Navratras and the Contemporary Woman

Navratras –A Tribute to the ten-armed Contemporary Indian Woman:

India is rightly called the “melting pot” or cauldron of diverse cultures and traditions.  A country  with a carte of 330 million Gods and Goddesses  personifying an idea from  ancient India , when  it was believed that there were 330 million living beings. These deities were given names and forms, each personifying a special quality that was supposed to be imbibed by humans.

The ancient puranas speak of the festival of Dussehra preceded by the nine days or the Navratras, followed by the tenth day of  Dussehra, dedicated to the  ten manifestations of the Mother Goddess. This has become a multi-cultural extravaganza spanning the length and breadth of India, as well as the surrounding Hindu nations of Malaysia and Nepal. The diversity of rituals in the celebration are steeped in the confines of individual cultures of the states, and provide a vivid collage of traditions, from feasting to fasting, vegetarianism to sacrifice of animals and delicious non-vegetarian dishes! Such age-old festivals are losing their essence in modern India, and have been reduced to either another opportunity to celebrate and holiday, or limpet-clinging to enforcement of staunch, short-sighted rituals , endorsed by the ravings and rantings of the cyber-oriented  dictums decreed by the modern holy sages. The local print media further enhances the import of abiding by the framework of the rigid rules, under the threat of dire divine repercussions, framed by our ancestors. The deeper philosophy and spiritual aspect of this festival seems to have been swept under the carpet of Time.

Navratras honour the contradictory qualities exemplified by the manifestations of the Mother Goddess – The power of Destruction, War, Fierceness , Action, Energy and Benevolence. Material and Spiritual Wealth, Light, Luminance , Peace, Learning, Knowledge, Fine Arts and Wisdom. The 10^th day, called Vijaydashmi or Dussehra is celebrated as the victory of  Wisdom and the light of Knowledge, over the Demons of Ignorance, Superstition, Illiteracy and Darkness (“good” over “evil”). Are not all of these values and qualities the essence of the contemporary woman?

The harnessing of all these strengths within our persona is the true tribute to the varied manifestations of the Mother Goddess.  The dawn of knowledge and the dispelling of the darkness of ignorance , that serves to free us from the bondages of the evils within our society,  is the true tribute to the Navratras The people here believe in “fasting” not “feasting”. The code of ritualistic celebrations is strict and binding amongst the devotees, who throng the temples in search of salvation. What people forget along the path is the intrinsic “reasoning” behind the celebration. Keeping  nine days of strict fasting, subjugating oneself at the feet of the Mother Goddess, while desecrating womanhood within the confines of hearth and homes, defiling the female persona by wanton destruction of the girl-child, before or after her birth, and throwing intelligence and self-respect up at the altar of becoming the “good’” Indian woman, who sacrifices her name, fame, abilities, hopes, aspirations, dreams and careers willingly, is hardly the emancipated way to salvation!

 It is a familiar sight in every street and lane of North India, to see traditional ladies with bright-coloured pallus covering their head and thalis decorated with assorted items slated for worship  of their Goddess. Glamorizing  our inner fears and superstitions, celebrating our age-old ignorance, throwing all our deeper, finer qualities at the altar of blind faith, is hardly suited to the women of India of the space age. Celebration of our festivals is commendable, but only if the very reasons we attribute to them are part of our day-to-day life, and not limited to just these  nine days. The Goddess Durga is worshipped with maniacal fervor, but her very qualities are far removed from most homes and hearts. The shame of gender discrimination raises its ugly head within our society in despicable ways, and our society instead of condemning , condones these vagaries . The unwanted daughters, the secondary status of women within the family, the lack of pride, self-respect and independence taught to the girls from birth- are they not a direct  insult to the very goddesses we try and emulate? The ease with which our society drags our “Gods” down to the very dregs of humanity, is incredible to witness! Feeding “kanyas” on “Ashtami” and depriving them of the right to hold their head high and live, is hardly the right way to commemorate this festival dedicate to womanhood!

Does it make any sense to cling on to the suffocating vine of mindless traditions... and glorify the “co-creators” of all humanity just nine days  a year? And that too with penance and fasting-as though it is  more a punishment to don the mantle of womanhood than a cause for celebration? Isn’t the contemporary woman the epitome of the ten-handed Goddess, juggling her home, children, siblings, husband, in-laws, parents, career and all their collective futures ably and efficiently?

Today, Navratras and Dussehra need to become a celebration of the true strengths (shakti) of the contemporary Indian woman, as she has over the centuries, imbibed all the qualities of the nine manifestations of the Mother Goddess. She has the strength, determination and will power or shakti of Durga Shailputri, the ability to sacrifice for the needs of her work/family  and remain cheerful in the wake of problems and difficulties of Brahmacharini,  the bravery of Chandraghanta, the capability of holding her own world and that of her loved ones in her hands like Khushmanda, the fire of determination and leadership qualities to reach the pinnacle of her dreams , like  the deity Skand Mata, the recognition and appreciation of her womanhood in herself and her daughters like Katyayani, the fearlessness of  Kalratri and the calmness and peacefulness of Maha Gauri. She is truly the ten-armed caretaker of the present and future of herself, her family, society, sect, and  her country.

 Is it not apt then, to celebrate Navratras and Dussehra as a tribute to the New Woman? Let the country awaken then, to the new dawn of victory of the light of knowledge over the darkness of pointless tradition, ignorance and superstition. Let each of us find sanity in the insanity of compulsive fasting and feasting. Let the pealing bells ring out the fear within us.  Allow  the auspicious lights of the festival to give us freedom from all these shackles of minds, and  bondages of  souls. Let us commemorate the “co-creators” of all humanity, and hear the refrains of their wisdom and strength in the sound of the conches blown on the tenth day of the festivities. Let Dussehra actually be an enlightenment of our minds and a victory of good over evil, in the true sense!

Dr. Seema Tyagi

Navratras and the Contemporary Woman

Navratras –A Tribute to the ten-armed Contemporary Indian Woman:

India is rightly called the “melting pot” or cauldron of diverse cultures and traditions.  A country  with a carte of 330 million Gods and Goddesses  personifying an idea from  ancient India , when  it was believed that there were 330 million living beings. These deities were given names and forms, each personifying a special quality that was supposed to be imbibed by humans.

The ancient puranas speak of the festival of Dussehra preceded by the nine days or the Navratras, followed by the tenth day of  Dussehra, dedicated to the  ten manifestations of the Mother Goddess. This has become a multi-cultural extravaganza spanning the length and breadth of India, as well as the surrounding Hindu nations of Malaysia and Nepal. The diversity of rituals in the celebration are steeped in the confines of individual cultures of the states, and provide a vivid collage of traditions, from feasting to fasting, vegetarianism to sacrifice of animals and delicious non-vegetarian dishes! Such age-old festivals are losing their essence in modern India, and have been reduced to either another opportunity to celebrate and holiday, or limpet-clinging to enforcement of staunch, short-sighted rituals , endorsed by the ravings and rantings of the cyber-oriented  dictums decreed by the modern holy sages. The local print media further enhances the import of abiding by the framework of the rigid rules, under the threat of dire divine repercussions, framed by our ancestors. The deeper philosophy and spiritual aspect of this festival seems to have been swept under the carpet of Time.

Navratras honour the contradictory qualities exemplified by the manifestations of the Mother Goddess – The power of Destruction, War, Fierceness , Action, Energy and Benevolence. Material and Spiritual Wealth, Light, Luminance , Peace, Learning, Knowledge, Fine Arts and Wisdom. The 10^th day, called Vijaydashmi or Dussehra is celebrated as the victory of  Wisdom and the light of Knowledge, over the Demons of Ignorance, Superstition, Illiteracy and Darkness (“good” over “evil”). Are not all of these values and qualities the essence of the contemporary woman?

