The Hero of Freedom Movement in the Punjab- A Review

Dr. Satyapal: The Hero of Freedom Movement in the Punjab by Shailja Goyal

(pp. viii + 271, Rs. 485, 2004)

Recent years have been an emergence of regional histories. These studies are on the one hand the outcome of a realization that in order to understand the ‘national culture’, regional studies are imminent and on the other hand it is a vehement self-assertion of regional academicians to reclaim and reinvent, what has been ignored by elitist historiography. The history of Indian independence is replete with examples of unsung saga of regional heroes. Punjab produced many such heroes and Dr. Satyapal was one of them.

The book under review is a life sketch of Dr. Satyapal who played an important role in the history of Punjab. Satyapal was born on 11th May 1885 in a Khatri family at wazirabad (Pakistan). He graduated in 1902 from F.C. College Lahore and got his M.B. degree from King Edward Medical College Lahore in 1908. Shialja reflects on how, in the backdrop of liberal atmosphere created by socio-religions reform, Satyapal felt on emergent necessity to forge Hindu-Muslim unit in India and joined hands with Saifuddin Kitchlew.

Satyapal became actively involved in Punjab politics in 1918 when Michael O’Dwyer restricted the issue of platform and third class tickets to Indians in Amritsar on the contention of regulating and easing traffic at the railway station. With Kitchlew, he spearheaded the Rowlatt Act agitation and was hailed as the hero of Jallianwala Bagh. One of the most important events of his life was his trial in Amritsar Leader’s Conspiracy case. Shailja has presented vivid accounts of the trial to show the manner in which imperial oppression operated. “Satyapal had no idea as to why he was being detained without even being made aware of the charges on which he was to be tried”.

Satyapal led the Non-cooperation Movement (NCM) His support to the Gurdwara reform movement, which too was inspired by non-violent principles, brought Sikhs closer to the movement and gave impetus to NCM in Punjab. He became the vehement critic of Simon Commission and active participant in Civil Disobedience Movement. Later he became the Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

He was one of the prime motivators of the Congress. He was its secretary from 1922 to 1927 and 1929 to 1933. He acted as its President from 1934-1938. He was also the member of the Working Committee of All India National Congress in 1920’s and 1930’s.

Shailja has reflected on the strength and weaknesses of Satyapal. She believes that he was a true Gandhian. He stopped the people from getting violent even when Lala Lajpat Rai was hit by a lathi and he faced the blows while protecting him. The Satyagrahis remained disciplined and the freedom struggle was realistically under the direction of his leadership. During his tenure as the Speaker of Punjab Assembly he said, “I can never by an act of omission or commission let the dignity of this House suffer or its prestige lowered.”

Satyapal’s weaknesses are reflected in the factionalism that infected Punjab Congress during 1930’s. He was at loggerheads with Gopi Chand Bhargava on one or other issue. At times he could not rise above his personal ambitions. Besides this, he was a writer, an orator and strong believer of secular values.

This book is a valuable reading to understand the life and times of Satyapal. Shailja has used impressive historical accounts to trace his ‘historical biography’. It is in its true sense a biographical work since it revolves around the life of Satyapal. It also reflects upon the freedom struggle in Punjab and shows how through his leadership the movement in Punjab kept pace with the mainstream struggle for independence.

December 2004

Savarkar & Hindutva- A Review

Savarkar & Hindutva: The Godse Connection by A.G. Noorani

New Delhi: LeftWord, 2002

Savarkar has been one of the most contested figures in the Indian political sphere. The right-wing 'Sangh Parivar' ideologues have left no stone unturned in idealizing him (Veer Savarkar) as a model for Indian youth and the left-wing critique has attempted to deconstruct any such right-wing hypothesis. More than Savarkar, Hindutva finds its protagonists amongst every section of Indian thinkers. The debate has become even more marked since the unveiling of a portrait of Savarkar in the gallery of the Parliament. This development is significant since he is being projected at par with those for whose murder he was tried in the court of law.

A.G.Noorani's present work is a serious research aimed at critiquing Savarkar, who has become a cult figure for the BJP. Unlike Sumit Sarkar's 'Beyond Nationalism', which deals more with nationalist frames and gives isolated references about Savarkar, Noorani's work deals with Savarkar and 'his' ideology of Hindutva. An earlier work 'Kakhi Shorts and Saffron Flags' by Tapan Basu also attempted at discussing BJP's ideological foundations but there has hardly been any extensive work on Savarkar. The present work attempts at dissecting Savarkar's iconisation through serious archival research and extensive critique of his theory of nationalism.

Although, ideologically Sangh Parivar hails Godse and the murder of Gandhi but they hesitate to own him in public. "The Sangh Parivar has always been ambivalent about Gandhi and felt embarrassed if asked to denounce Godse. The sin is denounced, but the sinner is spared:" Organiser (RSS's mouthpiece) portrays Godse as representing 'the people' and the murder he perpetrated, as an expression of 'the people's wrath'.

Sangh Parivar has tried to glorify Savarkar as a revolutionary and a great freedom fighter. Advani claims that he was sent to Andamans for his revolutionary activities. Noorani contests this claim. He presents evidence to show that Savarkar was sent to Andaman on being convicted for complicity in a brutal and wanton murder. He had narrowly escaped conviction for another. Interestingly in neither case did he hold the gun. He goaded the assassin but covered his own tracks skillfully.

Savarkar's cowardice is exemplified from the petition for clemency that he field with the government from Andamans wherein he promised to 'serve the Government in any capacity they like, ..... The Mighty alone can afford to be merciful and therefore where else can the prodigal son return but to the parental doors of the government'. Noorani believes that no apology, no plea for clemency can be more abject and demeaning than this. It by itself suffices to render Savarkar unworthy of admiration or respect.

Jinnah is often entirely blamed for propounding the two-nation theory in 1939 and the partition of India in 1947. Interestingly, it was not Jinnah but Savarkar who first propounded this theory in 1923 in his work on Hindutva and secondly at the Presidential address to the Hindu Mahasabha in 1937. "Savarkar believed that not only the Hindus and Muslims are different, but that one is inferior to the other."

Savarkar's The First War of Independence- 1857 can amaze anyone. Interestingly, he consigns 'the antagonism between the Hindus and the Mohammedans to the past and believes that 'their present relation was to one not of ruler and the ruled, foreigner and native, but simply that of brothers, with the one difference between them of religion alone' and though 'their names were different, but they were all children of the same mother'. This work may seem contradictory and deceptive when one reads his 'The Six Glorious Epoch', which he wrote towards the evening of his life. Here he accuses Ashoka of gross intolerance towards Vedantic Hindus, Tipu Sultan for barbarism and Akbar, a foreigner for his cruelty, intolerance and bidharmi.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Savarkar, escaped physical and mental agony in the jail. By pleading against alleged ill treatment by Muslim Warden he managed to get better living conditions for himself and also Foremanship. He used it to lord over the Muslim prisoners. He started propagating Hindi as the national language and invoked a hatred for Urdu.

Savarkar was a practising atheist. Noorani opines that he did not misinterpret Hinduism, he rather ignored it. He laid the foundations of Hindutva not as a synonym of Hinduism but a loose representation of cultural nationalism (Hindu nationalism). Noorani argues that RSS projection of Vivekananda as the progenitor of the Hindutva is not true as the latter dwelt on spiritual realism and Savarkar's Hindutva is not Hinduism. It is interesting that BJP has been championing the cause of Ram Mandir in the name of Hindutva which has nothing to do religiosity.

The whole Hindutva project is motivated with hatred and venom against Muslims. Savarkar has justified violence and till today his fellow brethren are mitigating bloodshed and revenge in Gujarat. At a public meeting at the Vedanta Ashrama in 1925 Savarkar said that we must not think of participating soft virtues like humility, self surrender or forgiveness. On the contrary, we must, during our subjection, develop sturdy habits of hatred, retaliation, vindictiveness and such other features. Noorani has also cited evidence to show Golwalkar's and Savarkar’s concrete links with Nazi Germany.

