Why are women always the target of these social disciplinarians?
Tarun Vijay | February 02, 2009 | 13:37 IST
If
bra burning was the slogan of feminism in the sixties, should the
neo-avatars of Simone de Beauvoir make 'I wanna pub honey,' the slogan
of 2009? That too unlicensed, illegal pubs, entertaining under age
youngsters to get a better 'high'?
The absurdity of
blowing up the Mangalore pub incident can be understood only in one
context -- it gave secularists another handle to portray the Hindu
right in a light that is so dear to them.
Every media channel
and magazine turned a Navin Chawla against ideological adversaries,
passionately discussing the Mangalore pub incident and the rights of
women, completely ignoring the significant protest rally of retired
soldiers in Delhi that demanded equal pensions.
It is the same crowd
that eulogised the martyrdom of Hemant Karkare, not because of their
respect for soldiers, but because it again gave them a chance to
pounce
upon the Hindu right.
Mangalore should have
got a stern warning by those who govern. If pubs are bad and sinful,
legislate and stop them legally. Bad things can't be stopped through
petty methods like pickpocketing. Be brave and forthright and stand
tall on whatever you think is good for all. Face the criticism with
aplomb and respond if you have to. But that needs commitment.
A clear, transparent
force that lights and shows a path that is free from a pathologically
hypocritical high moral ground. At least politicians of the
contemporary variety shouldn't venture in a place that's just not
meant
for them -- public morality.
But while everyone
would like to condemn the incident, the media's attitude must also be
analysed. The media blew the incident as if a national calamity had
occurred, instigated by the Hindu right and related its thread to
Malegaon. The columns and comments on the 'grave threats posed by
Hindu
extremism' must also be analysed and the real motives exposed.
I am strongly opposed
to those who create a meaningless fuss over Valentine's Day or create
a
nuisance like they did in Mangalore. But the selective memory loss of
the secular moral preachers is intriguing when anything of the same
variety involves Muslims.
Last month, some
zealots in a Mumbai mall beat up a Pakistani Muslim girl. A news
report
read: 'A Pakistani national, Saba Najam, 22, was roughed up at
Hypercity Mall in Malad last Monday after some people spotted a tattoo
in Urdu on her back. Some women suddenly approached her and assaulted
her over the tattoo, which read 'Shukr Alham Du Lillah' meaning 'Thank
you, God.'
'Riyaz Ahmed Talukdar,
a member of Jan Seva Sangh, a local NGO, had first spotted the tattoo
on Saba's back and informed his mother, Shabana Talukdar. Riyaz said,
"When I saw the tattoo I was furious as holy words from the Quran were
on her back." Shabana, along with a few other women, then came to the
mall in the next 15 minutes and slapped the girl several times before
the mall management intervened. The incident scared the girl so much
that she left for Pakistan on Friday.'
Did you read anything
about it in your newspaper? Or a discussion on television channels?
Were any of the Muslim clerics or the so-called liberal voices who
came
to Delhi in a trainload complaining why they were being labeled as
'terrorists', interviewed on the treatment meted out to a girl from a
neighbouring Islamic republic by Mumbai's 'moral police'?
It is this attitude that also encourages some fringe elements like
those whom we saw at Mangalore.
Surely nothing must
defend one wrong by citing another wrong as an example. But
politicians
must govern and not preach. And pray, who do they think they are? Can
they be entrusted the job of preparing a charter for citizen dharma?
Should we accept an organisation like the Ram Sene to take it upon
itself to impose its own variety of decency by beating girls?
So now, Hindu Dharma,
which was defined and elaborated once upon a time by the likes of
Swami
Vivekananda and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan will have to be understood
through the Mangalore beatings of girls by brave young exponents of
some kind of a conduct they call 'culture'?
What are we up to and
what do we want to achieve? Why are women always the target of these
social disciplinarians? They beat them up, abuse them, tell them what
to wear or not, be a nice housewife because that's what the 'religious
ideal' is, be a mother and an obedient wife, go to places of worship
and read the holy scriptures.
There is nothing wrong
with that, but do these worthies have a right and a moral authority to
tell women all these codes of conduct while they flounder and abuse
every bit of simple, civil behaviour in their life?
But the media
certainly loves such 'shows'. It had advance information about the
pub-attack, still found it prudent to wait till the news was 'matured'
through a well-orchestrated attack. If the media had informed
authorities those hapless girls would have been saved from
humiliation.