The harnessing of all these strengths within our persona is the true tribute to the varied manifestations of the Mother Goddess.  The dawn of knowledge and the dispelling of the darkness of ignorance , that serves to free us from the bondages of the evils within our society,  is the true tribute to the Navratras The people here believe in “fasting” not “feasting”. The code of ritualistic celebrations is strict and binding amongst the devotees, who throng the temples in search of salvation. What people forget along the path is the intrinsic “reasoning” behind the celebration. Keeping  nine days of strict fasting, subjugating oneself at the feet of the Mother Goddess, while desecrating womanhood within the confines of hearth and homes, defiling the female persona by wanton destruction of the girl-child, before or after her birth, and throwing intelligence and self-respect up at the altar of becoming the “good’” Indian woman, who sacrifices her name, fame, abilities, hopes, aspirations, dreams and careers willingly, is hardly the emancipated way to salvation!

 It is a familiar sight in every street and lane of North India, to see traditional ladies with bright-coloured pallus covering their head and thalis decorated with assorted items slated for worship  of their Goddess. Glamorizing  our inner fears and superstitions, celebrating our age-old ignorance, throwing all our deeper, finer qualities at the altar of blind faith, is hardly suited to the women of India of the space age. Celebration of our festivals is commendable, but only if the very reasons we attribute to them are part of our day-to-day life, and not limited to just these  nine days. The Goddess Durga is worshipped with maniacal fervor, but her very qualities are far removed from most homes and hearts. The shame of gender discrimination raises its ugly head within our society in despicable ways, and our society instead of condemning , condones these vagaries . The unwanted daughters, the secondary status of women within the family, the lack of pride, self-respect and independence taught to the girls from birth- are they not a direct  insult to the very goddesses we try and emulate? The ease with which our society drags our “Gods” down to the very dregs of humanity, is incredible to witness! Feeding “kanyas” on “Ashtami” and depriving them of the right to hold their head high and live, is hardly the right way to commemorate this festival dedicate to womanhood!

Does it make any sense to cling on to the suffocating vine of mindless traditions... and glorify the “co-creators” of all humanity just nine days  a year? And that too with penance and fasting-as though it is  more a punishment to don the mantle of womanhood than a cause for celebration? Isn’t the contemporary woman the epitome of the ten-handed Goddess, juggling her home, children, siblings, husband, in-laws, parents, career and all their collective futures ably and efficiently?

Today, Navratras and Dussehra need to become a celebration of the true strengths (shakti) of the contemporary Indian woman, as she has over the centuries, imbibed all the qualities of the nine manifestations of the Mother Goddess. She has the strength, determination and will power or shakti of Durga Shailputri, the ability to sacrifice for the needs of her work/family  and remain cheerful in the wake of problems and difficulties of Brahmacharini,  the bravery of Chandraghanta, the capability of holding her own world and that of her loved ones in her hands like Khushmanda, the fire of determination and leadership qualities to reach the pinnacle of her dreams , like  the deity Skand Mata, the recognition and appreciation of her womanhood in herself and her daughters like Katyayani, the fearlessness of  Kalratri and the calmness and peacefulness of Maha Gauri. She is truly the ten-armed caretaker of the present and future of herself, her family, society, sect, and  her country.

 Is it not apt then, to celebrate Navratras and Dussehra as a tribute to the New Woman? Let the country awaken then, to the new dawn of victory of the light of knowledge over the darkness of pointless tradition, ignorance and superstition. Let each of us find sanity in the insanity of compulsive fasting and feasting. Let the pealing bells ring out the fear within us.  Allow  the auspicious lights of the festival to give us freedom from all these shackles of minds, and  bondages of  souls. Let us commemorate the “co-creators” of all humanity, and hear the refrains of their wisdom and strength in the sound of the conches blown on the tenth day of the festivities. Let Dussehra actually be an enlightenment of our minds and a victory of good over evil, in the true sense!

Dr. Seema Tyagi

To Us, The People of India.....

Jahan Diwali mein Ali,
Aur Ramzan mein Ram hai.
Uss desh mein mandir-masjid ko lekar,
Ye kaisa bawaal hai?

Siyasat ke kursi paane ke kisse aam hain,
Phir hum samajh sakein to samjhein-
Lad-lad ke jeene mein apna hi nuksaan hai.
Jago-Utho-Badho-Jeeto...
Ham sab ke kadmon mein mukammil jahaan hai!

Ayodhya Vs Babri

As one "literary intellectual" proud secular Indian to another-- What is your opinion on the so-called "landmark" judgment on the Ayodhya-Babri masjid issue? I, personally, am outraged!

It was "landmark" all right! Marked the land into three pieces.. "Marked" not divided! The main dome housing idols (allegedly sneaked inside by "right"-minded upholders of a Hindu country) marked for the larger community, the rest divided between the Nirmohi Akhada and the Mosque committee. A three-way division is laudable and very commendable in itself. As Mr. Javed Akhtar phrased it, it is the ONLY way to settle ruffled sentiments and move ahead as a nation, since the nation is always more important than anything else.The wrong lies not in the judgment per se, but in granting the main disputed central dome to the Ram lalla statues... based on the non-fact of this being Rams janmbhoomi.
The judgment was based on tenets of the place being the birthplace of an epical, mythological figure, whose presence, however cemented in our hearts and souls, has no historical backing. Its all very well to worship a deity of any shape and size, we worship Shiva in his stone "linga"..form , so would that mean that the stone takes p residence over the sanctity of Law and its procedures? Our "Gods" are but manifestations of the diverse traits of human nature..positive and negative. Hinduism is a way of life not truly a religion to be followed blindly. The how and why has it happened that a judgment based on religion is condoned and applauded as "fair"? There is concrete historical evidence of Neanderthal man, of dinosaurs and the dawn of civilization in Mohenjodara and Harrappa. Where is any evidence of the great kingdoms as written in the famous epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata? Surely if they existed in all the alleged grandeur, they would have left behind adequately convincing footprints on the sands of time, and on the pages of history. So extolling our faith in mandirs is fine, ringing temple bells and offering prayers to our chosen deities is acceptable, but to insinuate them into legal battles and judgments is not

The shameful visual of a spokesman and lawyer coming out of the courtroom with the V for Victory sign is one I will not forget in a hurry. All the constraints on the press and pleas to the public to refrain from inciteful words or gestures becomes invalid in the face of the members of the legal fraternity extolling their obvious triumph at their "victory" over "those invaders" of our hallowed land.

What message goes out to the trusting populace of this land? That judgments can be based on tenets of religion? That "Ram" is a historic entity and not "Rahim"? What will stop the same forces from now storming and mowing down the Taj Mahal (Teja Mahal?), Jama Masjid, maybe the Red Fort??? They have the green signal anyway to embark upon this yatra too. After all, all of these were constructed by the "Invaders" and presumably on land where some erstwhile "Hindu" building existed.

Why spare the Aryans who smashed the Dravidians? And our rulers of over two centuries- The British? Why are we glamorizing our slavery by hosting the CWG and allowing the Prince to declare the Games open? Why dont we take it upon ourselves to hold all these to account too?

Maybe because we happen to be a civilized nation on the path to becoming a major force in tomorrow's world. So cant somebody STOP these violators of all we stand for from denuding us of our conscience?

As a proud Indian,I am truly shamed to call myself a citizen of this SECULAR land today. And I do NOT like the feeling.

Butterflies....