Noorani gives minute details of Gandhi murder conspiracy and the trial. Although Godse and Apte were tried and hanged, Savarkar was released by the court for absence of corroborated evidence, which Noorani convincingly questions. In the aftermath of the demolition of Babri Masjid and the project of rewriting of history, Noorani raises questions about the rationality of the Hindutva project. The defeat of BJP in 2002 assembly elections in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh has sent a clear message for its stalwarts that Hindutva card won't sustain their electoral gains for too long.

October 2003

Autobiography of a Cop Committed to Human Rights

Autobiography of a Cop Committed to Human Rights
Yogesh Snehi
The Tribune, Sunday, August 18, 2002

Tryst with Law Enforcement and Human Rights by Sankar Sen.

(APH Publishing, New Delhi. Pages VIII + 384. Rs 595)

THOUGH the title suggests a treatise on law enforcement and human rights, the book is, however, an autobiography of Sankar Sen chronicling 30 years of his life as a police officer. At present Sen is a senior fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences. As an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer he held important posts ranging from Superintendent of Police (SP) to the Director of the National Police Academy (NPA). During this term he served in Vigilance, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Border Security Force (BSF), Railway Protection Force (RPF) and later joined the National Human Rights Commission as its first Director-General.

The work is divided into 16 chapters with an introduction and an index at the beginning and end, respectively. It beautifully portrays the changes in style and texture of policing in India that occurred during the turbulent decades of the last century. The preface gives us an insight into the psychology of the author. It is a testimony to the sincerity of the author and sensitively narrates the agony and ecstasy of a senior law enforcement officer committed to the cause of human rights. Sen draws the readers’ attention to the deteriorating state of policing in India. "The nexus between police officers and politicians has wrought havoc with service discipline and morale of the police." Also highlighted are some disturbing developments, such as infighting and decline of professionalism as a result of poor pay and promotion prospects. The author tells us that an overwhelming majority of constables, who constitute the bulk of the police force, retire in the same rank. This gives a new insight into the problems that bedevil our police force.

There are other significant psychological aspects of these problems. The author feels that the public perception of the police and judiciary, which has branded it as unworthy of trust, shapes and influences police response. He observes that due to this policemen develop a sense of uncertainty and insecurity and suffer from self-pity, thereby making the use of force (custodial violence and brutality) more likely. This may dramatically transform the perception of a reader towards the police. The author had worked with the Shah Commission for an enquiry into the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi. He narrates certain interesting observations made by Justice Shah on one of the most unfortunate episodes in Indian democracy. The book also has accounts of his colleagues and the people who have inspired him.

The sociological insights of the author are surprisingly incisive. The work shows his sensitivity towards the problems of tribes, casteism and human rights. He thinks if the police refuse to investigate tribal cases such as the loss of a small amount of rice or a chicken because of the petty nature of such cases, it would cause serious economic hardships to tribals and would shatter their faith in the judicial system. The author is also critical of separate messing arrangements for constables based on caste. His association with the NHRC has affirmed his conviction that adoption of short cuts and illegal and brutal methods not only dehumanises the police, but also saps their skill and competence. Despite all these concerns, the author reaffirms his faith in policing. He firmly believes that a sensitive and proactive police officer can command respect and confidence and render yeoman’s service to the community.

He asserts that communal riots can be prevented if the law-enforcement machinery takes firm preventive measures at the first signs of approaching trouble. The book suggests enhanced vigilance on corrupt officers and proactive action against them, improved reporting and investigation, re-energising and re-orienting the force by selecting good leaders and improving pay scales, improving training and reducing stress.

The author, while narrating his days in the BSF, has highlighted the disturbing trend of influx of refugees from Bangladesh, which has caused a serious law-and-order problem. His understanding of diplomatic undercurrents at meetings between the BSF and the Bangladesh Rifles may draw a reader’s interest. The recent emergence of private security agencies and their role in maintaining law and order is discussed in the epilogue. The commendable reforms carried out by the author at the NPA and in the RPF make for interesting reading. Although there is always a subjective bias in every autobiography, this does not undermine the true worth of a work. The book can be of a particular interest to young officers joining the police service as well as their senior peers and members of the public troubled by the decline of law and order and erosion of human rights.

Dam, Nation and Rehabilitation

Dam, Nation and Rehabilitation

Yogesh Snehi

In the past one month there has been a spurt in the debates surrounding the issue of dams in India. The argument seems to be divided into two different blocs. On the one side are the activists of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), who are being supported by an entire range of socialists ranging from communists to Gandhians. On the other side is neo-right, the new face of erstwhile followers of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, who have recently embraced hybridised form of tradition and globalisation under the garb of vasudeva kutumbakam. The latter stream of thought has come up to a point of confrontation with NBA over the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. While there has been a lot of debate on the question of dam, development and rehabilitation in the past too, but in the recent past neo-right has tried to present the standpoint of NBA as against development; with an anti-nation perspective.

We thus come across this entire new debate on the question of dams where on the one hand there is this question of right to determine development and ensure adequate rehabilitation and on the other hand there is this issue of nationhood, which can go to the extent of violently chasing any attempts to undermine it, as seen during an attack on NBA office in Vadodra and Modi’s reaction on Supreme Court’s Judgement on 8 May 2006. The point that I am trying to make is that we are locked into a very serious confrontation between civil rights and nationhood. The principle of justice and fair play for the oustees has been undermined in the hands of an authoritative state which thinks that majoritarianism has the right to determine the course of development and the rest have to just follow the way.

This debate raises some very critical issues on the question of rehabilitation; its nature, its course, role of the state and plight of the displaced. There have been arguments that rehabilitation has been a non-issue in any dam projects earlier and it is precisely because of NBA that the process of rehabilitation has become difficult. But if people displaced by earlier dam projects have not been able to raise their voice it might be because of the fact that those displaced remained voiceless. In the recent times we are listening to the protests of oustees of Pong dam in Himachal Pradesh. Interestingly, Himachal Pradesh government has alleged that Punjab and Rajasthan governments are not cooperating in the rehabilitation of Bhakra, Pong and Thein dam oustees, perhaps because in this case oustees are primarily the people of Himachal.

In the case of NBA, thousands of people from three states- Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have been displaced and rehabilitation has become a mere paper work in the hands of these governments. Can we justify any such state policy which uproots people from their fertile irrigated assets and in the name of rehabilitation provides them with barren pieces of land or any such unrealistic compensation? The question remains that who decides the course of development. If NBA raises its voice against increasing the height of dam until complete rehabilitation, its activities are classified as an anti-progress and anti-nation movement. Critics of NBA go to the extent of describing its activists as ‘professional agitators’.

Dams per se are certainly not irrational, but we will have to decide at what human costs and which benefits will these dams be constructed? Interestingly, check dams or bands have been significant since ancient times, but most of these were localised in terms of cost and benefits. Even if benefits outdo human costs, we will have to rethink as to how long will Eklavyas be forsaken for Dronacharyas of development? The role of the state and courts has been biased in these matters. While the state has constantly been trying to enhance its control over common property resources by displacing farmers and tribals, the judiciary is equally biased in the favour of dams.

The reaction of government over Medha’s fast also raises many questions on the future of non-violent protests in India। By referring to Medha’s fast as an ‘attempt to suicide’, the government has made a mockery of Gandhian ways of protests. Do we have a place for non-violent protests in Indian democracy today? The reaction of government has shown that protest against the policies of the state will now be categorised as criminal acts. The space for democratic dissent is shrinking. It is high time that the policy makers and government realise that biased development will only lead to others forms of violent resistance. And what will be the nature of democracy then? Dr. Manmohan Singh will have to answer these questions when he comes out with the report on the committee formed by him to look into the question of rehabilitation; perhaps before it is too late for the arrogant state to respond and respect the rights of its ‘lesser’ citizens.

