A Case for Banning Polygamy

Maula Jat: nice!

A lesson for chowk women?

``Power of ‘parkati’ women The educated woman is not as politically irrelevant as the pundits think
SAGARIKA GHOSE
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AS political pundits ponder why they were unable to predict most of the results of the assembly elections of 2003, and wring their hands about not just one but three women chief ministers, let us examine the phenomenon not so much as one of Uma Bharti (whose victory can be attributed at least partly to a “wave” election) but of the Sophia College-educated Vasundhara Raje and the Miranda House-educated Sheila Dikshit. Two women chief ministers who represent that troublesome category described as “English-speaking women”.

There’s something suspicious about the “angrezi bolne wali aurat” isn’t there? The “English-speaking woman” is not a “Real Indian”. In fact, she’s a parachutist into the social order, where she doesn’t really belong. Not only is she not bharatiya, but she can never hope to be as authentic as the late RJD MP Bhagwati Devi or even Mayawati. The “parkati aurat” (or short-haired woman), as Sharad Yadav—one of the original proponents of the Mandal revolution, mind you— so famously scoffed during one of the debates on the Women’s Reservation Bill, is also the western-educated woman who has no business trying to enter politics, because not only is she modern and educated, but because she also wears certain immoral textiles like chiffon, maybe (shock! horror!) smokes a cigarette or has the occasional drink and perpetually teeters on the edge of frivolity.

From Mandalised intellectuals (both male and female), to RSS patriarchs, to brahmanical poll pundits, to superior television anchors, to jeering, sneering male MPs, all are united in their loathing for the “parkati aurat”. It is a brutal hatred, dressed up as political analysis, and can be described as the “Mandal mindset”. The Mandal mindset is an attitude that considers Vasundhara Raje and Sheila Dikshit politically irrelevant, not because of their achievements or ideology, but simply because of the families they come from, the clothes they wear or the educational institutions they may have been fortunate enough to attend.

But the Indian voter, praise Mirabai, has never been as narrowly judgemental as the sneering intellectuals in the cities. As far as the Indian voter is concerned, when princesses hit the dirt track, he first turns up to watch. And, if he likes them, if he is moved by the quality of their work or the sincerity in their voice, he gives them his vote.

Urban psephologists poured scorn on Vasundhara’s parivartan yatra, ridiculed her costume changes and yelled that she would never be able to learn better Hindi. But the voter turned up in great numbers from Ganganagar to Barmer to Alwar to listen to her speeches. Media czars scorned Sheila Dikshit in her first term saying she would never be able to survive in a bitterly divided party like the Delhi Congress or ever be able to take on local warlords like Sajjan Kumar or Jagdish Tytler. But the Indian voter listened to Dikshit’s no-nonsense speeches and gave her a second term.

Intellectuals unleashed venom on Vasundhara. She doesn’t know Rajasthan, they will never accept an aurat, she’s rootless, she’ll never be able to touch a chord, she’s nothing but a Delhi socialite. But the Indian voter made no such judgments. The Indian voter heard her say that she would represent not just Hindus but also Muslims. They heard her say she would try and provide jobs. They heard her say she would strive for Rajasthani handicrafts. More than all this, they saw, that when most male politicians were snoring in air-conditioned rooms during the summer, Vasundhara Raje was touring the districts in her parivartan yatra, and however tokenist her costume changes may have been, the voter saw that here was a woman who was trying, and trying very hard, to win their hearts. For the first time ever in Rajasthan, a state with one of the most chilling social indicators in India, where a feudal culture of obeisance stamps out female liberty, the voter was being given a progressive choice. They didn’t care whether Vasundhara was English-speaking or Hindi-speaking or Dutch-speaking, whether she was salt of the earth or sugar of the earth, whether she was wearing nylon or chiffon or khadi, all they cared about was the promise of development held out by the lone woman on stage. Nowhere is the savage gap between the hate-filled metropolitan pundits and the Indian voter more apparent than in the sharply contrasting treatment given to Vasundhara Raje, a five-time winner from her constituency, a conscientious minister and diligent MP.

Male politicos detest Sheila Dikshit. Nothing but a tail of Sonia Gandhi, they say dismissively. An elite woman with no grassroots support, bah, who cares about Aunty Sheila? The Delhi voter does. The voter doesn’t care that Sheila Dikshit wears handloom silk, or that she speaks convent-educated English or that she lives in genteel Nizamuddin. The voter only cares about the fact that Sheila Dikshit has pulled off visible development in Delhi. No empty promises, no cunning caste combinations, no soft hindutva, no temple-visiting or mosque and gurudwara -tourism, but simply development that is visible. New flyovers, the metro, the CNG buses, Bhagidari scheme, the anti-pollution drive and privatised power. The voter noted the pathetic contrast provided by Khurana, who remained associated with an older sleazier type of politics. However “rooted”, “authentic” and “male”, Khurana may be, the voter made no mistake about choosing the ‘parkati’ woman who holds the key to Delhi’s future.

