Examining the sexism in Indian politics

As the poll trumpets blew during the assembly elections in the five states of Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur,  we saw many sexist politicians come out of their hiding holes. I was rattled by an insensitive comment by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar who said that Priyanka Gandhi was not as beautiful as she was projected to be and that there were prettier women leaders in BJP like Smriti Irani who could pull crowds and give better speeches.

This was not the first time that an Indian politician had passed sexist regressive remarks about a woman politician. I cannot help but wonder: How long it will be before a woman politician is given importance and her potential as a politician not measured by her looks?

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati has also been a popular target from politicians. Once, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC made a jibe on her, saying that she didn't know if the BSP leader was a "he" or "she" – attacking Mayawati's gender identity based on outdated and regressive stereotypes of what constitutes "womanliness", which Mayawati might not conform to. Mayawati doesn't wear saris or salwar kameez in feminine colours  and the way she wears her hair has made her a victim of comments like these that question her appearance.

On another occasion BJP leader Dayashankar Singh said that Mayawati is worse than a prostitute who gives a seat to the person who pays the highest amount for it. His comments toward the Dalit woman leader were not only sexist but also casteist. A metaphor comparing a woman to a sex worker is every sexist's glorifying moment of machismo – disrespecting not only the woman in question but also the dignity of sex workers. Patriarchy feeds on the notion that a sex worker is the lowliest among the low in the society, since they have sex with tens and hundreds of men to earn their bread and butter. Patriarchy is the school of thought that restricts a woman's sexual agency, and in this case it has been difficult for leaders like Dayashankar Singh to come to terms with the fact that sex work is like any other profession and there is nothing condemnable about it. The same man lashed out at Mayawati again a few months later where he likened her to a dog and called her a coward. He said that "Mayawati is like a dog that chases speeding cars on roads, but steps back as and when the vehicle stops." He later took back his statement, saying that he meant that "she called us dogs."

Parsimony

Famished farms
crack open to bury
the bodies of feeble cattle
water won't soak
the homes of earthworms
this summer
only tears till them
gaping at a blue sky
cleaved by chopper chants
from where you watch,
writing it off as 
forged fiction.

When refugees flee
from homes
sleeping on streets with unknown names
your flesh memorizes
the velvet touch of blankets
you bought on your
last Swiss trip.

When girls get punished 
for owning frail bodies
tattooed in fear
your daughters take vows
borrowed from ancient acronyms,
their dowry comes from
chewing into the bellies
of the bloated.

Where bodies get burnt
in lands bruised by barbed borders
you are ferried in bullet proof cars
tinted by shame.

When onions and tomatoes
melt in dark dungeons
your mouth ajar in gluttony
feed from silver plates
stripped off melting bones.

When you throw tantrums
and sell slogans 
for fatter paychecks
the construction worker
bows his head
to his master
wearing a bead of sweat.

You and the hundred tongues
in which you beg for votes
doesn't tempt the seeker,
your pot of lies is full
and it will drown you
the day the poor voter
signs a decree
that will break the legs of the throne
you have been coveting
to trade for a mouthful of black lies.

Giving Women's Empowerment a vote in the 2014 Elections

The country has started to vote, since yesterday. While I was watching news in the afternoon, a news piece informed me that a whooping 86% voters in Tripura decided to wear the voter's ink and a staggering 76% in the state of Assam. This displays the will of the voter to bring in a change.
Since the election dates have been announced, every political party is seen endorsing different schools of thought, most of which lay stress on development and women's empowerment. Isn't it funny and strange that a country that has 49% women voters is still struggling to promise safety to its women?
In the ten years of the UPA rule, the condition of women has only deteriorated and that shows their seriousness to the cause. And Rahul Gandhi in his first ever TV interview laid tall claims of how they had made the women of the country fearless by bringing in gender equal changes. After the Nirbhaya incident shook the country and the world, UPA did have a chance to mend it ways. It had a golden opportunity to get up from a deep slumber of more than eight years, when the crimes against women only kept doubling, and they were sleeping over it. 

