|
|
|
|
|
|
| Madhu Purnima Kishwar's Blog |
|
| “I have a horror of all isms, especially those that attach themselves to proper names”. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Posted on: February 16, 2013 |
|
Need to Reestablish Links
Some Discussions With Sikh Communities in North America |
|
|
|
|
The Indian government tries to attribute
terrorism in Punjab to a mysterious “foreign hand” that tirelessly conspires to
destablise India.
The government wants us to believe that the main reason for Sikh terrorism is
instigation by the governments of Pakistan,
USA, Canada and Britain. Clearly, this is done to
cover up the government’s own mischievous role in generating and fomenting the
conflict in Punjab.
Certainly, terrorists have been receiving
moral and material support from outside the country. But the support is, in all
likelihood, coming not so much from foreign government... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Posted on: |
|
When Temples Are Not Dharmasthans
|
|
|
|
|
I wrote the following article in response to a
rejoinder to my article “Don’t Like This Temple? Choose Another” by Prachee
Sinha published in The Hindu under the title “Everything That Spills From
Temples Is Not Sacred”
In any one article with a strict word limit, no one can deal
with all the aspects and nuances of an issue. I am thankful to Prachee Sinha for
her rejoinder to my article “Don’t Like This Temple? Choose Another”
because it gives me an opportunity to clarify my stand on key issues regarding
Hindu temples and faith traditio... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Posted on: January 24, 2013 |
|
Clothed in Hypocrisy
Selective Targeting of Dress Codes |
|
|
|
|
In recent years, rural community panchayats
have come under repeated attacks at their mostly unsuccessful attempts at
restraining young women from excessive use of mobile phones and from wearing
“provocative” western outfits. We have witnessed outraged TV anchors and their
handpicked panelists emote passionately for endless hours against
such “Talibani diktats”. We are told the very idea of dress codes is oppressive,
is anti-freedom. On the surface it sounds reasonable that each person should
have the freedom to wear clothes of their choice. I for one would never j... |
|
|
|
| First Published in : Hindustan Times, January 24, 2013 |
Read More.... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Posted on: |
|
Imperious Authoritarianism in the Garb of Modernity
Pleading protection from the New Missionaries of Uniformity |
|
|
|
|
It has
become all too common for T.V. anchors to demand that an M.P. or minister who
makes a frivolous or politically offensive statement should be forthwith forced
to resign by his party or that a spiritual guru who holds antiquated views must
be taken to task and immediately disowned by all his devotees as scum of the
earth. Some of the TV anchors turn outright abusive to prove their reformist
zeal. For example, much as I disliked Asaram Bapu’s stupid statements on rape,
the abusive harangues he was subjected to in absentia for hours on end, the
tsunami of pejoratives used against him, the attem... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Posted on: |
|
Next Time, Don’t Walk Away
The best police force cannot be a substitute for caring and vigilant citizens |
|
|
|
|
The
testimony of the friend of the Delhi
gangrape victim on Zee News held up a disturbing mirror to our society. The
gross callousness, cowardice and voyeurism displayed by the bystanders, as well
as the cars and autos that passed by the badly injured gangrape victim and her
friend, proves the truth of the popular saying: “yatha raja, tatha praja (the
quality of the rulers determines the quality of the subjects)”.
However,
in a democracy — even a flawed one like ours — citizens cannot disown their
responsibility and wait for rulers to set things right. A democracy gives you
... |
|
|
|
| First Published in : The Indian Express, January 16, 2013 |
Read More.... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Posted on: |
|
From Manusmriti to Madhusmriti
Flagellating a Mythical Enemy |
|
|
|
|
ON
March 25 of this year, copies of Manusmriti were burnt by reformers protesting against the ill-conceived
installation of the statue of Manu in the precincts of the Rajasthan High
Court. The protestors believed that the text is the defining document of
Brahmanical Hinduism, and also the key source of gender and caste oppression in
India.
In the ensuing controversy defenders of Manusmriti projected it as a
pivotal canonical source of religious law for Hindus.
In
a somewhat similar fashion, Deepa Mehta's film Water revived an ongoing
controversy about whether those who exploit an... |
|
|
|
| First Published in : March-April 2000, Manushi # 117 |
Read More.... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