22 April 2006

Their Lives are Scattered but They Build for Others

Their Lives are Scattered but They Build for Others
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, June 22, 2003,

Chandigarh, India

CONSTRUCTION projects involve largest women contract labour in India. Some of these are migrants who travel hundreds of kilometres for work. These women labourers move with families. They are poor and a part of the unorganised sector, since their labour is contractual or casual. A 1971 law (Abolition of Contract Labour Act) sought to eliminate the practice of contract labour and provide some benefits such as maternity leave to women labourers in this field. It, however, is often violated. In some states construction workers are covered by the minimum wages law; in other states they are not.

Phulesari, Ramvati, Kusibai, Rajeshwari, Parmila and Godavari work as contract labourers for the construction of a hostel at the Panjab University. All of them belong to Bilaspur district in Chattisgarh and are between 20 and 40 years. All of them have an agricultural background and own a house in their village. Just 50 per cent of these families own a marginal land (one acre). Though most of them wish to go home once in a year, Parmila and Rajeshwari have not been to home for the last ten years and Godavari for the last six years.

Lives of these women are interesting. Before settling down for work none of them were known to each other. The day the contractor employed them, their first job was to construct a house for themselves. They constructed these houses in a day with mud and bricks and tin/cement sheets for roofs. A mini-colony of ten-twelve families emerges in a day. Their single-room structures are vulnerable to weather and sometimes even to heavy vehicles which accidentally ram into them. The settlement has a common corridor and the doors open in it. There are no facilities for bathroom and toilets and these women have to manage it in some corner or go behind dense bushes nearby. Their living conditions make them vulnerable to 'anything'.

These women work for eight hours a day and get a meagre sum of Rs 50 per day. They are hardly aware of labour laws, according to which minimum wages have been fixed at Rs 80 per day. With this little sum, these women hardly manage savings and live at bare subsistence level. Although women admitted that men sometimes do the household work (when she gets ill), most of the time it is she who bears the triple burden of the construction work, household chores and looking after the children. If there is an elder daughter, she takes care of the siblings. Otherwise, there are no creches or any other places where children can be looked after or supervised.

Health standards of these women and children are far from satisfactory. Their diet intake includes very ordinary pulses, rice and wheat which do not necessarily fulfil the daily nutrient requirement. Although, there was awareness about the Pulse Polio immunisation programme, no child (except one) was immunised with DPT.

The children are also vulnerable to accidents from construction activity and transportation vehicles. Moreover, these women are not provided with any maternity or sickness benefits because they are essentially seasonal labourers. Very often, they are even denied accident benefits as well. All the women are illiterate. Some males have, however, passed matriculation examination.

Keeping in mind the large number of kids (one would question the hoopla over the family welfare programmes) they have (Phulaseri has four children, Ramvati and Kusibai two each, Parmila six and Rajeshwari one) and their meagre income which is hardly enough for living, they don't foresee education for them. Also, the migratory pattern of their living leaves no space for such activities. These women have earlier worked in Ropar, Kharar, Patiala, Rajpura, Ramdarbar, Dadumajra, Panchkula, Barnala and Kurukshetra.

Women have their own means of recreation. All of them are Hindus and share every Hindu festivity. Men, in their free time, sit around, chat and smoke a bidi. For these migrant labourers, the marriage of a daughter brings joy, it also brings financial trouble and, often, indebtedness. There are hardly any ways in which these women can imagine ways to improve their lives. They believe that they are used to this way of life, perhaps because they see no way to change it for the better.

In the absence of literacy and essentially militant unions and also the wherewithal to fight in courts, these women continue to earn below the stipulated minimum wages. They are handicapped in this regard because of both domestic obligations and the economic imperative of earning wages. They believe that this is, perhaps, their destiny.

Network of Social Security

Network of Social Security
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, May 26, 2002,

Chandigarh, India

Towards Securer Lives: SEWA’s Social-Security Programme
Compiled and edited by Mala Dayal

(Published by Ravi Dayal. Rs 175. Pages 160 )

IN the present-day Gujarat, when mayhem and carnage reign; when women are openly raped, humiliated and killed; their near and dear ones are burnt in front of their eyes; when the government does not even register FIRs against the culprits, the role of NGOs becomes very important. The book under review illustrates the work of one such NGO in Gujarat.

This book, as the name suggests, is a captivating account of SEWA’s (Self Employed Women’s Association) social security programmes, detailing the schemes for child care, health and nutrition, housing and insurance. It exemplifies how women in the unorganised sector (at SEWA they prefer to call themselves self-employed) organise themselves into a union and co-operatives, thereby developing collective strength and bargaining power, becoming visible and obtaining a voice and representation in policy-making forums.

This work is of a great help in understanding NGOs working in the social sector. It shows us how an NGO convinces and organises people for its own welfare. We get a deep insight into what SEWA does, who are the beneficiaries of its work, in which areas does it work, where does it gets its funds from, why does it organise women and above all how does it organise them?

Maya Dayal has used research papers and pamphlets presented at workshops and seminars and also unpublished case studies and surveys to write the book. The sincerity of the work can be judged from the editor’s apology for a sketchy bibliography. The work tends to bring out the spirit of participation and empowerment through self-help and involves the reader with it. Maya takes us through the ups and downs, struggle and evolution of SEWA.

This work has come up in collaboration with the Mahila Sewa Anasooya Trust (an offshoot of SEWA). In the beginning, Meera Chatterjee of SEWA gives a foreward on the work and summarises the structure of SEWA. Maya Dayal introduces SEWA with interesting facts about it. ‘It was started in 1972 as a reaction to non-recognition of the self-employed women as labourers.’ Today, it has over 3,00,000 women workers as its members (two-thirds are rural and one-third are urban). With a third being Dalits, one-third Muslim and a third ‘backward castes’. When we read about the cooperation between different religious communities that exist in the functioning of SEWA in Gujarat it is difficult to understand the eruption of hatred which has taken hundreds of lives.

The book offers us very insightful and interesting details about the schemes undertaken by SEWA. Maya has divided the work into seven chapters. One each on introduction, conclusion and a post-script on the earthquake of January 26, 2001. Four chapters are dedicated to SEWA’s child care, health care, housing and insurance schemes. Interesting statistical details help the reader to peep into the organisational structure and the success of SEWA. The brief case studies bring out the experiences and reaction of women and make the work even more absorbing.

The book gives clear details about the sources of finance, SEWA’s collaboration with the government and its conflict which help the reader to analyse SEWA closely. She points out through a SEWA survey that 98 per cent of the mothers involved in Shaishav (creches) gave their children iron and folic acid and vitamin A supplements. Significantly, all these schemes are sustained by women themselves. One is wonderstruck at the success of health and housing schemes. Dais are trained, health awareness camps are undertaken through "know your body" schemes. There is indeed a lot the present-day government in Gujarat needs to learn from SEWA.

The book eulogises SEWA’s success in providing pucca houses to self-employed women, which are registered in their names. This is something which always remains a distant dream for most of the women working in the unorganised sector. It shows us how insurance has transformed the approach of these women towards their lives. They feel secure and confident after they have been insured of sickness, death, damages to house and work tools and materials through group insurance schemes administered by SEWA.

All these projects have indeed kindled a new hope in the lives of self-employed women. The book shows us how women at SEWA are getting empowered. They are taking important household decisions. The work stimulates the imagination of the reader and instils a new faith in the indigenous methods which could be applied to empower women at grassroots. This experience can be of immense use to social activists, policy makers, researchers and a general reader too who is interested in understanding the dynamics of self-reliance through self-help.