Saw such a strange sight at a spot in Rajaji National Park.. For no discernible reason whatsoever, hundreds of bright-coloured butterflies were sitting at one spot on the grass.. and would fly away as we went near them and again alight at the very same spot as we moved away. The children and I found it so fascinating....

The drive from Chandi Devi Temple straight through the Park, is paradise! I recommend everyone who lives/visits around this part of the country to definitely make a trip through  this route which leaves to Rishikesh.

Neccesity is the mother of all Enterprise!

Ever seen the once-familiar innovatively miraculous nests of the weaver bird lately? Not in the last few years! Nature's wanton destruction has taken its toll on flora and fauna.. as it has with human lives...and so many species are on the verge of extinction!
It was delightful to see these 40-50 nests hanging all-in-a-row on a pilon, en route to Dehradun on the Bijnor-Hardwar road! This is called Survival !!!!

India- The Land of Festivals

India is the land of festivals. Probably the only one of its kind on the face of the earth.. where exist a myriad kaleidoscope of religions, castes, creeds, languages and people. And Gods. We are known as a country that may be lacking in many things, but has warmth, colour and vibrance. All of our lives are an occasion for celebration. The birth of a child, its naming-ceremony, first hair-shaving(mundan), ear-piercing, birthdays, first day at school, first day in college, first job, first tricycle, bicycle, motorbike/car, first house, engagement, marriage... even death... is a loud, noisy, show of sorts. No wonder Bollywood is such a glitzy affair! Reel life mimics real life, so to say!

We attach various fables, stories, reeti-rivaaz to the various festivals we celebrate.. as endorsed and enforced by the caretakers of religions across the land. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have had a collective memory-loss about the reason for celebrating any festival or occasion. National festivals, religious festivals and harvest festivals were actually a celebration of a fruitful and happy life. Where in the days of restricted communication/transportation facilities, these were occasions for mass movement of people to meet their families and friends. They paid homage to their local deities and went on to eat, drink and make merry. Unlike today, where the local deities have transformed into monstrous proportions and engulfed the very reason behind all celebrations. Constant association with fasting and penance along with complicated rituals and practices have sullied the very essense of the word "Festival". Festivities take a back-seat and Ritualism is the winner!

Its time to take stock of who we are and where we are going. And to remember- all directions ought to lead us to the end of the rainbow.. not get us lost amidst the debris of randomness.

WHY?????

Someone narrated a "joke" the other day- An Icelander came a-visiting India and spent a month travelling north to south, east to west.. on the day he was leaving, some reporters in the departure lounge asked him, "So, wha do you think of Indians and their hospitality?" The Icelander replied,"But I didn't meet any Indians!" ..... "In Gujarat, I met Gujaratis, in Maharashtra I met Marathi Manoos, In Punjab, Punjabis... In Kashmir, Kashmiris... and in Soth India, I was very confused since there wasnt a single Indian anywhere! And to confuse me further, there were aliens living amidst the Madrasis, Punjabis, Gujaratis, etc. They were tribes with strange names -- Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis, Hindus, Christians..."

 The "joke" was truly on US- The People of this great land! 63 years of independence...and how we have twisted and defiled its very meaning  into an ugly and scarred face of Incredible India!

Me and my family have always been the most ardent and vociferous secular citizens in all of our world. The slingshots of the aam aadmi in the small town of Uttar Pradesh I live in, is taking its toll on my "secularity"! And that upsets me tremendously!  I run a school, and have a 60/40 ratio of Hindu/Muslim kids. Today is a PTM, and we have a rule that the staff wears formal sarees on all PTMs. My muslim teachers came up with yet another slingshot ... that it is forbidden in Islam to don sarees during the month of Ramzan!! Sarees??? Are clothes really diverse in the name of religion?? So does that mean Hindus dont wear salvaar-kameez on Diwali?? How tragic it is, to divide ourselves more and more with every passing year of being free citizens of a free nation? Did the founders of Islam / Hinduism?Christianity all those centuries ago, lay down the dress code of their followers for all eternity?

A muslim maid-servant I have, sits in my room cutting vegetables and listening to her favourite soap on TV, but wont look at it, since watching TV is forbidden in the month of Ramzan. Did the founders of Islam envisage the creation on TV??? Who sets these rules and unleashes them on society? Why is society so unsure of itself?

Why have we reached this sordid state? Why have we not evolved as a People? Why do we glorify our faith? Why do we demean the others faith? WHY are we not ONE PEOPLE even now? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

The Forsaken Sex

The Forsaken Sex

India- the Land of fakirs, rope tricks, snake charmers and elephants  So decree the millions of tourists who throng the bumpy streets, avidly searching for the unusual and the alien. We, the citizens of this magical land, are pretty much used to all these “delights”! But there are some parts of our land and its culture, that even we shun, abhor and fear.

Humans have, since their inception, or “creation” as the holy-minded would phrase it – always had little faith in themselves. They have worshiped and exalted all they did not understand or feared- be it fire, water, lightening, the sun, moon or stars. They have converted these into deities to be worshipped and appeased. In our diverse land, there exists a sect that includes itself into the “misunderstood, feared, shunned yet glamorized”.

Their face is their fortune. Their shrill voices, powder-caked, brightly rouged cheeks, tinkling anklets and kajal-lined eyes, herald the entry of a grotesque parody of womanhood into your street or your home. The male voices shouting expletives, palms meeting outwards in a trademark clap, the threatening lifting of gaudy sarees, conning the vulnerable passer-by for readily given alms– these are  the Eunuchs, Kinnars or hijras.

The word “Eunuch” is derived from the Greek eune (bed) and ekhein (to keep) or “keeper of the bed”. They have been in glorified existence since about the 9^th Century BC. These castrated men with the brains of women and the brawn of men, were the ideal guardians of the royal harems. The concubines and queens of the emperors were “safe” with them. Their practice began in China, in the Assyrian Empire, in the courts of the Egyptian Pharaohs and in Vietnam. It is said, that the justification for their employment as high-ranking civil servants was that , since they were incapable of procreation and marriage, they would not be tempted to seize power and begin a new dynasty, the common danger of that era.

Nobody knows whether all of these “third sex” people were born without male organs, or voluntarily converted by self-castration. Poor families often converted one of their sons into a eunuch, to get him into the royal palaces and ensure bread and butter for him and his whole family. Eunuch-hood was prevalent worldwide across the centuries and spanned various cultures, but has survived only in India.

The ancient Indian Kama Sutra refers to a people of the “third sex” (triteeya prakrati), who can dress either as males or females and perform fellatio on men. Today, eunuchs in India live on the margins of society, face discrimination and ridicule, and yet find an unwilling place in the rituals practiced across the country. The birth of a child, marriage in the family, inauguration of a new shop, business, home, are all incomplete without the”blessings” of the hijra. They come in groups, invited or uninvited, dressed in traditional shiny sarees or salvaar-kameez, with gaudy make-up, and dance, sing and gyrate to popular filmy numbers, until appeased by cash and gifts by the family. The curse of the unappeased hijra is feared by people. The ceremony is supposed to bring good luck to the family.

The hijras in India exist within a complex social system unique to their community. The “operation” of castration is usually performed outdoors with pomp and show. The head of each group of hijras is called the “Guru”. The Guru removes the unwanted appendages and various methods are in practice in India. A common method  begins by keeping the “victim” in isolation for a few weeks, and feeding him opium with milk, to dull his senses. Then while he is in a state of intoxication, an auspicious day is decreed by the Guru and the ritual operation is crudely performed. Thereafter, the Guru takes charge of teaching the new member the tricks of the trade. Their society is strictly hierarchical, and the eunuch's life is governed by the rules of his Guru. Hijras in India are broadly divided into seven “Houses”. Each house has a Nayak at its head, with several Gurus under each Nayak.

