Not a fair argument

Sir, - Mr. Joseph Mathew in his letter (June 8) says, ``It is not unlikely that fair-skinned people could have originated in tropical country such as India.'' He adds that they could have possibly originated in the temperate regions of the world.

The region between twenty-three-and-a-half degree northern and southern latitudes (Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn respectively) is called the tropical region. The region between twenty-two-and-a-half degree northern (or southern) latitude to approximately sixty-two degrees northern (or southern) latitude is the temperate region. The Tropic of Cancer, which separates the tropical and the temperate regions, runs through the middle of India.

What if the `fair-skinned' people originated in the temperate regions of India? What if they had originated in the cooler regions of India, such as the Himalayan regions?

Moreover, when we speak of origins, it dates back to centuries. Surely, the vegetation, climatic conditions etc. would not be the same forever. What if, at the time of origin, India was a cool place due to some other influence such as vegetation cover? Making ``fair skin'' alone a factor is indeed unfair.

C. Ravindran,

Vellore

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