Elite women have played a tremendous role in India. In the 19th century, Kadambini Ganguly became the first woman to address the joint session of Congress. Kalpana Joshi and Pritilata Waddedar were crucial participants in the Chittagong Armoury Raid. Later, there was Mridula Sarabhai, Sucheta Kripalani, Sushila Nayar, Aruna Asaf Ali and Tarakeshwari Sinha.

It has been acknowledged that hindutva has been marginalised in these elections: the voter has shouted that only when the BJP is moderate and development-oriented will they vote for it. But another stereotype has also been defeated in these elections and this is that women who are not backward caste are politically irrelevant. Privileged women have an undoubtedly unfair advantage and the biases of party bosses like Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav are natural. But these elections have shown that the voter doesn’t care too hoots about gender or background if governance is at the heart of a speech, whether the speech is delivered in fluent or broken Hindi.``

sameer,

..... i feel your pain... that is why i aleays keep my george carlin cd handy :

``When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there`s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever `til the end of time! ``

Sahab biwi to aik he bahut hai. This article and discussion reminds me of an old poem that I heard (unfortunately I do not re-call the name of the author):


SHADI NA KARNA YARO
TUM KO BATA RAHA HOON
AAFAT GALAY PARE HAI
US KO NIBHA RAHA HOON
SHADI NA KARNA YARO

SUBHA KE 9:00 BAJE HAIN
MERE BIWE SO RAHE HAI
BACHON KE FOOJ BETHE MERE JAN KO RO RAHI HAI
BACHON KE BEECH BETHA KHANA PAKA RAHA HOON
AAFAT GALAY PARE HAI
US KO NIBHA RAHA HOON
SHADI NA KARNA YARO

MERE BEWI HAI M.A.
WOH KAM KIYA KARE GI
WOH ``LUX`` SE NAHA KAR
KHUSHBO ME TAR RAHE GI
``TUKRAY`` PARE HAIN YARO
UN SE NAHA RAHA HOON
AAFAT GALAY PARE HAI
US KO NIBHA RAHA HOON

SHADI NA KARNA YARO
TUM KO BATA RAHA HOON
AAFAT GALAY PARE HAI
US KO NIBHA RAHA HOON

MJ

The footnote which says :

``1. For clarification purposes, “what your right hands possess” was common Arabic diction at the time in referring to women to whom a man was already married.``

is not quite right, is it?

``What your right hand possesses`` means ``slaves and prisoners of war``. You can step back just two verses (see Sura 33, Verse 50), and it will be clear. A. Yusuf Ali`s translation has the footnote that ``This point does not now arise, as the whole conditions and incidents of war have been altered and slavery has been abolished by international agreement``.

Understanding the correct meaning is important; because if the meaning has changed over time, or if international agreements make it a moot point - then, likewise, you do not need to refer back to the Quran to decide whether polygamy is good or bad, but would likewise go by the conditions obtaining now.

Quite funny to observe people trying to turn Arabian dog shit into gold.

Will see where this ijtihad reaches after 150 posts.

..anew, asif naqshbandi and thier ilks can not be convinced on the basis of any man-made principles and logics. Allah has already made evertthing very clear for them. They have no choice as Muslims but to follow - submission unconditionally. Allah is most interested in success but success to him means victory and not prosperity. People who follow him are working for his victory above everything else including human rights, equality, justice, prosperity, rule of law, democracy etc because they are all man-made principles. As they say, ``allah knows better`` and he has already laid out guidelines and blueprints for the best ways to live in this world. Those who do, will be rewarded in the indefinitely extended afterlife.

So, hamidm Saheb, it does not matter if fashion and cosmetic industries alongwith entertainment and banking industries go down the drain. They are nothing compared to victory for allah as Muslims everywhere shout, allahu akbar. Allahu Akbar does not mean than god is great in size, shape, knowledge, power but it means that ``we`` promise to make him great even if it means destroying everything that is unsanctioned by him 1400 years ago.

What will be left of allah if Muslims accept monogamy and discard god`s sanctioned polygyny? Who is in command and who is right? Next, you decide fasting between 4:30AM to 4:35AM (five minutes) instead of sunrise to sunset. Then it is free for all to chose whatever. That is why, religion should not have any place in life. Just take it lightly as panjabi identity of panjabi Muslims.....;)) Do whatever is necessary for living in the 21st century and let god rule in the afterlife which is real and permanent anyway according to Islam. The stay here is just a mirage, pani ka bulbula..then why worry about god?