21 st January 2014

While Kumar Vishwas went about reeking of racism as a 2008 video of the poet reveals, Somnath Bharti whose ego was dented by a Batman style raid not yielding the results he yearned for, led to mayhem and chaos on the streets of Delhi. The AAP was on the streets of Delhi since January 20 th asking for the suspension of the police officers who decided to not act on Delhi law minister's tip-off to raid places inhabited by africans especially those from Uganda and Nigeria. According to Bharti, he had recieved complaints from local residents who charged them with drug dealing and prostitution.
As per the law, no matter what the crime is a woman cannot be arrested or taken for questioning between 6pm to 6am. And Mr. Bharti dared to pass that barricade of the law by forcing the police to conduct raids at 9pm and that without a warrant. Two african women returning from a party were meanwhile manhandled by the police and urine and blood tests were forcefully conducted for them. So were their private parts checked without their consent. This unruly roguery happened because of a lying Yogendra Yadav another AAP anarchist, who claimed to have got a letter from Ugandan officials warning them of illegal activities in areas like Malviya Nagar. The official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs and the foreign minister were lamenting about why were Mr.Kejriwal and his ministers trying to ruin India's relations with a peaceful country.

Mr Vishwas, A Nurse is a medical professional, not an eye candy for a male patient

A 2008 video of Kumar Vishwas passing sexist racist sentiments against the malayalis is in the roll on social networking sites nowadays.After these people have come into power, with of course the Congress giving them the other crutch to stand on, a revolution was being anticipated by them. Winds of change that would take the powerful privileged for a ride, accounting for responsible governance.

But on and off as reports pour in, I realize that they are another bunch of hypocritical fools with no knowledge of running a government. Most of their populist schemes are only fizzing out and it maybe not be long before the castle of dreams might be up in air.

One can't seem to blow a kiss for them when one hears of their late night raids and molestation accusations. For Somnath Bharti, I have another blog post to do. This one goes for their spokesperson, poet Kumar Vishwas. 

A five year old video shows him passing sexist racist comments against malayali nurses which has sparked a heated debate. Although this could well be another opportunity of the opposition and the Congress to aim at them to shoot, publicly passing remarks against skin colour and a community can't be taken with a pinch of salt.

He thinks that these women professionals who study hard and toil day and night, must be glamorous attractive women in order to function as nurses.







He said that when a man used to go to the hospital he had to be satisfied with the malayali nurses who attended him, and he was forced to call them sister. For they were dark skinned, as he xenophobic-ally calls them "kali peeli". I never knew skin colour was an important factor in getting a job as a nurse, as Mr. Vishwas foolishly puts it. Further more, he says that this maybe the reason that most malayali nurses do not have a profile picture on their facebook account. In comparison fair skinned nurses from North India looked beautiful and do not need to be addressed as 'sisters'. Furthermore he said such fair skinned nurses sent his heart racing.

For your kind information, Mr. Vishwas, a nurse is a medical professional and not an eye candy for a male patient. She labours for four years and dedicates her life to serving patients afflicted by ailments. And a malayali is also an Indian, whether dark skinned or fair skinned. 

Please cure your sexist and racist diseases before laying tall claims of bringing a revolution in India, of which even malayalis are a part and parcel.

