The conduct of societies and communities is shaped by social norms that evolve over time (“ >In defence of the chronicler of Kongu ,” Jan.12). What is repugnant today might have been acceptable earlier to some sections of society. There is no need to be ashamed or indignantly righteous merely because a writer spoke about the existence of certain practices which appear obnoxious when judged by modern standards of morality. Even the so-called enlightened West patronised socially undesirable institutions such as slavery as late as the 19th century. Can anybody pretend that slavery did not exist? When a writer holds a mirror up to unpleasant facts, like desperate attempts of women to establish their fertility, we should utilise this as an opportunity to make people realise that there is no need to treat childlessness as a social disability and to correct the naive belief that men cannot be held responsible for depriving their wives of the joy of motherhood.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
