• The gang-rape of a dalit student by the six professors of the PTC College in Patan is not only a blot on the educational institutions in the state but also a beastly act that cannot be pardoned. What a bad example these teachers set before the students who are going to be teachers one day!

It’s also a poor reflection on the police that because of their inaction the parents and the students had to take the law into their own hands. Since violence begets violence and mostly the poor have to suffer in such situations, it is high time the government took stern measures to prevent such incidents. The culprits should be arrested and dismissed from the college.

— Fr William

Ahmedabad

Crisis beneficiary

• Even after the results of Super Tuesday have come in, none of the candidates looks like a real winner in the primaries. Hillary Clinton won the big prize: the states of New York and California. Barack Obama also won many states, and even in the states where Hillary won he secured sizeable votes. On the Republican side, John McCain was the clear winner.

The fight is far from over. The bad news coming from Wall Street and the loss of manufacturing jobs can only help Clinton. People may feel that they cannot take a chance by voting in a president who has less experience in handling the economic situation that is rapidly becoming a full-blown crisis, and recession is round the corner.

— Sawraj Singh

Ellensburg, Washington

BCCI, hit wicket

• The BCCI handled the Harbhajan Singh issue very badly on two occasions. First, during the Sydney Test, BCCI should have taken a stand that either the Test be awarded to India or it be declared a draw. Second, Bhajji was cleared of the racism charge yet he was fined substantially. Now, what was the charge against Bhajji? If anybody, it was Symonds who was in the wrong. He is (officially) said to have provoked Harbhajan into mouthing that swear word (or rather swear phrase), whereas the alleged racism remark by Harbhajan was never proved. Then why was Harbhajan punished while the real culprit went scot free? The BCCI should have put its foot down. Sharad Pawar has been soft on the issue, his eyes set on the ICC chair.

— Phiroz Bulsara

Mumbai

Mumbai entropy

•In the past few days cosmopolitan Mumbai has witnessed ugly parochialism. Political mobs loyal to MNS chief Raj Thackeray targeted north Indians on the streets, taxi drivers were attacked and their taxis burnt, passengers on trains were roughed up and even Amitabh Bachchan’s residence came under attack, only because the victims hail from north India.

The question arises, are north Indians still outsiders in Mumbai? The situation is grim and heart-rending. It is really disappointing with the law enforcement agencies remaining mute spectators. It is the duty of the government to protect each and every citizen of the country who is staying in Mumbai irrespective of his native state. Mumbai has always been a cosmopolitan city but this reputation is being shattered. One can conclude that since Raj Thackeray’s MNS has not been politically successful in the state, the party is trying to capture the Marathi chauvinism agenda and trying to win some support among the urban youth.

— Farzana Z. Khan Pune

Green-house winter?

•Severe cold wave conditions are continuing in north India. Is this more proof that a climate crisis is upon us?

— Anita Kumar

New Delhi