Our readers were invited to comment on Chief Minister S M Krishna’s statement on International Women’s Day that a woman, as the better half of man, must control her husband’s urge to drink and gamble — as opposed to the government banning liquor and the online lottery. We received a variety of responses, some saluting woman power and others blaming the government for shirking its responsibilities. Here are some: 

A tribute to womanhood
There is absolutely no doubt that a man's better half is his wife. There is an adage in English that there is a woman behind every man's success. This is hundred per cent true. There is no doubt that online lottery and liquor fetches a lot of revenue to the Government, but both are bad in a way. That is where a woman comes into the picture to advise a man not to venture into these bad habits, not to speak of smoking, which everyone knows is highly injurious to health. What the Chief Minister has said on International Women's Day is correct. It is definitely a tribute to woman power and womanhood. This theory is going to work in the long run in a male dominated society in its own way. 
D S Keshava Murthy,
Bangalore

Legislation may help
As far as on line lottery is concerned it is mostly favoured by the low, middle and upper middle class people and the womenfolk do not take it seriously provided once in a while some winnings are brought home by men. As human nature is what it is everybody likes to make a fast buck and the woman in the house turns a blind eye to these polished betting games in the hope that one day the bonanza will land home. Hence, to hope that women will take care of the menace does not hold water.
Liquor is a bane. No single woman can hope to prevent a man from consuming liquor. Only concerted efforts by women’s organisations can bring about the desired effect in rooting out the twin evils of online lottery and liquor.
Mr Krishna's pipe-dream of women power putting an end to these two menaces is difficult to realise. Only legislation to ban these two evils will bear fruit.
G Mathrubhutheswaran,
Bangalore

Let government initiate action
Behind every successful man there is a woman. As the saying goes, our Chief Minister, Mr S M Krishna wants to prove it and that's why he has asked for women to stop their respective husbands from alcoholism and online lotteries. But our government should have taken some initiative and then should have appealed to the wives to curb the lottery mania. On the one hand our government wants to continue lotteries and at the same time wants to curb it. It only signifies that our government is generating anti social activities only to curb it using women power. Let us hope the government takes some initiative against the lottery disease before it becomes an epidemic.
Ahmed,
Bangalore

Both evils must be banned
Online lottery is one among many social menaces which loots the poor and middle class people in the society. There is no doubt that the government is getting a good revenue out of bad habits like lotteries, liquor shops, tobacco etc. But at what cost? At the cost of its own poor citizens?
Men who get into habits like regular lottery ticket buying are weak minded and hardly listen to their spouses. What can a poor woman do about this? There should be a strict law and severe punishment for such crimes, then only we can expect discipline. Instead, the government is encouraging such unhealthy habits.
Not banning online lottery and alcoholism by our is a big gesture to women on the occasion of Women’s Day in our State. It may be noted that in our neighboring States liquor/smoking/online lottery are banned. Why not in our State?
K Parthasarathi & Anil B R,
Bangalore

Regulatory role of women
Big applause to Mr S M Krishna’s novel idea. Real gift to the womenfolk on international women’s day. Very much soothing to the ears. But I expect Mr Krishna to step into the interiors of the city to take a look at the lives of coolies, auto drivers and construction workers before he makes such statements. Being the custodian of the welfare of the people of the State he should have the minimum sense to read the minds of the people. Even the regulatory authority at home (wife) will have the dream of becoming a lakhpathi on a fine morning with the influence of the media.

Instead of assigning the regulatory authority to women, exercise the regulatory authority of the government effectively if your aim is to really empower women. Make it mandatory to supply branded bottle of liquor and two super lotto lottery tickets to each casual worker as an addition to their daily earnings by the contractor or the employer as we do in the case of the defence sector. That will serve the purpose of both, your intention of making money for the state exchequer and a peaceful prosperous future for the regulatory authority at home without any increment from their present role as mother, sufferer and supporter. Can’t we practice a little of what we preach? Is there anything wrong if we treat the lower strata of the economy on par with the upper strata? Anyway his statement has made this regulatory authority to think in those lines. 
Maria George

Powerless spectators
As a Catholic priest, I have personally listened to more pathetic tales of women's woes than Mr S M Krishna would have. 
I am more than convinced now that the single largest reason why housewives suffer physical and verbal abuse, are driven away from home, divorced or placed under virtual house-arrest is because they attempt to stand up against their husbands' drinking, gambling or adulterous behaviour. Standing-up against their husbands' drinking or gambling habits is not as easy as S M Krishna thinks, especially in a State where we still have a grossly male-dominated police, political and judicial system that does not easily support a woman in peril in these circumstances. Until the state government promotes and gives more power to women’s forums and makes the police, political and judicial system more women-friendly, women will continue to be powerless spectators of their gambling and drinking husbands.
Fr Adolf Washington,
Bangalore