This book, however, suffers from an important limitation. Maya Dayal seems to be greatly influenced by SEWA and eulogises its achievement throughout the work. She hardly leaves any space for criticism and epitomises it as an ideal for NGOs. This robs it of any scope for critical evaluation which the reader could indulge in. This book, at this juncture shows that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel. That there is hope if the Gujarati spirit which has been brought out in SEWA resurfaces and all communities work together for the empowerment of the common man.

Ask, and You Ought to be Told

Ask, and You Ought to be Told

Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, January 15, 2006,

Chandigarh, India

How much has been spent on repairing city roads? What are the medicines that government hospitals distribute free of cost? Now you can seek a whole lot of information of public interest from the authorities. Yogesh Snehi on the strengths of the Right to Information Act as well as the pressures it might face from the bureaucracy

A NEW chapter was added to the history of peoples’ movement in India with the coming of The Right to Information (RTI) Act on June 15 last year. The necessity for this piece of legislation was inspired by the need to enlarge democratic spaces in the Indian polity. This Act has the potential to provide immense possibilities for developing accountability and transparency in decision-making and the utilisation of public funds. Thus, it is important for every Indian to read and make use of this piece of document.

Before the enactment of the RTI in the country, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Madhya Pradesh had upheld and enacted the RTI Act in 1997, followed by Rajasthan in 2000 and Delhi in 2001. The RTI owes its inspiration to Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Rajasthan, which started the movement for minimum wages in rural India and exposed rampant corruption in schemes meant for rural development. The fruition of the Act in 2005 represents the aspirations of Indian people and their will to develop a new political culture in this country.

The RTI Act has given the people power to have access to all such information that was earlier inaccessible and was kept confidential. So now one can question and seek information about the absence of teachers in government schools, insufficient medicines in hospitals, policy and procedures followed in making decisions, etc. Initiatives for Democratic Rights (IFDR), Chandigarh, recently wrote a letter to Dean Students Welfare, Panjab University, demanding information about the utilisation of a fund meant for mess/canteen workers’ welfare. To make the role of public authorities meaningful, the Act lays emphasis on suo moto disclosures on the schemes initiated by any department which has access to public money and which concerns the interests of the common people.

Every department will appoint a Public Information Officer (PIO) who will be responsible for providing all such information sought by public at large, subject to the payment of a nominal fee which will be defined in the ‘fee rules’ framed by the respective state governments. Interestingly, this Act stipulates the time framework within which this information has to be provided. It should not exceed 40 days in any case. If the PIO concerned fails to provide such information within this time, he has to inform the applicant the reasons for the same. He can also be fined in case of wilful nondisclosure and the applicant has been given the right to appeal the appellate authority against the PIO. The Central Information Commission (CIC) and the State Information Commission (SIC) in the respective states will regulate the work in this regard.

The pace of implementation of the RTI is, however, abysmal. The Punjab Government has planned to digitalise the information and evolve a paper-free office for the Commission. I am not sure what will the government do with digitalising the information when the majority of the population is illiterate in information technology. Besides this, the seriousness of the government in reaching out to the people is questionable since it continues to be reluctant to translate the text of the Act into Punjabi. Something very significant came up at the workshop organised recently by the Ministry of Rural Development at Jaipur, where Aruna Roy (MKSS) pointed out that the Chief Information Commissioner did not have an office for himself and the Commission. The same is the case with the SIC, which continues to ‘hunt for an office’ for itself.

This Act continues to be under threat of pressure from public servants — our bureaucrats. Though the Prime Minister has said that ‘file notings’ relating to development plans, schemes, programmes and projects should be in the ambit of the RTI, there is immense pressure on the government and the Central Information Commission to exempt these from the ambit of this Act. The seriousness of the matter can be judged from the fact that on December 9, O P Kejariwal, one of the four Information Commissioners with the CIC, wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing his concern over the eroding of the RTI by the bureaucracy and the abysmal working conditions at the apex commission.

It is a serious matter because if the exemptions under file notings related to identifiable individuals, group of individuals, organisations, appointments, matters relating to inquiries and departmental proceedings are implemented, it would amount to, as Kejariwal says, "nothing less than an effective amendment`85" It indeed raises questions on what would be the nature of the Act after file notings are exempted. Any information which may have the potential of creating trouble for the officer concerned may be classified as file noting. Further, if the officials concerned would not be named then on whom will the responsibility of the aberration be laid?

Finally, even though the central government should be given its due for the enactment of this Act, the public should continue to lay pressure on the government for its effective implementation. It is also essential to question the procedure of appointing the PIOs as till now those officers have been designated PIOs who have earlier denied information to public.

What Vedic India can Teach World

What Vedic India can Teach World
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, November 10, 2002

India: What can it teach us? by F. Max Muller.
(Rupa & Co. Pages 189. Rs 150)

THE book is a collection of seven lectures on India and its ancient philosophy delivered by Max Muller at Cambridge University. These lectures were given to the candidates for the Indian Civil Service (ICS). While they took the study of Greek and Latin and its philosophy, art and laws keenly, Sanskrit and its philosophy, art and laws were considered useless and tedious.

Friedrich Max Muller was a German orientalist, linguist and Indologist whose works stimulated widespread interest in the study of linguistics, mythology and religion. Originally a student of Sanskrit, Muller turned to comparative language studies and in 1845 he began studying Avesta, the Zoroastrian sacred scripture written in Old Iranian. The East India Company commissioned him to edit the Rig Veda in 1847, which resulted in the publication of six giant volumes on the subject.

In the first lecture, "What can India teach us?" Muller makes an attempt to reformulate the minds of the ICS aspirants so that "they feel at home among the Indians, as a fellow-worker among fellow-workers and not as an alien among aliens." He emphasises the study of Indian history and tends to develop the curiosity of the audience and translate it into an exercise, which they may undertake in their leisure hours. He projects India as a barren land under which the traces of thousands of years of history lie buried, to be explored and understood. His arguments also reveal his humanism.

In the second lecture Muller grapples with another mischievous prejudice which considers the Hindus an ‘inferior race,’ totally different from Europeans in moral character and more particularly, respect for truth. He is critical of the role played by some Europeans, like Mill, in underestimating India. Muller puts forth vivid accounts from epics and the Vedas, which give beautiful insights into the conception of truth and the nature of reality.

The third lecture focuses on the significance of Sanskrit literature. "To a classical scholar I can only say that between a Civil Servant who knows Sanskrit and Hindustani, and another who knows Hindustani only, there is about the same difference in their power of forming an intelligent appreciation of India and its inhabitants, as there is between a traveller who visits Italy with a knowledge of Latin, and a party personally conducted to Rome by Messrs. Cook and Co." Emphasising the historical importance of Sanskrit, the author says, "In Sanskrit we find the Aryan man, whom we know in his various characters, as Greek, Roman, German, Celt and Slav, in an entirely new character." Highlighting the philosophical aspect of it he describes that if the highest wisdom of Greece was "to know ourselves," the highest wisdom of India is "to know our self."

There is an interesting discussion on the importance of Rig Veda in the study of evolution of religious thought. Commenting on the originality of the Vedic religion he says, "In India alone and more particularly in Vedic India, we see a plant entirely grown on native soil and entirely nurtured by native air. It is full of lessons which the student of religion could learn nowhere else."

Muller assigns the term ‘Kathenotheism’ (as against monotheism and polytheism) to define the nature of Vedic worship and to explain the deeper meaning which underlies the Veda. His mind and intellect reflects a high degree of maturity and integrity. The very use of words "our Vedic ancestors" reflects the author’s sense of identification with this ancient literature. Many researchers, till today, believe that religion sprang from fear and terror. Refuting this observation, Muller says religion is trust, and trust arises from the impression made on the minds and hearts of men by the order and wisdom of nature. He elucidates this point by discussing the concept of various gods in the Vedas.

In a lecture on Veda and Vedanta, he narrates the ways in which the strotriyas memorise the hymns of the Rig Veda which are preserved by means of an oral traditions. He elucidates the essence of Vedanta, which lies in the discovery of ‘The Self’. He recognises the Vedas as historical documents, aye, the most ancient documents in the history of human mind.

