Living on the edge

When I was in the first year of law school, one of my friends criticized reservations so starkly that it made me feel uncomfortable to have any further discussions with her on the topic of reservations, to such an extent that I blatantly accepted what she had to say about the issue altogether. Privileged as she was not only socially (belonging to an upper caste) but also economically. Her discontent and anger was on reservations snatching away the seats of well-deserved candidates. I think after that I never took much efforts to analyze my own thoughts about reservation. Several years have passed by but the reservation issue still lingers in my head and surfaces quite occasionally in my day-to-day life. So what are reservations? Why is it always the most controversial issue? Why do most political parties fear to even touch upon this topic even while utilizing this issue to fatten their vote banks? And why are Patels in Gujarat seeking for reservation for their community? A community t...

Once upon a time there a lived an Emperor who ruled a vast stretch of territory of the great Ganges. One day on of his ministers advised him why doesn’t he consider making this great territory a land of Dar al-Islam? Wipe out all those who do not wish to embrace Islam! To this the Emperor replied “Only a foolish ruler in India would dare such a thing.” No wonder the Great Mughals ruled this country longer than any foreign rule could. India has since the time immemorial been the land of diversity. Be it in terms of nature, culture, people ideas, food and the like. Its tolerance is reflected by the way of life it has professed over centuries. What astonishes me is the current debate in meat ban (previously beef ban). Earlier when I was interning at TISS, I had closely observed students fight for including beef in their college mess. In the end unfortunately the matter took an ugly and disturbing turn. Well I agree that preferences should be given to the culinary practic...

How should one respond to the increasing number of people on our planet? Specifically in our country! A question that has haunted us for decades after independence, creating complex societies with innumerable problems, a vicious cycle that has trapped our development for generations. We have constantly nagged about its perils. For a change let us try seeing the positive side of it. Governments today call it demographic dividend which tells us about how population is distributed over different age groups. Census report of 2011 gives a very exhaustive picture of population which is around 1.2 billion spread over 2.4% of earth’s area. However it also tells us another story, the story which has the potential to transform this country into a nation filled with hopes and desires. The report also tells us that 50% of our population is under the age 25 years. It won’t be wrong to call India as a young nation in comparison with the rest of the world. US will have around 25%, Jap...

While I walked the streets of Delhi on the smoky night of Diwali, I rediscovered India. That part of the country of which I am not very proud of. While the toxins rushed through my veins, I struggled to breathe. People jumped on the streets with their rockets and new variety crackers. Plunging and flashing.  My fellow aspirants took this as an opportunity to vent their frustration. The streets were dimly lit with colorful lights and I was depressed. Not because I wasn’t celebrating the festival the usual way but because in a charged environment where “intolerance” had taken such sensational and political turn, here it seemed to define new dimensions. I decided I would confront those families and request them if they would ‘maybe’ minimize their budget on crackers. I was too naïve to expect anything in return, I was told to get lost to where I came from. As a so-called outsider in the capital I had committed the eternal sin of trespassing a Delhite...

Living in a patriarchal society paves way for tales that go unheard, of stories lost in the four walls of concrete houses, of opinions that seldom matter. The privileged few of us, belonging to the female fraternity, have struggled our way up, by empowering ourselves in ways that was thought to be unachievable. Perhaps for the very same reason the struggle seems all worth it. The idea of contentment emerges and leads us to believe that yes we have done it! But what happens to those for whom the windows of opportunities are closed forever and the doors of expression are only symbolic? Do such circumstances harness belief and hope of future contentment in these women or does it shatter their strength to move ahead and face these adversities? are these women  victims or fighters? Are they the mute spectators of misogyny camouflaged as ideal  bahus  and  betis  or are the women who are on a daily basis breaking barriers and entrenched stereotyp...

When I faced civil service interview in 2017, I was asked to give suggestions as to how would I see women workforce participation improve in our economy? What immediate and long term actions would help add our other half to the larger productivity of our country? My answer was very much direct and clichéd as I see it now. I could have pondered a bit as to what exactly the board wanted from me. I could have paused and reflected that the fact there was only one lady board member in my interview panel mirrored so much of the society I live in. the fact that it needs rules framed by male centric bureaucracy to enforce such necessary actions is in itself a mockery of how we see gender equality. Also the varied and insensitive experiences I had during my mock interviews showed the sickening male misogyny that surrounds me right from male dominance to implicit sexual harassment from stalking, staring to asking favors from various female candidates. For this, I had hinted and brought some i...