A different reality
Chief Minister Krishna may be seemingly right in his assertions that a wife could be a more effective regulatory authority to check online lottery and liquor craze in her husband. But in reality it is not so. Even if the wife is educated and employed, she may not be able to exert force on her husband to keep him away from the evil craze. She has to risk disintegration of her family and also the fate of her hapless school going children. There are scores of educated and employed wives who fail in their endeavor to get their husbands on the right track. They simply bear the brunt and suffer in silence. I have seen quite a few cases where the wives employed in banks and government offices could do nothing to control their husbands’ evil craze of single-digit lottery and thereby lost their savings, jewelry and everything. 
P Satish Mallya,
Udupi

What about bachelors?
When we are talking of equality, rights of life, liberty everywhere, where is the room for a better-half? How can an already multi-faceted woman take up a new “spy” niche in her hectic schedule? This seems to be ridiculous.
Both the husband and the wife have to adapt to their responsible, family roles and make a worthwhile “home” for themselves and for their future. They cannot fool around and lead a happy-go-lucky life forever. What about bachelors? Who has to be an effective regularity authority to check online lottery and the liquor craze in them?
We Indians are proud in making our “homes” which should not break as easily as western homes.
Bharathi Girish,
Bangalore

No longer the better half
Indian women are no longer the half (better or not is a different question) as man is fully dependent on her and has to please her. Chief Minister S M Krishna may be right in judging this for effective control of man's vices rather than putting a ban on these revenue churners. (Perhaps he has his own experience with his 'better' half!) This conclusion of mine is applicable to only the so called educated and the privileged in our country as the women of the oppressed and the downtrodden lot have a different story to tell. 
It is the poor class who make the majority in our country and most of the ill effects of liquor craze and online lottery is applicable to these people and their women have no effective control over their men. Many of the families of the under privileged lot have been ruined and there is no remedy for them unless drastic measures are taken to put a total ban on these revenue churners. Perhaps the government should better follow the legislation in Gulf countries. The government itself is a party to the revenue churners at the cost of the poor while this is not so in the Gulf countries.
The Chief Minister's conclusion is therefore applicable to the privileged class only, as he has not given any thought to the other class who make up the majority.
T R Seshadri,
Bangalore

An insult to women
In reality women have always been at the receiving end! 
To imagine or suggest that they have not been trying their best to wean their men away from these habits is to insult them. 
While successive governments have been ostensibly, in the name of discouraging consumption of liquor and cigarettes, levying taxes thereon year after year, their men are found to continue with their old ways without any signs of giving up these habits or reducing the quantum of their intake.†Thus the economic fallout of all pernicious habits their men fall prey to, whether the same be on-line lottery, liquor, gambling or smoking, finally it is women who have to bear the brunt of it all!
Having suffered the consequences mutely for decades, finally if they dreamt that solution to this problem of theirs could be had only at the hands of (Lord) Krishna and invited him on the occasion of International Women’s Day, he proved to be too smart for them. After he left they woke up to the fact he was kidding. 
Isn’t it too much to expect him to reveal something that has the potential to turn his revenue-tap dry?
Eknaath Nagarkar

The guiding force
Gambling, which is what the online lottery is, is fast catching up in both rural and urban areas. Men try their luck to win a fast buck. They don’t mind spending their earnings on a bad vice like this to become rich overnight. Riding their dream horse, visualising lady luck beckoning, they usually self destruct. Ultimately the family suffers.
The wife is always a guide and a motivating force for her husband; she can change the course of his destiny. Vices are hard to shrug off once picked up and men are prone to being bowled over by such habits unless curbed at an early stage. The wife’s role in discouraging such bad habits at appropriate times could save her family and let happiness prevail.
R K M Prabhu
Mysore

Strength of a woman
As a woman of modern India, that too of this golden state, I think that our CM was right. I don’t personally think this is a male-dominated society any more because women have started rising in every field. If a woman believes she can, she is capable of doing anything — much more than bring her husband on the right track.
Archana Sridhar
Bangalore