The book, an inquiry into the wisdom of the Vedas, can be helpful in establishing an important link with our ancient culture. However, the book contains certain facts, which through further research have become more refined and need to be clarified. Despite this, the work can serve as a journey into the realm of our mind.

The Participation Diluted It!

The Participation Diluted It!

Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, August 8, 2004,

Chandigarh, India

Voluntary Organisations and Social Welfare by Raj Kumar Siwach.
(Shankar Publications, Delhi. Pages 212. Rs 495. )

It is argued, "the government has limitations in reaching out to all the segments of society and take up every development-related issue. Voluntary organisations (VOs) thus come into existence to fill this gap." It is also argued, comparing with the "top-down approach" of the State, that VOs are significant because of their "grass-root approach", their flexibility and efficiency in operations. The author follows similar arguments regarding VOs and their role in social welfare.

In the wake of flooding of VOs and transfer of enormous funds, both from the State institutions and the foreign donor agencies, it has become essential to look into these "voluntary looking professional organisations", which have become prime factors in development and are subject to ‘"donor agenda". The book is a microanalysis of VOs and their beneficiaries in four districts of Haryana. It is an attempt to evaluate the contribution of VOs in social welfare.

Since Independence, there had been a consistent effort on the part of successive governments to co-opt grass-root initiatives. Independence had catalysed the efforts of the State towards nation-building. The government sought the participation of voluntary organisations. Thus, in 1953, the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was formed.

The participation was specifically sought in the implementation of programmes in rural development. In 1986, the Council for Advancement of People’s Action in Rural Technology come into existence and with this large-scale transfer of funds to VOs started. This "joint venture" between the State and VOs benefited voluntarism, but contrary to this, the participation diluted it.

The definition and nature of VOs has been subject to numerous debates. It became more complex since foreign donors started pumping huge funds in this sector. This new sector is now popularly called the Non-Government Organisation (NGO) sector.

The writer has drawn a distinction between VOs and NGOs. Although one cannot deny some difference as far as the source of funds and functions are concerned, yet there is hardly any distinction between the approach of VOs and NGOs towards social welfare. Beneficiaries continue to be an "object of social welfare".

The second chapter focuses on the organisational structure of VOs. Registered VOs are governed by appropriate Acts that delineate the aims, objectives, the composition of membership and other managerial bodies. There is hardly an air of voluntarism in these Acts. The work of these organisations can appropriately be termed as "professional voluntarism". Besides, one can hardly deny that VOs have become the largest job creator.

The author has interestingly assumed that VOs are supposed to implement the social welfare schemes of the government. He draws justification from Articles 38, 39, 42 and 47 of the Constitution. Unfortunately, these Articles envisage the role of the State towards the welfare of its citizens and not cooperation with VOs. The role of VOs in social welfare in Haryana is good, contrary to what the studies conducted by the CSWB suggest. This is despite that 57 per cent of the volunteers had no formal training at all. A critical analysis of the work raises many questions about its premises.

Teaching History Needs to be Made Interesting

Teaching History Needs to be Made Interesting

Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Tuesday, July 27, 2004,

Chandigarh, India

HISTORY is often regarded as a boring subject. It has, indeed, become difficult to grapple with this subject amidst the perennial controversies engulfing it. There are many other factors which have been responsible for distancing the interest of students from history. The neglect of the subject continues to be an area of concern.

Certain perennial notions of unfriendliness have infested the learning of history. Learning history is regarded as ‘digging graves’, ‘chasing ghosts’, ‘things of past’ and has a ‘distancing effect’ on its understanding. This disgusting effect is corroborated by the notion that whatever happened in the past is ‘irrelevant to the present’. Is history banal? Why has history become a thing of the past? How has it become so detached from our everyday lives?

The problem, indeed, lies somewhere in the methods of teaching. Often the practice of class teaching involves the reading of some chapter of the textbook by a student ‘with the assumption that ‘the learning of history is obvious’ and does not require explanation and discussion. Teaching history, however, needs greater objective insight and an empirical dialogue with our day-to-day lives.

The idea that ‘history is our story’ can help in scaling the distance of our past with our present. An object as simple as a pen or a pencil, which is so closely integrated with our everyday lives has a history. Take another example of the schools as they exist today. They have a long unchequered history from ancient gurukuls and madrasas meant for religious teaching to pathsalas and schools which originated in the colonial period. Then, the concept of uniform, the origin of shoes, etc everything has a past so closely related to the present. Can we think of town planning without municipality which caters to our everyday needs of water and sanitation?

Often classroom teaching makes history insensitive. But history can be sensitive and related to the native landscape. There is a common complaint that educational trips, which are closely integrated to the teaching of history, to important historical places are expensive andunaffordable.

This argument dissolves the purpose of ‘creative history teaching’ by locating history in a far-off and remote monument, museum or places of ‘historical importance’. Contrary to this, the selection of places of historical interest can be close to our everyday lives. While teaching a lesson on the architecture of a temple or a mosque, the local shrines can be an important representation of history. Similarly, it won’t be tough to locate Arya Samaj temples, DAV schools, etc to teach about the role of Swami Dayanand in socio-religious reform. Often, the problem symbolic is with teaching skills rather than with monuments and places. Thus, an enquiry into the agrarian, cultural or village history can easily be dealt with a trip to a nearby village.

Sometimes it is much more interesting to read history from Nehru’s ‘Glimpses of World History’ rather than recommended textbooks. Nehru offers some intriguing insights into pedagogy which can be invaluable in bridging the communicative barrier between the student and the teacher. Also, biographies and autobiographies sketch a personal narrative of a historical phase, making it more engaging. Besides this, inculcating the habit of reading historical novels can rejuvenate the idea of teaching history.

It is also important to discuss the choice of textbooks on history. Almost all textbooks are either syllabi-oriented or are supposed to be handy for teachers. There are a few textbooks which are written keeping in mind the interest of students. Unfortunately, NCERT textbooks, which are prescribed throughout the country, also fall in the category of the former. Among the books written with student orientation are the books published by Eklavya, a non-project organisation based in Bhopal. These books are representative of an illustrative and narrative form of creative books of history. Similarly, the books published by SCERT, Delhi, have attempted to inculcate a critical understanding, of history among students.

Technology offers an important tool in the teaching of history. Audio-visual aids based on history, like films, documentaries, etc provide significant gains in informational learning, retention and recall, thinking and seasoning activity, interest, imagination, better assimilation and personal growth and development.

These aids are the stimuli for learning ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ of history. While on the one hand teaching becomes interesting through audio-visual aids, on the other it creates a virtual reality of historical landscape and brings it closer to classroom understanding. History is, thus, a landscape of our past and its teaching would aim at scaling its complexities and making it relevant for our everyday lives.

Amidst the political controversies over interpretation and representation of history, the task of the teacher has become much more challenging.Teaching of history should help student critically examine these debates and identify its rightful interpretation. This will not be possible unless students develop a creative understanding of the subject and here the role of teacher assumes immense significance.

Mr Sudarshan, Family Planning and Muslim Population

Mr Sudarshan, Family Planning and Muslim Population:

Some Historical and Contemporary Insights

Yogesh Snehi

Abstract

Mr. Sudarshan’s statement on Muslim population has not created much flutter this time, possibly due to Uma Bharti’s episode. Though the issue may look trivial from the point of view of motive behind the statement, it carries larger political implications. Generally these statements lack reason and lead to confusion. A historical insight presents a wider understanding of this issue. The conflict of RSS with the Muslims (and Christians) is a continuation of the discord of brahmanic elites with the ordinary and dissident menial castes, which has historically translated itself into a conflict with Muslims. The development of dalit solidarity among Hindus, Muslims and Christians will facilitate a broader perceptive of the caste question and also help in restricting the communal overtones

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Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh's (RSS) chief has recently expressed his displeasure at the supposedly increasing population of Muslims in India. Mr. Sudarshan has accordingly suggested that Hindus should abandon the family planning, the two child norm. He argues that the Muslim population in India has been rising at a ‘dangerous rate’ and this poses a 'serious threat' for the Hindus. I will argue that although general population growth continues to be serious, the primary reason for the problem is socio-economic depravity of Indian population among whom there is a substantial number of Muslims.

