling is to be ensured by amending the relevant provisions of the Hindu Succession Act to prevent manipulation by unscrupulous entities through circuitous routes such as creation of biased trusts and Wills that favour male members.

Bengaluru

Many families have the practice of creating family trusts which hold all assets, and women are kept out of the management of the trusts and in some cases the properties may be encumbered. One usual logic given for denying women their share in ancestral property is that the family spends money on their marriage which offsets the share.

The Supreme Court judgment will certainly bring some clarity in the matter, but in extreme cases of non-adherence to the legal provision, women may have to litigate, which rarely happens in Indian families.

As the judgment does not apply to self-acquired properties, the matter is still open and more rulings may evolve later.

Mumbai

This refers to ‘PM: Tax system will be made seamless, painless, faceless’ (August 14). By heralding IT reforms, the government is expecting to widen the tax base and minimise harassment of taxpayers. It is surprising that so few people pay taxes.

Tax evaders are quite smart in gaming the system and the measures adopted so far by the government have not yielded the desired results. Despite the government’s cash-less drive, cash in circulation is back to pre-demonetisation levels. High-value purchases are still carried out in cash. The defection and inducements of legislators by using unaccounted money is commonplace. Why are political parties not filing IT returns honestly? IT and political reforms ought to go hand-in-hand as they are not mutually exclusive.

Chennai

Apropos ‘Powering sustainability in agriculture’ (August 14), one major reason for the reckless use of borewell pumps is unreliable power supply, which requires farmers to keep their pump-sets in “auto start” mode, and this keeps them running as long there is power supply.

Limiting the supply of free power to farmers who are using 10 HP pump-sets isn’t right. Most deep wells are 1,000 feet or more and a 10 HP pump-set cannot lift water from such depths. A prepaid meter with a certain amount of free power is the only win-win solution.

Halekere Village, Karnataka

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

COMMENT NOW