Last week, I was watching a
program on one of the Indian news channels. This was a talk show about
recruitment of hundred and six women soldiers in the Indian army. Two weeks
back, there was another show based on honorable supreme court’s decision to
allow command posts to women officers in the Indian army. The focus of both the
shows were the efforts taken by India to compete with western countries when it
comes to giving equal opportunities to its women. Somehow both the programs
gave a concocted message that India traditionally has not given enough
opportunities to its women and is far from established international standards.
There was apologetic fervor with both the programs and they signaled that we
Indian need to learn a lot from our western and superior counterparts to evolve ourselves
when it comes to gender equality and women rights.
Recently I was reading
biographies of brave women of India published by a famous publisher of
illustrative books for children. The book is about the valor and wisdom of the
Queen of Jhansi, Kittur Rani, Queen Abakka, Razia Sultana and Kalpana Chawla.
My mind reminded itself about the information it gathered in recent past about
recruitment of women in Indian army and entrusting them with combat roles and command
posts. But the recall also recalled what was told to audience through the TV program
regarding Indian culture’s traditional negligence towards women. The stark
contradiction between what was telecasted on TV show and what was written in
the book I held made me to scratch my head.
I fail to comprehend the
narrative that India traditionally has not given rights and opportunities to
women and we need ape western societies to become better. Of course, recruitment
of women in combat and command role are wonderful things which are happening in
our country. I am a devout supporter of women empowerment and progress.
However, I strongly differ in my opinions and approach when compared to a
traditional feminist outlook. I personally see steps like recruitment of women
in Indian army, abolition of triple talaq, opposition of nikah halala, construction
of toilets for women in rural area as small but quintessential steps of correcting
the wrongs of India's recent history. The wrongs referred here are those done
in that part of history when foreigners invaded and established themselves as
masters of this land. In the process of colonization they also stripped fairer gender from their rights and position in the
society. We do not need to mimic the west. On the contrary it is
the west which need to learn about women empowerment from our past while we strive
to regain what we lost due to colonization. India has written accounts of incredible progresses and position w.r.t women's empowerment throughout sub-continent's pre-colonized era.
There is certainly no merit in
the thought process promoted by the pseudo-intellectuals and we must dismiss
their narrative as the imaginations of minds conditioned by after effects of
colonization of a millennium. The deep-rooted inferiority complex with our western
trained intelligentsia and mass communicators is clearly on demonstration on
social and traditional media’s platforms. I am extremely critical towards the
treatment Indian society renders towards its women folks today. However, I am
not apologetic being an Indian male and would like to see the issue by setting
the context clearly. This means that a deliberation of this important topic is utmost
essential and need to be done by systematically analyzing it. The historical,
political, social, cultural, economic and other important angels need to be
examined carefully so that a perspective could be established. A detailed homework
is required by employing methodical appraisal of this issue by competent groups
and individuals.
As a society we must understand
our uniqueness and its nuances and stop understanding India as a backward
society. I am conscious of the fact that, social science as discipline has
evolved in the western world and has its roots with the practices,
peculiarities and problems there. Becoming the practitioner of western social
science has made us see our own system through the same lenses and the aberrations
have made us mis-judge our own society and its ethos on the basis yardsticks
established by this western science. Such an effort has always showcased Indian
civilization as backward, misogynist and regressive.
India is a land of multiple
societies, spectrum of traditions, constellation of culture and enormity of
value systems. India is much more sophisticated and far deeper than its humble
and shallow appearance. A lot of thought process and research is needed to
understand the evolution of various Indian societies. This calls for serious
effort in research and development of social sciences strictly under Indian
context and a separate discipline needs to be carved out of traditional social
studies. A deep focus and sincere research on Indian societies is required to
identify our unique problems and device their unique solutions and this is
applicable in the context of women also.
In my various observations,
India is one of those rare landscape, where we have had matriarchal societies
and women as family heads. The role of women in agricultural practices, their irreplaceability in bearing and rearing children, their contribution as
nutrition provider, their bravery on battle fields, their intelligence in
economic matters, their wisdom in strategic affairs, their skill in fine arts,
their sophistication in public relations, their devotion in spiritual
practices, their commitment towards original traditions and their sincerity
towards ancient customs are unparalleled. They have played exceptional role in health
care and education sector. Indian literature and folklore are full of examples
to endorse the above statements. There is no dearth example of women as warriors,
scholars, mystics, philosophers, diplomats, rulers, administrators, intellectuals,
innovators, thinkers, writers, poets, musicians, artists, bureaucrats and many
more roles
As per Indian spiritual
thinking, feminine is the energy which brings life to this physical world what we
experience through our senses. This idea could be easily understood by an
analogy of an electric appliance. The physical appliance could be considered
masculine yet dead, and the electrical energy which brings it to life is
feminine. Together they make the system complete. We can also take the example
of a car which is masculine and the fuel it runs on is feminine. The energy stored
in the fuel is the essential feminine in a masculine car which makes it run. Feminism
is the very essence of life as per Indian philosophy and metaphysics. These points are enough to prove that feminism
is not only integral part of Indian culture, but it is implicit too. Roles and responsibilities
played by women in Indian context do not need citations to prove their position
in the annals of history. India recognized the importance of this life energy relationship
and hence the various Indian societies developed themselves in much more
sophisticated manner as compared to their western counterparts. In India feminism is not only a social concept but also considered the source of life and its nourishment. Feminism is consider a sacred idea and various Indian customs
and practices substantiate this claim. E.g. the popular festival of Navaratri, during which shakti 'loosely translated as energy and power', is considered as life form, and is worshiped in the form of a woman. This is one of the many endorsement of importance given to feminine in our country. In Indian context feminism is not only social or political concept but
natural part of existence.
Jargon like gender equality
and women's right fails to impress me. In my personal understanding, we do not
need an approach where one gender recognize the other one and giving it the
rights it deserves. We are not talking about relationship of a leader and follower, giver
and taker, superior and sub-ordinate, teacher and
taught, master and slave. On the contrary, this is a relationship of sincere partnership, close collaboration, absolute synergy, mutual respect, and most importantly selfless love. This needs to be
developed on empathy and not on sympathy. This essentially means that both the
genders are absolutely equal in this partnership. They need to recognize their
respective roles in the society and assume it with full responsibility,
commitment and ownership. Both are independent to function in their area of
sphere and yet they need to support each other to move forward. They need to
intervene only when solicited by the other but also being watchful that they do not interfere. This must be a relationship of
mutual trust and respect. India always had had an organic relationship between
both the genders and somehow this got eroded in last millennia of disruption.
The good news is that, not all is lost. The organic nature of this relationship
exists even today. Baby steps like participation of women in military and
strategic affairs will indeed help this organic relationship to flourish
further. Such developments will help us to realize the standards and glory,
this land always had in the past. India is indeed a role model and Indian
women are invariably the inspiration behind it.
Happy women’s day!
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