RSS has been irritably syndromic about Muslim population. This issue has not only misled Indians, but has also been responsible for numerous riots in India. At times the issue gets associated with ‘Muslims enticing away Hindu girls, marrying them and stealing away “productive engines” of the Hindus’. It has especially been used in Gujarat in 2002 where we have seen one of the heinous trails of criminality. Muslim populations have also been accused of ignoring family planning, posing a serious threat to the Hindu orthodoxy.

Let us delve on the issue of population first. RSS believes that the growth of Muslim population in India has primarily been the result of the entry of Muslims from outside India and subsequently forced conversion of the Hindus by the Muslim rulers. Fortunately perhaps, conversion for RSS is a non-issue today as far as the Muslim population is concerned, though this has been a major issue in their understanding of medieval and modern Indian history. Conversely, Mr. Sudarshan is all the more vociferous about the growth rate of Muslim population.

This debate goes back to the emergence of Muslims in pre-medieval and medieval India and conversions during that period. It is important to understand the historical account of the emergence of Muslims during this period. Population of Indian Muslims emerged as an outcome of the necessities of trade when a large number of Arab traders flocked the markets in India. This happened much before the establishment of Muslim rule in India, contrary to the belief that the establishment of Muslim rule in India meant the emergence of Muslim population. The native rulers of the subcontinent developed colonies for these traders and often built mosques for them. But this number continued to be insignificant even after the establishment of Muslim rule in India.

The real growth of Muslim population in India started with the entry of Sufis in India. There is ample evidence pointing towards large scale conversion of Indian population, influenced by the simplicity of the Sufis, primarily Chistis. This factor has been significant in the growth of the population of Indian Muslims. Sufi shrines continue to draw people from all faiths. We have parallels of these processes in all parts of India even today. Contemporary history has witnessed the conversion of almost entire population of certain villages in West Bengal to Ramakrishna Mission and to Radhasoamis in Punjab and Haryana. Now the question arises that why is there so much hue and cry over demographic changes then. We will deal with this question in the following discussion.

Firstly, the people in question here are those who converted to Islam in Medieval India. Significantly, these people were primarily Dalits and untouchables. They belonged to the lower segment of the society. But this conversion did not mean a change in their profession. Nor did this mean a change in the antagonism of the elites, including Muslim elites (the people of the royal blood), for this class. In fact, the antagonism increased manifold since these people were no longer bound by the restrictions of caste associated with their menial professions earlier; though they could never abandon it. Thus Shudras and untouchables who were (for example) employed in the professions of weaving and tanning continued to do so for centuries to come. There were some, though insignificant, who moved to urban centres and took up new professions like craftsmanship and worked in royal karkhanas.

This gives a new dimension towards the understanding of this debate. The conflict we see today is perhaps a continuation of these caste conflicts that emerged out of the conversion of menial castes to Islam; which were no longer bound by their caste tags and hence uncontrollable. But this did not solve the problems of their economic deprivations. It is not a surprise that the Muslims in India continue to be among the poorest. The emergence of movement for cow-protection in colonial India gave another turn to these developments. The profession of tanning became a subject of serious conflict. This conflict was not merely limited to the protection of stray and abandoned cows but also included dead cows under its ambit. Thus the tanning castes, among whom there was a significant presence of Muslims, became targets of ‘cow protectors’. Hereafter the issue became communally sensitive. High caste Hindus emerged as the protector of cows and the untouchable Hindu and Muslim tanners became villains. We have seen the eruption of such tensions even in contemporary India. Dulina in Haryana has been the latest successor of these events. Interestingly, the dalits who were lynched for skinning dead cows here were supposedly killed on the pretext of being Muslims. Thus Muslims become villains because they have been the carriers of historically rigid caste tensions. These depravities of caste have continued in independent India.

It is important to understand the above issue in relation to the failure of family planning among the poor segments of Indian society, especially Muslims. Larger families in poorer populations have their own political economy. This perception may not be supported by contemporary studies, but more children signify more earning hands among the sections living at barely subsistence levels. Though this psychological dimension is devoid of reason, it continues to influence the poor segments despite the fact that it may mean loss of education and health to them. Thus, the issue in question is not the religion of the poor but the poverty of these populations. In such cases it is obvious that these sections will move to greener pastures for employment and lead to the diffusion of their population. Interestingly, RSS relates the diffusion of Muslim population in India to the concerns of national security. They project this as a ‘Muslim conspiracy’ to establish Islamic India. How can a nation feel threatened by these poor people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who work as labourers and rickshawalas throughout northern India? And if these populations, which have a significant number of Muslims in them, subsequently settle at their place of work and construct Mosques for their daily prayers, their places of worship are translated as ‘networks of terror’.

Thus, we see that it is extremely important to relook into the issue of population and family planning in India and critique the ‘communal perspective’ on the population of Indian Muslims. The statements of the RSS are highly speculative and devoid of reason. Their statements lack coherence and are conflicting and confusing at the same time. They claim that they are trying to reason out the arrival of Muslims in India and the threat they pose to Hindus. But their communalized methodology leaves us perplexed. While on the one hand RSS blames the Muslim majority provinces in India for the partition of sub-continent, on the other hand it condemns the diffusion of the population of Indian Muslims.

What I see is that the conflict of the Right with Muslims (and Christians) is nothing but a continuation of the conflict of brahmanic elites with the ordinary and dissident menial castes, which has historically translated itself into a conflict with Muslims. Thus it becomes extremely significant to develop dalit solidarity among Hindus, Muslims and Christians. It will facilitate a broader understanding of the caste question and also help in restricting the communal overtones. In fact composite cultures in India face serious threat from organizations like RSS and also similar wings within Muslim orthodoxy. It is far more important to talk of general poverty among Muslim population and the dire need to device methods to tackle it, which will indirectly help in making family planning acceptable in this inseparable segment of Indian society.

07 December 2005

History Revisited, Rewritten

History Revisited, Rewritten
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, October 19, 2003
History in the New NCERT Textbooks: A Report and Index of Errors
by Irfan Habib, Suvira Jaiswal and Aditya Mukherjee.
(Indian History Congress, 2003, Kolkata. Pages vi + 130. Rs 50.)

THE Indian History Congress, Kolkata, has recently published History in the New NCERT Textbooks: A Report and Index of Errors. This report is an in-depth study of four NCERT books: Ancient India—Class XI and India and the World—Class VI (II) by Makkhan Lal, Medieval India—Class XI by Meenakshi Jain and Contemporary India—Class IX (I) by Hari Om. These texts have been meticulously examined for historical errors by India’s leading historians Irfan Habib, Suvira Jaiswal and Aditya Mukherjee.

The report shows that these textbooks are not just historically misleading but also infected by poor language, spelling and grammatical errors, infelicitous expressions and obscurities. Above all, they are part of an "ugly project of saffronising the education system" and reflect chauvinism and communal bias of the Sangh Parivar.

Historians are confronted with the challenge of balancing objectivity and truth in history on one hand and the process of nation building on the other. History writing is inclined to focus on the ‘truth’. The report tells us that NCERT texts are marred by extraordinary glorification of the ‘Hindu past’ without any objective basis. The Hindu religion is held superior and the Upanishads are proclaimed the "most profound works of philosophy in any religion". Also, all substantial scientific discoveries are attributed to the Vedic civilisation. Aryans are projected to be indigenous, which is factually incorrect since this argument is not supported by linguistic data. Interestingly, the Indus Civilisation has been clubbed with Vedic civilisation and renamed ‘Indus-Saraswati Civilisation.’

