Yours Sincerely

Last I heard, the Indian government has decided on continuing to let husbands rape their wives without any legal consequences, apparently to protect the 'traditional family value system in India' ( link ). The gross injustice and ridiculousness of this has been pointed out by several eminent feminists and women's rights activists.  Please go through the links below to understand their reasoning: "The huge opposition to marital rape laws is shocking" -  link : //  The true motive behind the opposition to marital rape might just be the resistance to a woman’s sexual autonomy. Men and even women are brought up with the idea that marriage is a license to have sex whenever the man wants. And that by refusing it, the woman is not doing her “duty”. // //  What they they’re defending is not marriage  per se , but the warped  idea  of marriage that Indians have. // -  link : "Where Consensual Sex is rape, and Forced Sex is a legal right" ...

I went through two links which have been shared on this regard in an attempt to argue that the Wendy Doniger episode is not an issue of importance in the context of free speech: 1) Link: http://www.firstpost.com/india/why-the-wendy-doniger-episode-is-not-a-free-speech-issue-1388751.html?utm_source=ref_article 2) Link: http://centreright.in/2014/02/wendy-doniger-academia-racism-and-hinduphobia/#.UwxLEfmSxCi As these arguments are being taken seriously, I decided to post my response here: 1) The first post article claims that the issue is not that of free speech because the book was withdrawn within the framework of Indian law. Also, that the book was withdrawn on the grounds of factual inaccuracies as opposed to making Hindu texts erotic - making this an issue of fact Vs. error as opposed to stifling freedom of expression. My counter-view:  Below is the link for the official statement of Penguin India on why it chose to withdraw the book  only...

// If free speech means anything at all, it means to tell people what they don't like to hear. // In a world where so many things seem to be falling apart, some things give me fresh hope. This interview came as a huge relief where sense prevailed and those words of Taslima Nasreen were music my ears. Each line from the interview was precious. I found it to be very bold, honest and simple. Please do watch this interview where she talks about her thoughts on free speech: link Here are some excerpts:  // The worst enemy of censorship is always curiosity. // // Free speech is universal. There is no such thing called national free speech or international free speech. Like there are no such things called Islamic human rights or Eastern human rights or Western human rights. // // I don't think there is a conflict between Hindus and Muslims. Of course, there is a conflict. The conflict is between two ideas: secularism & fundamentali...

As I blog, some section of AP population are staring in disbelief at the passage of Telangana bill in Lok Sabha yesterday ( link ) while some are celebrating and holding their breath to await for its passage in Rajya Sabha. I have no hesitation regarding the necessity for Telangana, but I too abhor the manner in which this was bifurcation is being brought upon  ( link ). But it didn't come as a surprise to me, as it has shocked so many other people of AP who are 'disappointed'. Given the record of Congress party in the last sixty years where they have clearly displayed zero accountability towards their electorate taking victory for granted, what is surprising about UPA government's behavior on this issue ( link )? It is also not surprising that BJP decided to vote in favor of Telangana despite the alleged presence of 'unconstitutional clauses' for electoral gains. And I don't expect a party which supports section 377 ( link ) to care about the constitut...

When I saw reports of of this gruesome gang-rape of a woman ordered by a Panchayat (highlighting West Bengal government's failure in addressing women's security issues) ( link ), I thought the country has moved on a lot from 2010. In 2010, the whole country paid a blind eye towards a West Bengal horror in which an adivasi girl was stripped, beaten, molested and paraded by & among hundreds of people for crossing her maryada , for falling in love with a boy from another community ( link ). So when I saw the recent case of gang-rape receiving media attention on the first day, I thought the country has progressed after Nirbhaya. As disturbing as the West Bengal incident is, I was hopeful that horrors of this nature are no longer being excused but are being condemned seriously by the people of India. The sensationalism around Tarun Tejpal's case of sexual assault ( link ) gave me this false hope.  I'm coming to realize that I was badly mistaken. It looks like West...

This post is with reference to the attack on Jayaprakash Narayan ( link ):  //  The attack on Lok Satta Party national president Jayaprakash Narayan by Telangana lawyers and members of the student JAC at AP Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday evoked angry protests from party leaders and workers here . // This is how low we've stooped ( link ).  How can a mob of people simply physically attack someone in full public view in the national capital , when that person hasn't made any derogatory/abusive statements? ( Even if this was the case, I would've condemned any such physical  assault ). Do we understand 'dignity'?  Looks like we've not moved on from a barbaric civilization - except that we wear modern clothes and use technology today  - mindsets have not changed. Given that the person who was attacked is JP from Lok Satta, I think our state deserves to continue to rot like it did in the last ten years.  Don't these fools realize that JP is the only p...

Well...I've read this some time before in one of the websites and ever since...I can't help remembering it whenever I lose my temper and end up being nasty and feel bitter myself. It always, always helps to be nice to people, however annoyed you are with them. Patience is a virtue with bound-less rewards, even if you don't see them right now. Just overcome whatever that feeling is you've towards that other person - jealousy, hatred, anger whatever. Remember - you are being the bigger person if you can maintain your calm Umm..we all know that itchy feeling after a fight I guess - even if we've won technically, even if we were right - just because you were nasty "during" the fight, it somehow doesn't feel like you've won. It just feels like you've lost something. Most importantly, never be bad to someone who is approaching you for help. Just understand that you can make their life atleast a tad bit better if you can overlook your bitterness. ...

To the utterly frustrated misogynists (and/or racists) like the acquaintance of Mr. G.V. on this post ( link ): Your vent-outs about the arrogance of women and their parents who do not fit into 'your' misogynistic ideals are a reflection of the happy reality for us. More we hear such vent-outs, more we know that women empowerment has made its mark. While you are right in grasping that women empowerment is turning into a reality (causing your frustration), you're masking the other half of the reality under your frustration. So let me uncover the other half of the reality for you ( For the context of this post, I'm using the same word 'Lalli' to refer to a girl as referred to by the sexist acquaintance of Mr. G.V ): Whatever Lalli and her parents use to describe themselves ('positive'/''negative', 'lower/middle/upper middle/higher class', 'affluent'/'poor', 'well connected'/'disconnected'), they...