Seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed, the end to a winter of despair is nowhere in sight (Editorial page, “Delhi and Paris: A tale of two cities”, December 10). I would use a phrase which sums up our journey as a nation: “History is a Rorschach test. What you see when you look at it tells you as much about yourself as it does about the past.” More than the state, it is for the individual to desire that change and make it happen. It is only when we shed some of our greed, selfishness and hypocrisy that things will begin to change, leading us toward the spring of hope.
Sangeeta Kampani,
New Delhi
It is only apt that the country which gave us the three pillars of modern society, liberty, equality and fraternity, would also be the place where the UN proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1948. As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of that historic document, it is important to note that there are numerous struggles, big and small, that are still raging in various corners of the world for rights that have been enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The international community must see to it that these rights do not remain on paper but manifest themselves in people’s lives.
Sarbani Mohapatra,
Kolkata