The report says the texts by Makkhan Lal ignore rigidity of the caste system, oppression of lower castes and are neutral towards sati and jauhar (or even adopt an admiring stance). Rakshasa marriages are described as legitimate. Serious attempt has been made to communalise history in these texts.

The NCERT books project that Muslims brought little new, except oppression and temple-destruction. Dark spots in history are attributed to Muslims and the rise of a composite culture is ignored. ‘Muslim separatism’ is highlighted while Hindu Mahasabha leaders are portrayed as patriots.

This report is the result of serious research on the ambiguities in the NCERT textbooks and highlights the importance of understanding the correct perspective in history. It has also necessitated rethinking on the issue of historiography. NCERT has attempted to construct a history inspired by myth. What was earlier considered part of historical criticism is now built into history itself. Ancient India—Class VI by Makkhan Lal is abound with pitiful historical and spelling errors. The serial errors reveal how, by selectively distorting the facts and changing the meanings, Lal has tried to saffronise history. He uses the term ‘Vedic culture’ for ‘Vedic civilisation’ and says that ‘Vedic people know astronomy’. At another point he says ‘Buddha was very critical of this jati system (and not the varna system) and preached simple living’. The selective replacement of ‘caste’ by ‘jati’ is an attempt to not just idealise the varna system but also legitimise the atrocities committed on shudras and outcastes for thousands of years.

The report also highlights an attempt to romanticise ancient Indian history. "The army chief Pushyamitra Sunga killed him (the last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha) in 187 BC. This is the only incident in the history of India till 12th century AD when a king was killed and replaced." This is meant to convey that Indian kings were not brutes. But ancient history is studded with incidents of usurpation of power through bloodshed. In another reference, Lal says, "From the days of Ramayana Indians had close links with Sri Lanka". Here a mythical attribution is projected as historical evidence. Makkhan Lal’s Ancient India for Class XI eulogises that "the knowledge of history was given a very high place in ancient India. It was accorded sanctity equal to a Veda". The report, however, shows that Rajatarangini of Kalhana is the solitary example of a historical work in ancient India. To add to it, Lal places Mahabharata ‘somewhere around 6377 BC’. This amounts to assigning Mahabharata a pre-Harappan antiquity. Even B.B. Lal won’t assign such an early date to this event. Also, H.C. Raychaudhuri assigns it to the 9th century BC.

There are numerous conscious historical, geographical and linguistic fabrications. Meenakshi Jain’s Medieval India—Class IX has a basic purpose of highlighting the ‘barbarity of the Muslims’. The report explains how Jain has tried to show that Hindus have been wronged and their histories have been distorted in the hands of ‘secular fundamentalists’. She tends to reaffirm the Medieval Age as the ‘dark age’ and that Muslims brought extreme radicalism, exploitation and intolerance. She goes to the extent of suggesting "there is nothing to show that Islam mitigated social discrimination against low-caste Hindu converts. Certainly they did not regard the converts as social equals".

Although there is no agreement on the authorship of Chandi di Var and Chandi Charittar Ukat Bilas, Jain confirms through these texts that ‘Guru (Gobind Singh) was devotee of goddess Chandi’.

In Hari Om’s Contemporary India for Class IX Independence is not attributed to the seamless struggle of the freedom fighters but to US and USSR pressure on Britain, due to which it decided to withdraw. The Indian National Congress is not supposed to be the harbinger of freedom, but a mere ‘safety valve’ in the hands of the British. Every step has been taken to derecognise the role of Muslims in nation building. Instead, they are regarded as ‘wedded to Pan-Islamism’. While so much is said about communalism among Muslims, the author fails to even mention the remarks of the RSS or the Hindu Mahasabha.

The NCERT has proved right the fears of progressive historians. The report by the IHC perhaps gives just an indication of what the Sangh Parivar has in store for Indians.

It’s About Power and Humiliation

It’s About Power and Humiliation

Yogesh Snehi
The Tribune, Sunday, December 8, 2002
Chandigarh, India

ACCORDING to Section 375, a man is said to have committed rape if he has sexual intercourse with a women in circumstances falling under any of the six following descriptions:

· against her will.
· without her consent.
· with her consent when the consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested, in fear of death or hurt.
· with her consent if her consent is given because she believes the man to be her lawfully married husband, when the man knows he is not.
· with her consent if she is unable to recognise 'the nature and consequences' of that to which she gives consent because of intoxication or unsoundness of mind.

. with or without her consent if she is under sixteen years of age.

Rape is not just a legal offence; it is an assault on the dignity of the victims and leaves a permanent scar on their psychology. The fear of rape constitutes a special burden not shared by men. Psychologically, rape devastates many victims. Victims of sexual assault often experience fear, anxiety, and depression in addition to difficulty in sexual relationships and other psychological and physical symptoms that debilitate.

Many women feel that as a wife, they "owe" their husband sex on demand.

"No matter who the people are or what their relationship is—the fault always lies with the person who commits the act." Rape is not sex. Rape is power, aggression, domination, and, always, humiliation. It has to do with all things being unequal. It makes you feel less than human. Just like the family dog." The physical, emotional, and economic scars caused by marital rape can be, and often are, long-lasting and can alter a victim's interpersonal relationships permanently.

Amanpreet, Sourabh, Tajinder and Mool Raj, students of Department of Mass Communication participated in a discussion about reasons for rape.

While Amanpreet felt that separate education for boys and girls creates an atmosphere, which Sourabh further classified as "frustration emerging out of failure to understand women", where men become prone to sexual experimentation.

Tajinder believes that it is the kind of clothes, which women wear these days that incites men, he adds that academic incompetence of boys also leads to incidence of rape. Mool Raj believes that because male attitudes have not been able to cope with the changes in female attitudes, it has led to a rise in frustration levels among men.

Amanpreet think that rapists are men who are not mentally occupied. Tejinder suspects unemployment among men as a reason for this. He also feels that since boys have not been able to control girls these days (which Sourabh remarks as their not been able to dominate female species), it has irked some men.

Mool Raj raises a question about the institution of marriage (if it is a sexual contract). Amanpreet maintains that every woman has a right over her body and consent has to be there, When they were asked if the sexual fantasies amounts to rape, the opinion was shared. Amanpreet felt that thinking of rape is not wrong, but doing it was wrong. Tajinder too accepts this. Amanpreet was of the view that seduction can be allowed.

Mool Raj narrates the case of 65-year-old men raping a teenaged girl and says that rape of minors take place often and that too by known men or guardians.

Sourabh said that law should take its own way. Tajinder emphasises the need for more stringent laws, while Mool Raj believed that males should change their attitudes by demolishing the past dominance.

All of them agreed on the need for enforcement of a sex-education programme and switching over to co-education.

Questioning Development

Questioning Development

Yogesh Snehi
The Tribune, Sunday, March 16, 2003
Chandigarh, India

It is easy to brush off any such arguments in absence of relevant statistics relating to work participation, income generation, spending habits of women and, above all, the ownership of resources. ESO statistics on wages paid to agricultural and skilled labourers in Haryana categorises only men, as if female labourers do not exist there, says Yogesh Snehi.

FOR the last one month I have been frequenting the offices of Haryana government in search of some gender statistics, which are the part of a project undertaken by National Commission for Women (NCW). When I last visited Delhi in December for the purpose of a research grant, Sudha Malaiya, member NCW, gave me the task of collecting the statistics on women entrepreneurs in Haryana. I had to report back after one week with the relevant information. I was also told that I would get this statistics from the Department of Industries of the state.

