The report that Justice C.S. Karnan of the Madras High Court has complained to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes that he has been facing harassment by some of his colleagues since 2009 because he is a Dalit (Nov. 4) was shocking. One can only recall what S. Radhakrishnan said — mental slums are more dangerous than material slums.
R. Balasubramaniam,
Jamshedpur
The fact that caste discrimination is allegedly happening in the highest echelons of justice is disturbing. The judiciary is the only institution which has kept its promise of not letting the poor and unprivileged down. Let not a few elements tarnish its image.
J.K. Singh,
New Delhi
Although the learned judge has appealed to people to abstain from speculation, the existence of caste discrimination in every walk of life is a worrying issue. Educational, economic or even social status does not seem to be the solution for the oppressed sections. This bitter truth is reinforced time and again.
S.V. Venugopalan,
Chennai
Justice Karnan's complaint reflects the deep-rooted caste bias in our country, especially Tamil Nadu. Evidence of this has surfaced time and again as in the case of the struggles conducted by the CPI(M) for the removal of walls separating communities and temple entry restrictions for the SCs and the STs in villages. Civil society should extend more support to the political movements engaged in fighting for a humane society.
Kasim Sait,
Chennai