 The high-point of the hijra communities across the country is the annual festival held on Chaitra Purnima at Koovagam, near Chennai, a place of pilgrimage for the hijras. This falls on 30^th March this year.  Legendarily, this unique ceremony is from the Mahabharata. One of Arjuna's sons, called Aravanan, volunteered to go as “suicide bomber”  into the Kauravas camp , to gain tactical edge over them and win the epic war. The boy expressed a wish to marry and consummate his marriage in one night, and sacrifice his life thereafter. This posed a huge problem as no girl was willing to become a widow one day after her nuptials. So, Lord Krishna assumed the female form of “Mohini” and became the “bride” of Aravanan.  This marriage and widowhood is glamorized and worshiped and celebrated with “gay”abandon at this festival every year.  Competitions, fashion shows, singing, dancing and finding new mates after the widowhood is the trademark of this day. Huge crowds gather to thunderously applaud the ramp-gyrating “models”. Inside the temple, the atmosphere is apocalyptic, with the clang of a hundred bells, coconut-smashing, the incense from  agarbattis and tying the sacred thread around the necks of the hijras – depicting the moment of their marriage to Aravanan.

This unique sect has lived, thrived and survived within the rigid, unfriendly fabric of the divided Indian society. They have earned their livelihood with peddling their legendary skills and also their bodies. It is estimated that there are about 1.2 million kinnars in India alone. Their “services” in the flesh-trade are cheaper, hence homosexuality is rampant. The landmark judgment by the Delhi High Court this year, repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, thus decriminalizing consensual sex between “consenting adults”, which includes those of the same sex, suddenly transformed the lives of the kinnars. The judgment, though welcomed, caused some confusion among the semi-literate and illiterate kinnars of Meerut, who do not fully understand its implications, but think that it merely allows kinnar marriages. According to “Mumtaz”, a kinnar of the town, “Main khush hoon. Mujhe pata hai ki court-kutcheri ne hamare liye shaadi karna jayaz kar diya hai. Par ham to isse najayaz kabhi maante hi nahin the.”

Another kinnar of the town, under condition of anonymity, said, “ Hum padhe-likhe nahin hain Madam. Humare log akhbaar nahin padhate. Aur hamen interview dene ki mannayi hai. Mujhe pata hai ki bahut si hamari bahenen gussa hongi. Hamen log waise bhi darr ki nazron se dekhate hain.”

With humbly and respectfully folded hands, another of the group said, “Madam ji aap bura na maanen. Magar ham aapki koi madad nahin kar paayenge”.

On informing them about the group of kinnars who moved the High Court on January 20^th, seeking their Right to Education, and the petition filed by Sonam Singh, a eunuch from Ajmer, seeking the constitution of a National Kinnar Ayog, a member of the Meerut Kinnar group said, “Hamein iske bare mai zyada nahin pata. Hamari roz-marrah ki zindagi main aisi cheezon ka koi fark nahin padne wala. Yahi hoga, ki kuch press-waaley aayenge, aur hamen pareshaan karenge.”

Another landmark judgment of the Madhya Pradesh bench has thrown the eunuchs of India into confusion. Its immediate effect was to declare that Ms. Kamla Jaan – a eunuch – did not qualify for mayor of Katni city, as the post was reserved for a “woman”. Ms. Jaan made headlines four years ago, when “she” became India's first eunuch to be elected as mayor of Katni. Subsequently, reel life depicted a similar victory in the famous film,“Welcome to Sajjanpur”.

So where does the threshold of the 21^st century leave the desi kinnar? At the very same altar of the shabby patchwork of  our legal, social and political scene. The “badnuma daag” that we ourselves created, fostered and kept alive. All we can do is to understand and accept this “third sex” as part of us, the citizens of free India, without judgment and condemnation. That, above all other measures in our close-minded society, will surely improve their lot.

Dr. Seema Tyagi

Meerut

Battle of Naalapani

The Battle of Kalunga / Nalapani :

Summer holidays, for all of my life, have included a few days reprieve in Dehradun. This year too, I found myself in the familiar, picturesque valley that is my hometown. The town is famous for litchis, basmati rice, tourists, premier schools, and has an old-world charm that is unmatched with anything found in the rest of the country. It is the cradle of soft words and courtesy, education and picnic spots.

Having run through the gamut of visits to well-known and lesser- known places to spend the day with picnic baskets, I was contemplating driving around to find some fresh new untouched place to visit, when a friend from Meerut suggested an idea, that  I found fascinating. Mr. Anil Bhattacharji, an ardent enthusiast of history and archeology, apprised me of a date, an era, a race of people, a hill, a fort that no longer exists, and a slice of history that has since, completely captured my imagination and led me to drive out with my family, to attempt to locate this place. Little did I dream, that the story that unfolded, page by page, is unlike any other that I have ever had the good fortune to experience and re-live.

The problem lies in where to begin? The glamour, bloodshed, determination, bravery, valour, slavery and freedom- the story of the formation of new boundaries, a new clan of people, a war fought, espionage and deceit… the roles of the pivotal players in this game, which had hitherto been just names out of dusty history books, now were to suddenly jump out of them in front of my mind’s eye, and  embroil  me into the bloodied vortex of the lives of the fallen heroes  of the past. Nestled within the lush green valley of Uttarakhand, lies the famous Kalunga hill, where this story takes root.

My friend told me of some six letters written in about 1812 – 1816 AD, from the fort atop Kalunga hill, which now lie in the Bir Library of Kathmandu, Nepal. Three of these describe the famous Battle of Nalapani , fought in the area between Sahastradhara and Kalunga hill, which was the stronghold of the Gorkha tribe and the western part of the kingdom of Nepal. The key players in this strategic landmark war were Balbhadra Thapa, the leader of the Gorkhas in Dehradun and General Robert  Rollo Gillespie, an officer in His Majesty’s Army,  in the battle between the Magars and the East India Company. The letters unfolded the story of a war that  showed the world how dedicated, fierce, faithful and proud the people of this tribe were!

The Gorkha War (1814-1816) traced its inception to the capture of the valley of Dehradun by Nepal in 1803. The Gorkhas were  descendents of General Amar Singh Thapa, who invaded the inhabited mountain fortresses of India and layed siege to them. The townships of Mussoorie, Lansdowne, Shimla, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Ranikhet,Almora, etc, allegedly  came under the Gorkha  rule. The Gorkhas ( Gau-rakhas)were earlier the peaceful inhabitants of  these areas who led peaceful lives, tending to the cows amidst the hills. They were originally probably the inhabitants of Rajasthan, who allegedly fled to Nepal during the Muslim invasion of India in the 14^th century. Some reports suggest that  intermarriages between the people of Nepal and these Rajputs, produced  the Gorkha race.

 By 1767 AD, the three kingdoms of Kathmandu, steeped in internal rivalry, slowly began spreading their influence outside their territory. The British East India Company too had succeeded in consolidating their position in India. The valley kings requested Britain’s help to ward off the threats from the expanding Gorkha  empire. It was in the interest of the British to quell the Gorkhas, who were fast proving themselves to be formidable opponents. The Gorkha prime minister, Bhimsen Thapa  professed , “..our hills and fastness are formed by the hand of God, and are impregnable.” Their bravery, fearlessness  and familiarity of the mountainous terrain , gave them tactical edge over the British army. The modern weaponry and vast manpower were the strengths of the latter. Definitely, the boiling cauldron of  strategically planned invasions, border tensions and ambitious dreams of expansion  became the ingredients of an imminent war. Thus, in 1814 AD, began the famous Gorkha war. The disputes arose because of conflicting expansionism and no fixed land boundary separating  the aspirations of the Gorkhas and British.  Gorkha raids into the fertile terai flatlands finally brought the inevitable conflict between the two powerful forces out into the open.

