The 2nd decade of the 21st century is near to a close, and a major revolution is underway. However, this is not a revolution of bringing down governments, or establishing new reigns, this is a revolution of ideologies and opinions, where every single word counts. Call it what you want, but there is a significant clash between the two major clans of opinion holders: the rationalists and hypocrites, a sort of World War III if you want to call it that way.
If you think the above statement is a bit too hard to figure out, let me bring out a statement forward, made by a supposed dignitary when asked on the dismal involvement of women in decision making for the Indians during the Pre Partition Era:-
‘The country never belonged to women. We were second class citizens. You could belong to any race, caste, class and religion, but men decided, and they were in control……….’
Well, one could’ve dismissed this statement as the rant of a pseudo liberal, or a hyper feminist [Misandrist by vocabulary sense], had it not come from the mouth of a rather respected celebrity, who is not usually expected to make such rants, but that’s what popular actress Vidya Balan Kapur has done.
For beginners, Vidya Balan is probably the female version of Aamir Khan in terms of playing the roles to perfection. Be it the naïve but strong Lolita in her very debut ‘Parineeta’, or the bombshell Silk Smitha in ‘The Dirty Picture’, or even the brave widow Vidya Bagchi in ‘Kahaani’, Vidya performed the roles with equal finesse. Besides her stupendous acting, Vidya Balan is also well known for socially awakening the masses, with her jingles on hygiene and concept of installing toilets through the magnum opus of the Central Government, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.
When such an empowered woman makes a statement like the one mentioned above, that India was never a country for women, we feel not only disappointed, but enraged at such a brazen insult to our motherland, who is well known for giving women their equal say, much before the world had even thought for the concept of woman empowerment.
Being an ardent fan of Mrs. Vidya Balan, I’m extremely disappointed by her accusation of India being hostile to women.
For a country, where we are taught that even Shiva [the Supreme God] is a Shava [Corpse] without Shakti [The Ultimate Source of Power], how can India not be the country for women? Has Vidya Balan forgotten the shloka that was mentioned in Manusmriti [Yes, the very Manusmriti derided by every pseudo liberal and pseudo Feminist or Feminazi] on the importance of women in our society?
‘Yatra Naryastu Poojante Ramante Tatra Devata’
[Where women are worshiped, even gods love to reside there]
{Manusmriti , Chapter 3, Verse 56 approximately}
No doubt it’s true, that the Indian society, overcome by dogma and ignorance, did deny many a times the womenfolk of India their true rights. I even agree that some lustful men, who consider women nothing more than a mere object of carnal pleasure, wreak havoc on their lives in our country, maligning our glorious heritage. But if India was not the country of women, how did Rani Lakshmi Bai bring up a force that gave the British imperialists a run for their money?
In this age of modern technology, where any accusation can be met with only straight, hard facts, nothing else, here are some facts, Mrs. Balan, that prove that India never treated their women as second class citizens, and was an open country for women to reside, make their own decisions and at times, even outclass men in terms of both intellect and strengths:-
Women were given an equal status right from the times of Indus Valley Civilization, popularized in Rig Vedic Age. If there were well known rishis like Yagnavalkya, Vyasa, Valmiki, there also existed rishikas [women sages] like Gargi, Sulabha etc. I hope the famous saints; Lal Dey and Meera Bai were not from China!
Women were also well known as warrior queens and tough decision makers. Be it Razia Sultana or Padmavati [certainly not the damsel in distress as aimed to be portrayed in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biopic], India had significant women monarchs, to whom warriors of all classes admired in respect. Had it not been for the betrayal of a few, Rani Durgavati would’ve accomplished a surprise victory over Emperor Akbar, with barely some thousands of tribals on her side.
Even though the Slave Dynasty was on a roll by the fall of the 13th century, women monarchs like Rudhramadevi in the south kept them in check. Even before the British started gaining a foothold in the Indian subcontinent, warriors like Tarabai, with both their skills and intellect liberated their regions from the clutches of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. To quote eminent historian Shri Jadunath Sarkar, “During this period, the supreme guiding force in Maharashtra was not any minister but the dowager queen Tara Bai Mohite. Her administrative genius and strength of character saved the nation in that awful crisis.”
Women in India were also devoted guardians and teachers. How does Vidya Balan think Chattrapati Shivaji became the force to reckon with against the tyranny of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb? It was all due to his mother Jijabai, who was both a caring mother and an able administrator, who groomed Shivaji into the warrior we all bow to in admiration.
If this is enough for Vidya Balan, let me tell her something more. Even when we fought against the British Empire for our independence, the women were never behind. From the likes of Rani Lakshmi Bai, Aziz Un Nisa, Begum Hazrat Mahal, to the likes of Sarojini Naidu, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Kalpana Dutta, Durgawati Vohra [also known as Durga Bhabhi], Pritilata Waddedar, as the list goes on, women fought shoulder to shoulder with the menfolk.
If India was not the country for women, how was Indira Gandhi elected as a Prime Minister, even though she came from the Nehru Gandhi clan? I understand that cases like Geeta Chopra, Nirbhaya also exist with the glory mentioned above, but even women like Neerja Bhanot, Sunita Krishnan, Arunima Sinha, and Suzette Jordan also exist. Had the country not been for women, such examples would never have come to prominence. One can forgive Vidya Balan for her absence of knowledge, but not for deliberate ignorance. Her statement reeks of the latter, and that’s a FACT!
I understand that Vidya Balan has a breakthrough role to essay in the upcoming historical drama ‘Begum Jaan’, for which she needs to promote the issues related to the film in the best way possible. I also understand that she wants her opinion to be heard above all. But that doesn’t give Vidya Balan the privilege of insulting our motherland and wrongly accusing it of the sins she never heard of. I accept that even today, many women have to fight it out to make their voices heard. But for that, we need to act, like Yogi Adityanath is actually doing in UP, and not lament and mock at our nation and her culture every time. I hope she can understand this fact.