Women in India

The fact is, we are still struggling to fulfill the most basic needs as per the Maslow’s need hierarchy. The lower social strata are struggling for two square meals. The middle class is capering to malls and markets, heaving a sigh of relief from the queues that they saw their parents make for a telephone, scooter, car or even a cooking gas connection. The higher class has it good now just as it had it then. How many times I would have heard, 1 pct of the population of the world has commandeered about 99 pct of its resources. Such is the stark reality, ready to stare you in your face, should you pause and ponder.

Given this, India is quite consumed with itself. There are enough things good and bad in this country that need to be highlighted. There are enough things good and bad in all other countries that need to be highlighted. Take any documentary made by BBC/CNN or any other news agency on India, highlighting an ill or something good, which has been made by an Indian. Such documentaries are always made by foreigners. That being the case, India is seen by the world never through its own eyes but through always the eye of the foreigner.

I saw a program on CNN once, where they were showing how sanitation is addressed in villages. I saw another program, on how maverick the traffic is in the country. I have also seen documentaries highlighting superstition in India. Such a list is unending.

I have never seen an Indian making a documentary on the growing number of peadophiles or rampant superstition in US or the perversion piling in the churches, or the increasing sexual harassment in American work places.

It is not that Indians lack creativity or entrepreneurial aptitude. It is about their being engaged in fulfilling still the basal needs.

Last time when I was in Poland I saw a local Polish channel air a program on the state of women in India. To my mind, in India women are more respected than in the west. Husbands are happy to feed them fat, mothers are taken care of no matter what. People don’t detest women being in positions of power and authority. Look at Sonia, Jaya, Maya, Rabri, Mamta.

In India I have never known a woman loose to a man for her gender. There are umpteen cases, where the woman opts out despite competence in favor of family, but not for gender bias.

Contrarily, Margaret Thatcher was called names. “Ditch the bitch” was a rhyme that echoed when she struggled to keep her second term . "Hilda", pejoratively, as her middle name did reek of her middle class parentage. Would anyone argue, one of the reasons that went against Hillary was her gender. Apparently, in competence she was no less than her president husband. But the stigma on India continues, as none of our tribe is venturing to discover the true west. While the westerner’s quest for the east stays unabaited, there is wool on our eyes with regard to the true west. It is time we got up to participate and even conduct the affairs of the world with confidence and celebration than be merely pranked upon.