The Gorkha war was fought between the kingdom of Nepal and the East India company. It ended after much bloodshed  and the defeat of Nepal, with the Treaty of Sugoli in 1916, ceding one-third of Nepal’s territory to the British. A four-pronged attack was led by the British, under the aegis of the Governor-General, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, or the Earl of Moira. In May of 1813, the Gorkhas had declared war. Hastings sent four divisions into separate attacks : General Marley with 8000 men against Kathmandu, General Wood with 4000 men against Butwal, General David Ochterlony with 10,000 men against Amar Singh Thapa and General Robert Rollo Gillespie with 3,500 men against Balbhadra Kunwar in the area of Nalapani and the Garhwal hills.

Off Raipur Road lies the well-known area called Nalapani. I drove up through a large gate, named ‘Balbhadra Dwar”. As I reached the summit of the Kalunga hill, a drive through about 10 km of dense, frightening forested rocky land, I could almost see the fortress erected by  Balbhadra Kunwar and his Gorkha army. Legend has it, that there was a stone fort here, which was strangely buttressed by three rows of multi-tiered bamboo stockade, which could effectively withstand the onslaught of the cannon balls fired by the British.The bamboo archades and  dense forested land made entry into the stronghold very tricky. The chieftain and his 600-men (armed with their deadly and traditional weapon, the khukri) and their women and children lived here. General Gillespie set camp at Meerut, and led his 3,500 men with about 20 cannons towards the Nepalese-occupied valley of Dehradun. He succeeded in capturing the valley, but was repulsed by Gorkha resistance from the fort on the 150-metre high Kalyunga hill. Gullespie’s army surrounded the hill from all sides and strove to overcome the tough resistance put up by Balbhadra Kunwar and his brave warriors for almost six weeks. Gullespie sent several letters and missives to the chieftain to surrender, which were all torn up. James Frazer, a junior officer in the campaign wrote, “…they fought us in fair combat, showed us a courtesy worthy of a more enlightened people. I never saw more steadiness or bravery exhibited in my life. Run, they would not, and of death, they seemed to have no fear, though their comrades were falling thick around them, for we were so near that every shot told…..”

There was no surrender, and standing in the shadow of the monument built in their memory, I could almost hear the boom of the cannon balls as they fell upon the fortress. The screams of injured and dying man and women and children still hang, frozen in the silence of time, amidst the tall sal trees. The tortured pleas of the Gorkha soldier as he ran for medical help for the gaping musket ball hole in his stomach resounded and echoed inside my mind. When the men and their meager weapons ran out, the few remaining men, women and even children hurled every kind of weapon, including poison arrows, flints, sticks and stones, at the fast-approaching British army, who managed to capture the fortress by cutting off food and water supplies.

The final attack was planned for 1^st November 1814. General Gillespie and his men attacked the fort a day earlier. On the morning on 31^st October, in the guise of road-builders, as they stormed this formidable citadel of the Gorkhas, they were shot through the chest and died. When the army finally entered the Kalunga fort, they found dead and dying men , women and children, who had been deprived of food and water for days. General Gillespie’s men torched the bamboo battlements and razed the stone fort to the ground. Today nothing remains of the war, but a red stone monument with the Gorkha emblem with two khukris at its top. The valley of Dehradun can be seen from here. The silent monument bears witness to the Kalunga war or Nalapani conflict, and the long-forgotten fallen men from both armies. It is said that Balbhadra Thapa escaped with a few men to fight another day. Allegedly, the British lost 31 officers and 732 soldiers, while the Gorkha army lost 520 men. Two stone obelisks rose in this area as a mark of honour of the British army and their gallant adversaries. One of the obelisks has a placard with the words “On this spot, General Gillespie fell fighting”, the other says “In memory of our valiant adversary Balbhadra Thapa, who lost 173, in 1814.”

This battle proved to be the most important milestone for the Gorkha clan. Meanwhile, General Ochterlony too had won the battle on the western front. The Gorkhas thus lost the war for a piece of land, but gained their rightful piece of recognition as a people to be reckoned with, and were recruited in the Indian British army, who recognized their potential as worthy warriors. Some members of General Amar Singh Thapas defeated army and Balbhadra Thapas surviving forces were recruited into His Majesty’s Royal forces. Their recruitment into the enemy army was a unique part of military history. About 5,000 men who were either the defectors or  the defeated ,made up the three battalions raised from the Gorkha soldiers. They were mostly the Kumaonis, Garhwalis and other Himalayan hill men, and came to be known collectively as “Gorkhas”. According to a British general in 1815, “They are a hardy and cheerful race, enduring privations and are obedient. They are a neutral kind of hindu, and would make excellent soldiers.”

The Treaty of Segauli was ratified on 4^th march 1816. It restricted the Kingdom of Nepal within the area lying between the Mechi river in the east and the Mahalaki river in the west. Nepal gained the reputation of being the only country to fight battles with places it had no direct conflict with. It is rare in the history of warfare to see such admiration by the conquerors of the performance, dedication and bravery of a race of people who were defeated.

General Robert Rollo Gillespie, Major General and Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. His ashes as also the memories of his short yet commendable career lie buried in St. John’s Cemetery Meerut. His grave bears the inscription “KALUNGA, October 31^st 1814.” I can visualize the feelings of his younger sister as she rode accompanied by four or five British officers, to the fort that he died capturing , grieving over his death as also the death of her husband in this war. The letter written by Balbhadra Kunwar to General Bhimsen Thapa says that General Gillespie and eight officers with a column of their troops, including sappers, entered through the forest posing as road–builders and attacked at dawn. The sister of the General looked around the fort with a telescope, from a safe distance out of range of cannon-fire.

 Another letter written by Dhanbir Thapa to His Majesty, after the Nalapani War, speaks of the defection of some of the clans to the British army.

 Nothing remains of Kalunga hill today. The enemy burnt and dismantled the whole fort. The place lies abandoned since years. A stone memorial seems to stand strangely forlorn atop the hill. Below the soil, traces of the stone foundation of the fort still exist. Some cannon balls were found and are the property of the ASI. The battle that recognized the soldiers of the bravest kingdom in the world, is silent today. The cannons shots have stopped resounding within the forests, which are strangely bereft of birds, animals or butterflies. Taking a last look around this piece of history, I clearly heard General Gillespie’s last words as he fell to bullets that fateful day, “One more shot for the honour of Down!”

 I do not  know who were the real fallen heroes of this site- I only know that the Battle of Kalunga / Nalapani turned the tide for both sides of the battle. Adversaries turned Compatriots. And another chapter of History was written.

I am one of the fortunate few who has visited this site and fulfilled my destiny to pay tribute to all the people involved in the Nalapani War, all thanks to my good friend, Anil, to whom I dedicate this article. I strongly recommend everyone who has a passion for the sometimes bloodied, sometimes sordid, but always valiant yester-world, to visit the Kalunga hill in Nalapani, Dehradun. Just close your eyes, and hear what the oppressive silence so desperately strives to hide!

Dr. Seema Tyagi

Meerut

Independence Day 2010

“Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high, into that heaven of Freedom, my Father, let my country awake” - so quoth the Bard of Bengal, the ultimate visionary!

The dreams in his eyes were no doubt those of a united socialist secular independent nation, where every citizen would breathe the intoxicating air of freedom.