Some time back a
protestor informed the media about his self-immolation bid in
Chandigarh and the media faithfully recorded the event without even
once trying to save the guy, who died within minutes before cameramen
and correspondents. This is an issue involving media ethics, if they
have any or believe they should have them. News or the call of human
values?
The use of the word
'culture' for the habit of frequenting pubs is also intriguing. But
the
whole issue boils down to one point, if one dislikes a certain social
behaviour, how should a protest for it be registered? The vegetarians
protested when fried chicken ads were aired on television channels and
even when the 'eat eggs daily' campaign was launched. If some like
non-vegetarian food, those who find it disgusting and against their
ethics, do have a right to show their displeasure, but the matter must
take a civil course.
Surely going to pubs
is a different matter altogether and a large number of people find it
nauseatingly unacceptable as some opinion polls by leading newspapers
have shown. So what is the solution? The state wants revenue by
selling
alcohol and licensing for pubs, but at the same time it frowns upon
them to get space in newspapers. This duality won't work.
The best that can be
done is to propagate alternative ideas of healthy drink. Encourage
milk
consumption and dairy products and establish more and more dairies
like
Gujarat has shown. There is complete prohibition in Gujarat and though
there may be some breaches, it has certainly helped to bring down the
consumption of alcohol to a great extent.
Those who claim they
are the followers of Mahtama Gandhi or Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, must
respect the law and Constitution of the nation. They have an
obligation
to lead by example.
I must quote an
inspiring story from the life of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who once
refused to turn on a transistor to listen to the news while travelling
in a train -- and he travelled third class most of the time -- because
the license fee for using it was yet to be deposited. It was
obligatory
in those days to have a license for using a radio.
Yes, times have changed; yet, religious bigotry must not be accepted
in any circumstances.
How many of these
moral preachers understand the reality that the place of a woman can't
be different than that of a man? Please give us clean drinking water,
good primary schools, functional and caring public hospitals, a
corruption free administration and enforce the law to save genuine
cultural moors. That will be more than what a citizen would need under
any party's pronouncedly benign and heavenly noble governance.
URL for this article:http://www.rediff.com///news/2009/feb/02-why-are-
women-always-the-tar...
Tarun Vijay | February 02, 2009 | 13:37 IST
If
bra burning was the slogan of feminism in the sixties, should the
neo-avatars of Simone de Beauvoir make 'I wanna pub honey,' the slogan
of 2009? That too unlicensed, illegal pubs, entertaining under age
youngsters to get a better 'high'?
The absurdity of
blowing up the Mangalore pub incident can be understood only in one
context -- it gave secularists another handle to portray the Hindu
right in a light that is so dear to them.
Every media channel
and magazine turned a Navin Chawla against ideological adversaries,
passionately discussing the Mangalore pub incident and the rights of
women, completely ignoring the significant protest rally of retired
soldiers in Delhi that demanded equal pensions.
It is the same crowd
that eulogised the martyrdom of Hemant Karkare, not because of their
respect for soldiers, but because it again gave them a chance to
pounce
upon the Hindu right.
Mangalore should have
got a stern warning by those who govern. If pubs are bad and sinful,
legislate and stop them legally. Bad things can't be stopped through
petty methods like pickpocketing. Be brave and forthright and stand
tall on whatever you think is good for all. Face the criticism with
aplomb and respond if you have to. But that needs commitment.
A clear, transparent
force that lights and shows a path that is free from a pathologically
hypocritical high moral ground. At least politicians of the
contemporary variety shouldn't venture in a place that's just not
meant
for them -- public morality.
But while everyone
would like to condemn the incident, the media's attitude must also be
analysed. The media blew the incident as if a national calamity had
occurred, instigated by the Hindu right and related its thread to
Malegaon. The columns and comments on the 'grave threats posed by
Hindu
extremism' must also be analysed and the real motives exposed.
I am strongly opposed
to those who create a meaningless fuss over Valentine's Day or create
a
nuisance like they did in Mangalore. But the selective memory loss of
the secular moral preachers is intriguing when anything of the same
variety involves Muslims.
Last month, some
zealots in a Mumbai mall beat up a Pakistani Muslim girl. A news
report
read: 'A Pakistani national, Saba Najam, 22, was roughed up at
Hypercity Mall in Malad last Monday after some people spotted a tattoo
in Urdu on her back. Some women suddenly approached her and assaulted
her over the tattoo, which read 'Shukr Alham Du Lillah' meaning 'Thank
you, God.'