Do not encourage these vices
I think the government cannot leave the responsibility to the wife alone to control her husband. Each and every individual has to be a responsible citizen. As we see now due to the availability of bars and pubs in abundance even college students tend to visit such places without any fear of society, to their reputation or for their health. I don’t blame this government alone, but no government should encourage vices like the online lottery or liquor. This has lead to the devastation of many families.
B Narasimhamurthy

Shirking responsibility
If what Chief Minister S M Krishna said were true, then alcohol and lotteries would have been non-existent. Women would have probably abolished both right at the beginning. Making statements like he did is akin to accepting the fact that alcohol and lotteries are evils in society. They have to be eradicated. It is the moral duty of the government to see to that such evils are removed permanently from society, so that people do not fall into their clutches.
If women can keep a better check on their hubbies, and take better decisions than their husbands, why doesn’t Mr Krishna step down to make way for his wife? Revenue churners through alcohol and lotteries are not what society needs. Foremost importance should be given to checks whenever people break away from accepted norms. Though norms keep changing from time to time, I do not think that society is ever going to take alcohol and lotteries among its accepted norms. 
True, woman is the better half of man, and she can try to keep a check on her errant husband. But this is a male-dominated society where men rule the roost and, as of now, a woman can do little more.
By hiding behind the pallu of the Indian wife, the Karnataka government is shirking its responsibilities. This is supposed to be a tribute to womankind. I wonder what a bachelor would do?
Anjan Dev N
Bangalore 

A light statement
The “male-dominated society” tells us that society carries this name because of the sheer dominance of man. Every woman in every household cannot be expected to teach their husbands a lesson just because of an instance of tribals successfully doing the same. Another thing is that a wife cannot wallop her husband simply because they are not as strong physically.
A man’s love for liquor and money is sometimes greater than his love for his wife. And when the community does not help, the woman and her children’s state can be truly piteous. Chief Minister S M Krishna has made his statement very lightly. More than profits, he must look after the welfare of all the people in the state.
S Narsimh Sharma
Bangalore

Much too simplistic
The statement of the chief minister is an indication of our shortsightedness — we, who believe we are well-intentioned towards women. Why should a woman be expected to be the responsible half of a marriage when she is brought up to believe in a subdued ideal?
We are avoiding reality. There cannot be radical solutions for social change. Women can be a stabilising factor if they are accepted as the “better half” not because of marriage, but as representatives of half the population, as guardians of the future and of our children. For this to happen, parents and schools have to build self esteem and confidence in girl children.
Politicians, activists and the media should avoid fighting male domination with radical feminism or woman domination. This will have repercussions worse than the current problem. Instead, let us find a solution. Let us educate the woman to realise their strengths, while at the same time make men respect and understand women.
The media, including advertising, can help catalyse this change with subtle messages. The story of Pinky refusing to marry her lover due to the assault on her self respect (‘Boorish baraatis break up perfect love story’, Deccan Herald, March 13) is the kind of news to be highlighted. There is a perceptible change even in smaller towns where young couples share responsibilities.
Alcoholism and the lottery craze are the result of complex social factors and are universal problems. Let us not make it too simplistic.
Narasimhaswamy


Shadowing husband not possible
Drinking and gambling are major evils in any civilised society. Any government which openly encourages these vices under the pretext of earnings does not deserve to be called a welfare-oriented government.
The lure of easy money through lotteries sometimes ends in tragedies like suicides.
Our Chief Minister S M Krishna has openly opposed the abolition of State lotteries and the online draws promoted by various state governments and concerns. This is nothing when one considers that the State-sponsored MUKTA and other draws are patronised by daily wage earners, lower and middle class groups and students.
The reason spelt out by our CM is ridiculous. He is pointing out the possibility of revenue loss to an always cash-strapped State exchequer. If what he says is true in Karnataka, it should also be true in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which has abolished all types of lotteries.
Each and every housewife cannot be expected to forego her household responsibilities, employment and other duties and chores to keep track of her husband 24 hours a day like his shadow to prevent him from gambling and drinking.
C P Chikanna,
Bangalore

Look for other sources of revenue
It is funny to note that wives should check and control their husbands from participating in the online lottery and from drinking. This is simply not possible in a male-dominated society.
By nature, ladies are soft. They cannot put any restrictions on their husbands — especially in the lower middle classes.
Instead of asking women to control their partners, the government should think of getting revenue from other sources and in this direction should consult eminent economists. The online lottery did not exist a few years ago. At that time, how the government earn revenue?
The chief minister should note that “Government is a trust” and the officers of the government are trustees. Both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.
N P RAGHAVENDRA RAO,
Bangalore