Daily Times

Sir: The story of Michael Brown, the African-American boy shot dead by a white policeman in the suburbs of Ferguson, a city in the US, is a sad one. The boy lost his life by a bullet through the head. More shocking is the fact that a court has allowed the shooter to go free. This biased attitude of the jury towards an innocent black victim is a dark blot on the judicial history of the US.

The foundation stone of the US was laid on the principles of equality, freedom and abolition of slavery all over the continent. Contrarily, the US has forgotten the very revolutionary principles it was established on. Completely shattering the dreams of Martin Luther King, black US citizens are still treated like second-rate citizens in many US states. Their plight includes black fathers conditioning their children to escape from the white policeman’s brutality. According to residents, policemen have dictatorial powers and illegally arrest black youngsters over trivial issues.

Presently, the US is unfairly interfering in many regions of the world on the pretext of human rights violations but, sadly, it has ignored its own country, which has been shattered economically and socially. The US must put its own house in order.

DR TARIK ALAM

Hyderabad