Thoughts of a Apolitical Nota Believer

This assembly election saw us caught between two constituencies. Since we had shifted only two months back, our names weren't included in the voters list of the constituency we had shifted to. And when we made queries about it, they told us that maybe by the time the country goes for the general elections in may or june we will get our right to vote.
By the way, it is not just us but many like us, whose names were missing from the voters list. I saw people creating a choral chaos outside polling booths while watching the morning news and most of them were residents in their constituency since many years. It is appalling that the election commission doesn't mind its business in the way it should. While a few of my brother's friends excitedly sang in chorus for Kejriwal's AAP many others believed in the power of the palm. Later while watching Arnab Goswami blare with the exit poll results, I realized that the broom had indeed swept the mango man off his feet. AC Nielsen and C voter predicts 16-18 seats for AAP and if Kejriwal is in no mood to join hands with the single largest party then a second round of voting might just be around the corner.
Kejriwal if we have to believe in the words in his mouth, is in no mood to barter a business with either the Cong or Bjp. And with the exit polls predicting two to four seats for the other regional parties fighting it out the reality is grim.
For an apolitical voter like me neither the Bjp nor the Congress holds promise, even a debutante AAP has not managed to win my favour. Don't know if either of these parties can arrest the inflation and make the streets safer for women, politics after all is a dirty ditch that rots of corruption.
And with Kejriwal not having done justice to the poor old man Anna Hazare, having let him disappear without crediting him for having brought him into the spotlight, if all the media reports are to be believed I do not know if the broom wielders are an alternative option we can place our trust in.
Had we being given a vote this time, my call would have been the Nota.

"He was just a Pawn"

With the passage of time, he realized his mistake and that is why before the execution these were his words
“Allah kasam, dobara aisi galti nahin karunga.”

Alas, he never got another chance to heal his broken arm. Ajmal AmirKasab the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 attacks was hanged in a secret mission called "Operation X" on November 21st at 7:30 am, five days before the fourth anniversary of the mishap.  When the news flashed on the idiot boxes it was a bolt from the blue for most Indians! While most Indians thought that justice was done, there were these very few who were trying to shun the celebratory voices and not make hay.
Kasab was the only terrorist caught alive all thanks to the brave sub-inspector and retired army man Tukarama Omble whose heroics brought to light Pakistan's state sponsored terrorist activities. Had Kasab not been caught alive, we would have always stayed in the dark about the whereabouts of the machines of mayhem, who descended on the face of Mumbai four years ago to kill and wound without a stutter.

Three days after being caught, he confessed to his crime with Pakistan disowning him and refusing to recognize him as their citizen, of course later things took a turn. As per the Indian laws, an individual caught in an act of crime is innocent until not proven guilty by the courts of law, with the right to fight the case. 
His trail began with 312 counts which were dropped to 86, all of which he denied. Later in June 2009, he pleaded guilty to all the charges framed against him. When the Supreme court of the country refused to grant him mercy, he knocked at the doors of the President. He was disheartened with the verdict that the President had to give.  In a secret operation which even the Prime minister and leader of Congress weren't aware of, except of course the President who turned down the clemency petition and the Home minister and a few officials of the state and law, he was put to death.  A major calculation was needed to avoid an IC 814 like situation and maybe that is why everything was carried out secretively. A group of soldiers hand picked from the Indo-Tibetan Border police force escorted him from Mumbai's Arthur Road jail to Yerwada at 1.30 am on November 20th, after which the secret "Operation X.X" would have been executed. I also heard in the news reports that the mobile phones of the officials employed for the act were confiscated and were returned only after hanging and burial were successfully carried out. 
Had the operation not been kept under wraps, maybe it could have incited violence at the borders and in many sensitive areas and only if Kasab's bosses wanted to rescue him, something like IC 814 could have been anticipated. I applaud the clandestine closeness with which the authorities handled it and so also their sensibility to have informed Pakistan who sheepishly accepted the news without sparking any controversies about it in the news rooms. We prevented another mishap rather than trying to cure it by not making it public. But yes please do not for the Almighty's sake compare his hanging with that of Bhagat Singh and Rajguru. Do not try to be the blind leading the blind by drawing parallels between the two, for many Congress and Gandhi lovers were heard saying so.

Facebook and twitter went mad expressing joy and relief, to introspection and cursing  after his hanging.

A few tweets that went online after his hanging read like this

"Dear #Kasab, those aren't virgins. And you're not in heaven. Sincerely, etc," tweeted Sonia Faleiro, an author from Mumbai.