Impassioned, lyrical compositions of motivated poets, fiery speeches by dedicated patriots and the strength of unity in every Indian’s heart, were probably the magical mix in the smoldering cauldron of those unstable times, which ultimately brought us, as a people, out from the claustrophobic colonialism and servitude that had been thrust upon us by the weak rulers of that era. Their combined efforts and prayers along with the steely determination in every heart to stand up and be counted, gifted us our very own Pied Piper- a little man with a huge vision and immeasurable strength of purpose. Where Gandhiji led, people followed, pinning their dreams in his leadership.


Independence was anticipated, dreamt of, planned strategically for, and ultimately won, with his inimitable weapons of ahimsa and satyagrah. While the world slept, a nation bowed low on its knees under the weight of servitude of nearly two centuries, awoke at the stroke of midnight to freedom, on 15th of August 1947. The magnanimity of the evolution of a humbled people, who rose as one and attained the impossible, was a feat unparalleled in the history of the world.

Today, as we salute a nation and its people on this 64th year of its rebirth, there are problems of a magnitude of 9.9 on the Richter scale ahead. There is no doubt that India has made its rightful place as an economic power in the world. The rupee has won its place in the currencies of the so-called developed world, by incorporating an international symbol for it. Our business houses, exports, fashion houses, agricultural products, industrialization and ever-rising economy are worth appreciation. But is our mind truly without fear? And is our head really held high?

Incorporating patriotism with a gun held to our collective heads, or expecting it to bloom within us with the carrot of unreal targets dangled in front of our eyes, is hardly conducive to true progress. Be it the taint of deeply- entrenched corruption, or lack of pride and mistaken identities of who we really are and where we wish to reach, the end-results are dismaying! Trivialization of vital issues, degradation of civic and moral values, and also the firm grip on our so-called “culture” by the self-appointed caretakers of society- form the rot within our systems that will slowly but surely lead to decay of a glorious nation.

Advertisements aired all over the world of an Incredible India, fall flat in the face of calamities, when we, assisted by an ever-willing media, expose our callous and selfish self-centered attitudes. News of airlines raising their fares in the wake of natural disasters, alleged hoarding of essential commodities in times of dire need and even the washing of our dirty linen in public by indiscriminate use of the freedom of the press vis-à-vis the potholes in the paths leading to the Commonwealth Games- haven’t all of these taken away and decimated a vital part of the aura that we, the people of India were famous for? The mantra “Atithi Devo Bhava” gets buried under the debris of our short-sighted gains, desires and habits. None of the alleged festering mosquito larvae abounding in the CWG stadia, heaped construction materials or leaking roofs can dim the luster off the face of this great nation as much as can our own desecrating criticism of it.

On this 64th Independence Day, it is surely time to sit up and take stock of our position atop our self-glorified pedestal. It is time to combine freedom with responsibility, questions with logical answers. It is time to leave off the inane and insane, to stop wasting our energies on naming and re-naming of roads, towns and buildings and building monumental monstrosities dedicated to the true patriots. It is time to define our goals and set our targets on reasonable means of reaching there. Let us all take a solemn pledge this historic day, rewrite the constitution within our souls, and lead India to its rightful place among the stars. Today, let each Indian stand erect, take all of 52 seconds off from his visions and dreams, and sing aloud the greatest of the Bard’s compositions - our National Anthem!

Jaya he, Jaya he, Jaya he… Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya he…


 
 
[This was published in the Delhi Times supplement by Time of India, on the 15th of August, 2010.]

of this and that: On Reservations

of this and that: On Reservations

Happy Mother's Day--- in anticipation!

Through the Looking Glass: Mothers and Children

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop. - Lewis Carroll.


That’s what I am going to do.

 The second Sunday of May is celebrated as Mother’s Day, thus paying tribute to the “co-creators of humanity”. While sending joyful tidings to our respective mothers on this day, let us also attempt a tribute to the prospective mothers, who are having to sacrifice their divine Right to Motherhood (not incorporated in the Constitutional Rights) at the altar of their choice to successful careers. Almost half of the five and a half billion people in the world are women, who are the primary breadwinners in subsistence economies like ours, and contribute to the economy of the nation as much as their male counterparts. They have to fight the barriers put up every step of their way by family, society, legal restrictions, dictates of religion as interpreted by the “holy” heads, and the prevailing patriarchal system. The Gender Bias keeps population growth rates high, in spite of all efforts by governments to attempt stemming of the population explosion, because gender bias denies women routes to economic security other than a “good” marriage and childbearing. Those who defeat the stereotyping are stymied by the family pressures to live up to the expectations of saintly dutiful womanhood, and forego their chosen careers for falling into the age-old pattern drawn out for them. Nobody remembers that investing in women is the most direct method of boosting economies of the family and thus the country.




Gender bias has its roots in the “pink for a girl” and “blue for a boy” as an infant enters the world. It is cemented by the rules laid in families of “how to behave like a girl” and further enforced by the skewed education system in our country. Mrs. Alpana Baijal, ex-Principal of MPGS, MPS and KL International, now owner of her own school “Sunningdales”, says –“Many young girls with starry visions in their eyes have passed through my hands. And have seen them bow down to their “fate” over the years, sacrificing their dreams at the altar of ‘duty’. Our archaic labour laws concerning maternity benefits need to be reviewed and revised, so that they make the process of child-bearing more friendly, at the same time guaranteeing job securities to the young mother-to-be.”




The textbooks substantiate the teachings of society in their short-sighted vision. Teachers are mostly depicted as women wearing sarees with buns atop their heads, while police personnel, soldiers, pilots and astronauts are always men. Games played in school, clothes worn, careers selected, subjects chosen; all are rooted within the confines of gender bias. The first learner books in the mother tongue have lines like “Ram kaam par ja. Radha khaana paka. Roti la.”




Even the eunuchs have had a better deal than women in the professional field as depicted in history. Since they were not able to have children, they worked with emperors, costume designers, cooks accountants, treasurers, bookkeepers, real estate advisors, drivers, guards, speculators and interpreters.




Ever considered the plight of the contemporary woman? The travails she has to face?




The mega companies in the public and private corporate sectors employ the skillful, articulate ladies with delight. And put them through a rigorous working schedule, no doubt providing adequate compensations and remunerations. But time constraints, fast-paced corporate dictates and growth opportunities strip them of their right to motherhood.




Dr. Poonam Devdutt, an eminent psychologist of Meerut says, “Girls do much better than boys in academics but the fallout rate from high-profile professional fields is very high. More girls opt for higher education, and fewer continue remaining in the job-market. The increased pressures on them make them succumb and fall back into the choice between rearing a family or retaining their occupations. The flexi-time offered by call centres for example, lures more women into the field. This could be incorporated into other companies as well.”




Women should be given the opportunities to be able to fend for themselves, learn the requisite skills to do so, make the choice of Work Vs Family themselves, be provided with a strong support system from both family and employers to stand by their choices, as they contribute and boost the economy of the country. It is imperative for every member of society, both sides of the fence, to recognize the contribution of women in the corporate sector or otherwise, and provide them the wherewithal and the recognition of being “assets” to community. The positive lessons imbibed from family, society, or governments will truly emancipate the 21st century woman, and allow her to fulfill both her rights- to have a career and a child. Aanchal, a 27-year old media professional working with a leading TV Channel, and a graduate of Sophia Girl’s School, married for 3 years, says- “I have dreamt of having two children since I grew up. I want to translate the love and companionship my parents, brother, sister and I share and grew up with, in my own family. I love my work too and have worked really hard at to reach where I am. I don’t know how or when I will be able to realize both my dreams. The systems in force do not provide adequate support to women like me and many of my friends and colleagues, to be able to plan a family.