When I reached the Big Bay building in Sector-17, Chandigarh, which houses many important Haryana government offices, I did not know that I have landed myself in trouble. I started from the clerk level thinking that they would know the details about the data collection at the ground level. I was in the Department of Industries then. The very inquiry about 'women entrepreneurs' sounded strange there. The first thing that I was asked was which state did I belong to. When I told them that I was from Punjab, they responded by saying that such a thing (women entrepreneurs) may exist in Punjab but is unknown in Haryana.

When I contacted the Economic and Statistical Organisation (ESO), I had to wrestle with myself to explain the meaning of the term 'women entrepreneurs'. I translated it into kam dhanda karne wali mahilayen and could sense the air of suspicion around there. Actually, they thought that I had come to collect statistics on 'whores in Haryana'. Such is the level of ignorance and insensitivity about gender issues in the various government departments of Haryana. The scene is all the same in others states also. I thought that probably the labour department would be able to help me. There, I was told that they do not collect data on the basis of gender.

Out of desperation, I went to the Director, Department of Industries, where I was directed to his deputy. He told me that such a survey had never been undertaken in the history of Haryana and according to his oral knowledge there are hardly any women entrepreneurs in Haryana, who actually own and run business enterprises. Even if there are some, they are among rich and influential who, in order to save tax, float women as sleeping partners. This was not abnormal for me because poor condition of women is well documented in national and international reports.

The ESO was good enough to gift me a copy statistical abstracts of Haryana 2000-01. When I looked into it, I found that except for some selected social indicators like literacy rate, school enrolment ratio and sex ratio etc., the whole lot of information was in totals. Interestingly, the hue and cry which has recently been raised about the plight of women in Haryana is closely related to the question of power. It is easy to brush off any such arguments in absence of relevant statistics relating to work participation, income generation, spending habits of women and above all the ownership of resources. Interestingly, ESO statistics on wages paid to agricultural and skilled labourers in Haryana categorises only men, as if female labourers do not exist there!

The issue has gained significance since the evolution of Human Development Index (HDI). Human Development Report, which has been published yearly by UNDP since 1990 has drawn more attention towards social indicators to substantiate the indicators of development. This is significant because any strategy towards improving the standing of women would incline on the development indicators of that region. One would wonder at the level of development planning in the absence of these statistics in Haryana. I can visualise Amartya Sen's views on the 'missing women' in development.

Fortunately, independent agencies like UNFPA have dwelled upon the mortality rates of the state and found the incidence of female foeticide in Haryana. It shows that the state has the worst trends in the world. Census 2001 is doing a commendable job in this respect and has recently come out with statistics on female labour force. It has included women workers in the informal sector in it’s comprehensive surveys. State governments have to learn important lessons from Census 2001 and other international agencies to improve statistical documentation for effective planning of 'real development'.

Patriarchal Attitudes Control Female Bodies

Patriarchal Attitudes Control Female Bodies

Yogesh Snehi
The Tribune, Sunday, September 1, 2002
Chandigarh, India

ONE thing which a woman can perhaps claim to be her own is her body. But sadly , patriarchal attitudes exercise control even overthis from an early age, manifesting themselves in the case of a girl child. To simplify my point, I will raise a question. Have you ever wondered why a male child has an unquestionable right to be naked and why is it that a girl child has no such right?

This is exactly how the 'female bodies' are controlled by the chauvinistic ideas of men. By this 'cover-up operation', a social foundation of its own sort is created. First the body of a girl is to be hidden and later to be sought after when she becomes a woman, in a kind of game of hide and seek. Here, the advertisement of Liril bathing soap strikes my mind. It shows a female bathing below a fountain that portrays a urinating male child. This speaks volumes about male attitudes.

This is an embodiment of the power play for subordination of women. Young men always tend to be highly preferential in their choice of life partner: slim and slender, with curvaceous figure, soft and tender. This reflects the psychological aspects of patriarchy. Men's dislike for strong women shows their contempt for powerful women, who deflect their 'line of control'. Men like women in a supporting role wherein they flaunt their slim and delicate bodies.

Little girls are 'sugar and spice and everything nice'. Too much knowledge defeminises them, endangers their beauty, makes them boyish. Beauty is fragile. It requires protection much like museum art. Beautiful women are priceless treasures, enhancing the power of those who control them, but powerless themselves. Little girls who play boys' games are in danger of letting their physical and intellectual strength develop, while their beauty and sexuality evaporate. Delicate clothes and gentle activities help to protect female fragility and define little girls' gentler hold on society".

There is also a moral linkage, which supersedes the bodily arguments. Women are told that they are more moral, more understanding and humane than men. This tends to suggest that women should be tolerant of any abuse by men, both sexually and mentally. These attributes seem to assert an almost complete control of men over females.

Feminists contend that standards of beauty are socially constructed. One such example comes from anthropological and sociological research that suggests the preference for a certain kind of body shape among women is not random, but is linked to economic factors. When women have access to economic independence, a thin standard is preferred. Where women are denied access to economic power, marriage is favoured and the emphasis is on more curvaceous body form. Thus, it appears that when women are less likely to be controlled by traditional institutions such as marriage, another form of social control is introduced, in this case the expectation of extreme thinness.

These bodily preferences have serious implications in India. Our patriarchal norms are very strictly underlined and adhered to. No matter how much educated a women may become, she finally has to follow patriarchal formulations. For example, a guy, Akash, had conflicting expectations of his life partner. He did not object to his wife wearing jeans when she accompanied him to a public place, but minded if she wore the same in front of his parents. While she becomes a sex and status symbol for men in a public place', tradition subordinates her in the family.

Her treatment as a beauty object is epitomised in the media portrayal of women. It may either be a car or soap, a washing machine or cosmetics, everywhere it is a woman who sells—sells for her subordination.

What it Takes to be a Man

What it Takes to be a Man

Yogesh Snehi
The Tribune, Sunday, August 11, 2002
Chandigarh, India

WHAT does it take to be a man? If someone asks me this question, my answer will be "everything." This may sound cynical to many who perceive the question of being male or female from clearly lined social parameters. These gender norms, which have been ingrained in the social attitudes, cater to the stringent patriarchal formulations. Interestingly gender as an academic field emerged only since 1970s.

I seek to question gender norms from the point of view of identity. This question has been central to me since my early days of childhood. The development of my identity here is contrary to what is generally (believed to be naturally) thought to be standard. Thanks to my parents who have never guided me in the light of social stereotypes, I had the right to cry and have an emotional outburst until the end of my teens. Never had I been tagged "girlish" by my parents. This is one of the most important dimensions to my experiments in realising my identity. Thus the notion that ‘men don’t cry’ does not fit on me.

This approach to myself has indeed helped me a lot in understanding the question of gender better. Long before I was initiated into hostel life, my mother had trained me in every such activity which was considered to be the privilege of only girls; cooking, nurturing, washing, cleaning etc. This was important during those days because when I interacted with my fellow students in the hostel, I found these traits more or less absent in them.

Naturally, this opened a pandora’s box of questions regarding ‘my identity.’ Those initial years were very painful as I found myself an odd man out. The characteristics which my peers considered necessary to constitute their identities—aggression, rude and bullying demeanour—were missing from my personality. I did not conform to the socially acceptable standards of what ‘being a man’ meant. My soft tone and feeble physique added to my woes.

This question of gender was not settled until I was initiated into the subject of gender relations in my postgraduation. I strongly feel that the outline society tends to create in order to regulate the affairs of human beings does no good to their development as human beings. I find men and women pondering over the question of their identities until they die.

It was not until the 1970s that women came forward in sports. Earlier this was only the prerogative of men. Even today ‘work’ at home and outside is divided strictly on gender lines, that is, men’s work and women’s work.

I feel that questioning of gender is important to ensure equity and equality. Education, financial security and work participation have emerged as important tools to ensure empowerment of women, which in turn ensures opportunities in the social sphere. There is hardly any sphere in which women can not contribute.

The losers are only a majority of those men who have not been able to come out of their cocoons and the traditional gender bifurcation still rules their mind.