"Millions of Kasabs will be born if we do not stop brainwashing our innocent children with religion," tweeted Bangaldeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.

"One day supply of unlimited free Kingfisher beer to all Indians on account of #kasab's death," tweeted liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

"Of all the reports/opinions on Kasab's hanging I came across on the Internet, this one seemed the most apt - Ajmal Kasab's hanging: death of an ignorant foot soldier," Yashodeep Sengupta, a journalist from Kolkata, wrote on Facebook.

"Ajmal Kasab hanged on Nov 21st. Winter session of parliament begins on Nov 22nd," Praful Bhat, a media professional from Mumbai, wrote on Facebook.

"Ponty, Thackeray and Kasab. This month make sure you avoid drunken driving, or riding without helmet or even walking on the pavement. You sure want to avoid this list!" wrote Bilal Zaidi, a journalist from New Delhi, on Facebook.

"Never hated someone so much in my life..ROT IN HELL KASAB!" wrote Mumbai's Pankaj Gupta on his Facebook wall.

In another post, he wrote: "Pranab Da...dil khush kar diya aapne!"

"No RIP Kasab. I hope the bastard rots in hell," tweeted Tunku Varadrajan, Newsweek magazine's India editor.

Sharath Shetty from Mumbai wrote on his Facebook: "The expensive Terrorist Kasab is Hanged Today !!!!! at last."

"Believes that the death penalty is justified in the 'rarest of rare' cases, as in the case of Kasab. While as a society we can be satisfied at Kasab finally got his comeuppance, this is but a small step, in the big battle ahead.

Let alone the challenge of bringing the perpetrators, handlers and masterminds to book in Pakistan, can we say that we are safer or more secure today from these acts than we were 4 years ago ? Are our seas safer ? .....And as a civilised society, it isn't right to celebrate anyone's death. Even if an execution is justified," wrote Rukmani Vishwanath of Delhi on Facebook.




He was a brain washed pawn who  was introduced to Let by his own father as confessed by him, on news clippings, for the money he got from joining the Jihad wars would have rid them off their abject poverty . He was one of the many thousands of Kasabs waiting to cross the border or lurking around in our neighbourhood to play the tunes of death. He was called Qaidi number C-7096 and was the first foreigner to be hanged.




On second thoughts Rinzu says,

I was four years younger then,  and much more sheepish when I saw the terrorists dance of death on the television. For the next four days I was unable to sleep, clutching on to the other pillow on my bed and sometimes even burying my face inside it,  I wondered why did it have to happen? 
Four years later, on 21st November 2012, when Kasab's hanging was declared as the "Breaking news" there was a spring in my step. I felt the devil got his due and for most part of the day like many Indians who had even burst crackers to celebrate his execution, I was feeling exuberant. 
But in some part of Pakistan, a mother would be mourning the death of her young son. A sibling will always pray for their brother's soul to rest and a father might be feeling sorrowful at the price his son had to pay for their poverty.
When I googled his name what sent a chilling shock down my spine was his age which was almost as my brother's. As mom said, a cute looking boy almost,  of my brother's age did not deserve such an end. 
For once even he thought that he'll never commit the mistake again. But that next time never came. Let's not mourn his death but let's not party either. 

There are hundreds and thousands of Kasabs being made everyday, all because they could not answer the calls of poverty! Let's invest our energies in winning the war over poverty and illiteracy and not cussing and celebrating the death of a pawn of terrorism.

Dear Mr/Ms Politician

Once in every five years

the blue ink tattoos

a foolish forefinger

for a promise pronounced

at the cost of a manifesto

like a marriage agreement

nailed with nuptial niceties.

We are coerced to a choice

in the name of responsibility

accepting asphyxiation as a peerless pick,

you continue to feed your children

with a golden spoon

and compile cold cash

with your hands in our mouths

you fill your pockets

with more brass

while building for us

palaces in air.