Neha, 28, also a product of Sophia Girl’s School realized her dream of becoming a software engineer, and is currently employed at Chicago with Infosys. According to her, “I would love to settle down, have a family, maybe one child, but where is the time? The choice is clear. Either I give up the work I love and am good at, and get married and raise a family (which my parents insist on once in a while), or work hard and climb the ladder to the citadel of my ambitions, always realizing the risk I face of having to forfeit the former”.




Women are not incapable. They are just giving up the choice to participate. The world has moved forward. Awareness of the problems in the path of working women needs to translate into social change, egged on by concentrated efforts by the governments. Children of emancipated women would also be an asset to the society of tomorrow. It is time to recognize that. It is time for gender bias to cross the aisle and face the challenges of the 21st century. And, it is time to remove the stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination from our homes and work-places. Time to prepare a perfect model plan to liberate the Woman of Today, to encompass all of her needs, desires and rights. Especially, the Right to Creation.





“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”


Wouldn’t you like to believe just this one?





Happy Mother’s Day! In anticipation.

Where have they gone?

Pandora’s box-2:

Endangered Earth: Where have they gone?

Life in the city – bustling with activity. Faceless people running to and fro, preparing for better tomorrows for themselves and their families. In all this mad rush, how many of us look around our familiar habitats and see the pitfalls threatening our collective futures? The pitfalls of potholes on roads, traffic snarls, flooded dirty drains, festering diseases , rising costs and dwindling power resources are obvious to all of us. More and more time spent in earning our rozi-roti and less and less time for our friends and family has become part and parcel of this era. But hardly any of us take the time to notice the “friends” and “family” that we grew up with have gone missing!

Advanced modernization, the rat-race of climbing up to the summits of our dreams and ambitions, the rapidly developing industrialization – all these have taken their toll. We survive within our comfort-zones and familiar habitats, but seem to have snatched these from the denizens of our homes and surroundings. The familiar chirp-chirp of the unpretentious house sparrow, the cooing of the dove, the early morning wake-up call of the crow, the sight of the silent descent of the preying vulture, the soundless  flutter of the dragonfly, the fluorescent glow of the fireflies in bushes on warm nights, the deep drone of the black bhanwara, the flutter of countless colourful wings of exotic butterflies.. all these are stilled and vanishing every day. The ongoing march of man and his machines have caused these friendly neighbours to abandon our hearth and homes. To understand why we are all part of this mass extinction of essential fauna , we need to sit up and take stock of our involvement and become answerable to the generations to come.

We, as humans, are the evolved race and hence highly adaptable to changing, sometimes adverse, conditions. But animal, plant, insect, bird and specially amphibian species have remained dependent on us for their survival. Some of these are dependent on multiple habitats to survive. Direct exploitation of many animal species, like hunting, fishing, ‘collecting” butterflies and beetles, destroying nesting places, changing weather patterns, pollution of air, water and soil, indiscriminate use of insecticides and the new BT crops – all have served to annihilate many of our familiar “house-guests”. Better transport facilities, advanced  communication means, the industrial revolution that is India Shining, has taken the gloss off the environment in all its erstwhile majesty!

Nobody knows or can exactly pinpoint the reason for the endangerment of the species that we grew up with. The emissions from the mobile network towers atop buildings, the felling of trees for six-laned highways, the rotting garbage dumps, the lackadaisical attitudes of the health authorities who allow injudicious use of insecticides in soils and spraying of fruit trees and crops, the contaminated water sources that are used for irrigation – all of these have contributed towards the extinction of these precious, delicate and harmless co-residents of our land. According to Ms. Swati Sharma, an environmentalist  and Secretary of an Uttarakhand- based NGO “Saviours”, the reasons for the rapidly diminishing species are varied. This NGO was started in1999 and  works for conservation of the environment, the planting of trees, rural empowerment , conserving the endangered Ganges dolphin and associated issues. They have recently launched the “Trees of Faith” campaign, in which the religious heads of communities are enrolled into teaching students and through them the parents about the inculcation of awareness in methods of protection of the flora and fauna around them. Ms. Swati Sharma says,  “The changing patterns of human habitation, the closed doors and air-conditioned homes, the bigger and bigger concrete houses and cities with smaller and smaller garden spaces and the lack of awareness are all contributing to the dwindling of so many species of animals that used to live on the fringes of our world.”

Ms. Swati Sharma says that lack of nesting places in the modern buildings is a major factor for the impending extinction of the familiar sparrows, robins, etc. as also the use of unleaded petrol which uses benzene and  causes the hatching of birds eggs to be adversely affected.  According to her,” Earlier, ladies had the time to wash grains, dry them on rooftops before storing, and this provided food for the household birds. Now the Mall Culture has taken over our lives with the assorted dals and cereals being purchased in packets ready for use. As are the pre-cooked, ready-to-use food available off the shelves of the malls . A recent news item in the Times of India revealed the shocking fact of more than 400 foreign tourists and many labourers having made their home inside the forest reserve of the Rajaji National Park, inspite of the efforts of the authorities to evict them. These encroachments into the territory of wildlife is as dangerous a phenomenon to human life in the long run, as the growth of terrorist organizations and activities are in the immediate sense.

One well-documented fact  that emerged recently when the sudden extinction of vultures was looked into was the use of “Voveran” (diclofenac sodium) the common medicine given for the mitigation of fever and pain in domestic and farm animals by veterinary doctors. The carcasses of the cattle that didn’t survive, had a high quantity of this chemical, which was toxic to the kidneys of these carrion birds. Just a small error caused an entire species to die out! The extinction process began with the dinosaurs that roamed the planet and now survive only in our imagination (courtesy Jurassic Park), the dodos of Madagascar, the moas of New Zealand ,the Reunion solitaire or “white dodo” and other now extinct species, which now survive in and adorn paintings on walls and text-books for the Generation Next.

Whatever the reason, it is a wake-up call for each of us, to sit up and take notice of the friendly inhabitants of our homes and hearts. Wouldn’t you like to have your children wake up with the caw-caw of the crow, hop around with the little brown sparrow, feed breakfast crumbs to the robins, share their tiffin box with the prancing squirrels and chirping hoopoes, jump in the rain puddles with croaking frogs, and sleep to the comforting hoot of the barn owls? Look around you! How often do you see the familiar mynah bird? Or the bats flitting noiselessly on dark nights and hanging upside-down  asleep in your verandah? When did you last show your children the green glow of the firefly or  jugnu, as they lit up the trees and bushes on hot summer evenings? How many colours of butterflies do you recollect from your childhood? And the “helicopter” or dragonfly that hovered over your heads in scented gardens heralding the onset of summer? When last did you hear the buzzing  of the big, black drone or “bhanwara”- the harbinger of the Season of Flowers?

As Ms. Swati Sharma sums it very aptly, “It is not the animals, birds, insects and other species that are venturing into our territory, it is us that are venturing into theirs.”

The extinction of a species could mean the loss of the cure of cancer, or a new medicine for AIDS, a new antibiotic, a disease-resistant strain of rice or wheat. It is vital for us to remember that our lives are entwined with those of the plants and animals. Their protection will ultimately be ours, as will their destruction.The time has come for each of us to take the responsibility. We cannot depend on legislation alone.  Its time to make our little attempts at re-creating the world around us. Time to do our bit towards the preservation of our “friends and family.” Let us attempt their rehabilitation. Let us be the architects of their world. And thence, of ours.

Dr. Seema Tyagi

Meerut

Child labour.. bane or boon????

Children of a Lesser God -

Child –defined by the constitution as any citizen under 14 years of age. The age for imbibing education and aiming for a starry future.  Assisted by the laws of the land. India, a country still in the “developing” category, promises to guarantee every citizen the wherewithal to earn three square meals a day, but in face of the myriad obstacles in front of the government to fulfill the promise made by their forefathers, it yet remains a pipe-dream. Children have to, at an early age, give up this basic Right, and go out to earn their living, and that of their families. The so-called “Child labour”!

