Drink drives needed

The article 'You party, they drive' (June 16) is informative. The driver-on-call service started by three youngsters must be a boon for people who attend booze parties. Such services could reduce accidents in our cities. Usually the police collect fines from the person at the wheel, if he's in an inebriated condition, and then let them go, which serves no useful purpose. Detaining such persons in some designated place and calling up their family members to take the vehicle, or detaining them in the police station till the time they come to their senses could be options. Other cities could start equivalents to prevent accidents.


H P Murali, via email

Minority retort

Aamir Raza Husain's opinions about the Muslim community (' A Legacy of Sham', Comment, June 16) are a good reflection of the victim mentality. It is definitely the case that the Muslim community is more backward than others in India, but to blame that solely on external factors is what victims who don't want to find any real answers or solutions do. This because many solutions are something they don't want to face. Congress governments are also to blame by offering only sops, like the Haj subsidy, and not pushing for any real change. But change can only come from within the community, which has to shed its many hidebound traditions and laws.


S N Srivastava, via email

Careening careers?

Your cover story on new jobs and avenues (' New Naukris', June 16) was really an eye opener on how much India has changed. Jobs like cheerleaders, love gurus, game testers and TV show audience members is a great reflection of the new opportunities that exist in a fast-changing country like ours. But one important point that was not examined enough was the long-term aspects of such employment. It's good to do some of these things when you're young and footloose, but can they be sustained to become careers? We have no social security system like the US and other countries, so this could be an important aspect to be examined further.


Preethi Ganesan, via email