'Riyaz Ahmed Talukdar,
a member of Jan Seva Sangh, a local NGO, had first spotted the tattoo
on Saba's back and informed his mother, Shabana Talukdar. Riyaz said,
"When I saw the tattoo I was furious as holy words from the Quran were
on her back." Shabana, along with a few other women, then came to the
mall in the next 15 minutes and slapped the girl several times before
the mall management intervened. The incident scared the girl so much
that she left for Pakistan on Friday.'
Did you read anything
about it in your newspaper? Or a discussion on television channels?
Were any of the Muslim clerics or the so-called liberal voices who
came
to Delhi in a trainload complaining why they were being labeled as
'terrorists', interviewed on the treatment meted out to a girl from a
neighbouring Islamic republic by Mumbai's 'moral police'?
It is this attitude that also encourages some fringe elements like
those whom we saw at Mangalore.
Surely nothing must
defend one wrong by citing another wrong as an example. But
politicians
must govern and not preach. And pray, who do they think they are? Can
they be entrusted the job of preparing a charter for citizen dharma?
Should we accept an organisation like the Ram Sene to take it upon
itself to impose its own variety of decency by beating girls?
So now, Hindu Dharma,
which was defined and elaborated once upon a time by the likes of
Swami
Vivekananda and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan will have to be understood
through the Mangalore beatings of girls by brave young exponents of
some kind of a conduct they call 'culture'?
What are we up to and
what do we want to achieve? Why are women always the target of these
social disciplinarians? They beat them up, abuse them, tell them what
to wear or not, be a nice housewife because that's what the 'religious
ideal' is, be a mother and an obedient wife, go to places of worship
and read the holy scriptures.
There is nothing wrong
with that, but do these worthies have a right and a moral authority to
tell women all these codes of conduct while they flounder and abuse
every bit of simple, civil behaviour in their life?
But the media
certainly loves such 'shows'. It had advance information about the
pub-attack, still found it prudent to wait till the news was 'matured'
through a well-orchestrated attack. If the media had informed
authorities those hapless girls would have been saved from
humiliation.
Some time back a
protestor informed the media about his self-immolation bid in
Chandigarh and the media faithfully recorded the event without even
once trying to save the guy, who died within minutes before cameramen
and correspondents. This is an issue involving media ethics, if they
have any or believe they should have them. News or the call of human
values?
The use of the word
'culture' for the habit of frequenting pubs is also intriguing. But
the
whole issue boils down to one point, if one dislikes a certain social
behaviour, how should a protest for it be registered? The vegetarians
protested when fried chicken ads were aired on television channels and
even when the 'eat eggs daily' campaign was launched. If some like
non-vegetarian food, those who find it disgusting and against their
ethics, do have a right to show their displeasure, but the matter must
take a civil course.
Surely going to pubs
is a different matter altogether and a large number of people find it
nauseatingly unacceptable as some opinion polls by leading newspapers
have shown. So what is the solution? The state wants revenue by
selling
alcohol and licensing for pubs, but at the same time it frowns upon
them to get space in newspapers. This duality won't work.
The best that can be
done is to propagate alternative ideas of healthy drink. Encourage
milk
consumption and dairy products and establish more and more dairies
like
Gujarat has shown. There is complete prohibition in Gujarat and though
there may be some breaches, it has certainly helped to bring down the
consumption of alcohol to a great extent.
Those who claim they
are the followers of Mahtama Gandhi or Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, must
respect the law and Constitution of the nation. They have an
obligation
to lead by example.
I must quote an
inspiring story from the life of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who once
refused to turn on a transistor to listen to the news while travelling
in a train -- and he travelled third class most of the time -- because
the license fee for using it was yet to be deposited. It was
obligatory
in those days to have a license for using a radio.
Yes, times have changed; yet, religious bigotry must not be accepted
in any circumstances.
How many of these
moral preachers understand the reality that the place of a woman can't
be different than that of a man? Please give us clean drinking water,
good primary schools, functional and caring public hospitals, a
corruption free administration and enforce the law to save genuine
cultural moors. That will be more than what a citizen would need under
any party's pronouncedly benign and heavenly noble governance.
URL for this article:http://www.rediff.com///news/2009/feb/02-why-are-
women-always-the-tar...
--
Regards,
MUKUNTHAN L.
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