High-handed arbitrary interpretation of the Laws of the Land, and the short-sighted “Feel-good” factor of having done a job well, gives the men in khakhi the power to wield the double-edged sword over the heads of these young workers and their parents. Something is definitely skewed here and needs to be set right. This week, Meerut awoke to the news reported by local papers of the “rescue” of about 85 children below 14 years, picked up by the police and lodged in a “Bal Niketan” at Surajkund. They were allegedly lifted from the venues of their occupations – shops and hotels, where they worked voluntarily and learned the tricks of the trade.

 The multipronged strategies adopted by the government to remove this badnuma daag from the face of our nation, resulted in the amendment of the Child Labour Act of 1917 time and again, to attempt a guarantee of every child being given the Right to Education. But legislation alone cannot tackle this problem, as it is steeped in the twin taints of poverty and illiteracy, which actually require to be eradicated first ! In 1979, a committee set up for this purpose studied the magnitude of the problem and suggested rectifying measures. The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act was thus enacted in 1986. This Act prohibits employment of children in “hazardous “ occupations, and allowing them to work for six hours a day in non-hazardous occupations, so that education time of at least two hours a day is assured. It was further suggested that for every child withdrawn from the workforce, the State government would compensate some amount of money into a welfare fund for the child and also guarantee a job for one of the parents, both of which remain a distant dream!

The sight of the young boys picked up by the police with well-meaning intention, showed up the huge holes in the existing laws in our country. Education, by definition, is a learning of skills to equip the subject to handle a future with their own two hands. The heart-rending wails of the “rescued” children, as they pleaded to be released, the panic writ large in their eyes, the bewilderment of wondering what was so wrong with what they were doing in their tender minds- an ignorance of the short-sighted laws of the land in all the concerned people- the law-enforcers and “victims”, led to the most pathetic violation of the Right to Freedom in this world’s largest democracy! Who is ultimately responsible for the tears and sobs of the little ones as they cried through a sleepless dark night, confined within the dilapidated walls of the Children’s “Home”? The little 9-year old who begged to be sent back to his real home? The lengthy legal processes required to now re-unite them with their parents? And what of the ones who don’t have parents? Are they now condemned to live in confinement for the crime of earning their livelihood?

Is learning of non-hazardous skills not an “education”? Would ancient skills like weaving, pottery, zardosi, etc .so much part of India, have survived the centuries without each generation learning them from their parents? It is time to wake up and take stock of the real India. Where governments cannot guarantee the basic means of survival to so many, maybe the word “Education” ought to encompass a wider field of activities, thus empowering the young ones to build their own futures. Any Law in civic society, that strips the subject of his dignity and Right to life, needs a re-dekho for sure! Soch badlo, desh badlega.

Dr. Seema Tyagi

Meerut

Happy Women's Day

The Girl Child and her Day in the Sun.

“The child is the father of the man”- so wrote William Wordsworth in his famous poem “The Rainbow”.. Little did this dreamer of the 18^th century dream, that centuries later there would arise a situation that would require what his wildest imagination did not foresee.. a separate set of rules and rights for the child born of different genders..  of life and death.

Generations came, generations perished. And what emerged from the spawn of humanity and its so-called “progress”, was the most belittling, disgraceful and degrading state of affairs- the Gender Bias.

Various theories attempted to explain and justify what led to people wanting a male child, and fearing the birth of a female one. Whether it was poverty, illiteracy, the great “Joint Family System”, the short-sighted land and property laws of the land or the various social evils, namely sati, dowry, pathetic education and other avenues available for the young girls in the family, the net result was the same. A steady and rapid downfall of the status of women in general in society. What probably further sealed their fate were the doctrines of religion as quoted by the caretakers of all religions.. the pandits, maulvis and priests, who had a vested interest in “keeping women in their place”.

24^th January 1966. The daughter of our first Prime Minister, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, broke the mould of her sisters and was elected the first woman Prime Minister of India. One thought that what the great social activists had failed to do in all the years, would be done now, with a member of the XX Chromosome at the helm of the nation. But one was so very wrong!

Decades came and kept coming. And the plight of women fell deeper and deeper into the mire. The tip of the iceberg was there for all to see. The head covered, neck bent, shoulders stooped lady, with vermilion an her forehead, hair and palms, who bore the brunt of every misfortune that befell the family, and plodded on bravely, swallowing the blame and suppressing all her anguish and pain under the mantle of the much glamorized “Indian Woman” aka  “Bharatiya Naari”. Then came what was the inevitable fallout of the quagmire.. the total hatred in men and women, elders and the youth alike, of the female child. At first, it was a shameful secret, kept under covers of the four walls of the home. Slowly, it reached a shameful stage, where the shame vanished. Doctors and Scan Centres began to openly (for a fixed fee) conduct ultrasonographic tests to find out the sex of the unborn child and inform the parents-to-be. Then, with scant respect for the laws of the country, or the tenets of humanity or even the will of the mother-to-be, decisions were taken and the baby girls aborted. This went on, and now, at the turn of the decade, we have touched the low of the skewed sex ratio of 925 girls to 1000 men. In some States of India who are predominantly agricultural, it is even lower.

Finally the warning bells ringing through the years came to the ears of the United Progressive Alliance (The UPA Government), and steps began to be taken in the right direction. The Minister for Women and Child Development, Ms. Renuka Chaudhary announced a new venture for the citizens of the country to be able to hear the very same bells clanging, in the “Bel Bajaao” campaign. This was begun on 24^th January 2009 , marking the day in 1966 that Indira Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister.  A series of programmes were launched, including the many advertisements aired on television,starring Boman Irani of “Bell Bajaao” when you see a crime against woman. The erstwhile slogan of the ministry “Save the Girl Child” was changed to “My daughter-Nation's pride”. An awareness campaign was flagged off, which was to last until 8^th March, the International Women's Day. The media assisted all they could with new serials, documentaries and road shows depicting the ills being inflicted on the “weaker sex”- right from stripping them of their right to be born to their right to live.

The intentions and plans of the UPA Government were no doubt noble and well-meaning. But the rot has seeped too far down into our moral and social fibre today. Even today, the girl child is aborted and thrown wrapped in black polythene bags in gutters, little girls are abandoned or murdered after birth, left at the hospitals they were delivered in, on railway platforms and orphanages. Those that are held on to by the families, are subjected to harsh and often cruel treatment by the members of their own family, depriving them of their dignity and different rights than given to the boys in the family. That a nation that is in majority hindu, and worships various Goddesses, keeps fasts and celebrates womanhood, should reach this stage, says a lot for the the magnitude of the problem our country faces today.

Other countries too have similar gender-equality issues no doubt, and have taken their own steps to combat them. Bangladesh celebrates the Day of the Girl Child on 15^th October. UNICEF celebrates the day on 24^th September. The church celebrates the birth of the girl child, Mary, Mother of Jesus, on 8^th September. But the real tribute to the girl child is to celebrate every day of her life as the “Day of the Girl Child”, celebrate her identity as an equal member of her family, her community and her country. The world's largest democracy can surely awaken today, and extend her largesse to encompass the life-giving section of humanity – the girl child.  Today, on the 24^th of January 2010, it is for each of us to find the awareness in our hearts, and share it with those who are still in the dark. It is for us to make that extra effort, take that extra step forward from our busy lives, and reach out to the yet un-enlightened and un-informed, biased members of our neighborhoods, families, cities and county, and make that change. That will be the true tribute to the National Day of the Girl Child.

Dr. Seema Tyagi.

Meerut.