'Communalisation of polity detrimental'


By Anita Joshua (The Hindu)

VISAKHAPATNAM, NOV. 25. Terrorism, communalisation of politics and globalisation being the source of many of the problems women face at the turn of the millennium, the delegates at the sixth triennial conference of the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) were quick to come out with resolutions on Ayodhya, Afghanistan and the market-inspired resurgence of dowry.

Midway into the second day of the four-day meeting here, the delegates came out with a strong condemnation of the illegal entry by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists into the disputed site in Ayodhya. Critical of the BJP for endorsing the VHP action, the AIDWA has accused the ruling party of raking up the Ayodhya issue to vitiate the atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections in the State early next year.

The association is equally critical of the pro-U.S. policy of the Government; particularly the Afghan situation. In its resolution on the situation in Afghanistan, the AIDWA urged the Government to ``desist from subordinating the interests of India to those of the U.S. as it has been doing through its unsolicited offers of help for the U.S. aggression on Afghanistan. Responding to the appeal for help made by the representative of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) on the opening day of the conference, the AIDWA resolution also expressed solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. Further, it calls upon the U.N. to ensure that the regime that replaces the Taliban is not only a representative of Afghanistan's political and ethnic spectrum but also represents the demands and aspirations of the country's ``courageous women''.

Opposed as the delegates are to fundamentalism of any kind, they also passed a resolution on the attacks on the Hindus in Bangladesh under the newly-elected regime. While no resolution apart from the one on Ayodhya was passed on fundamentalism in India on the second day of the conference, the communalisation of polity apparently dominated the delegates session which was closed to the Press.

In particular, much concern was expressed over the use of State power and Government largesse by constituents of the Sangh Parivar to promote their communal agenda. It was generally observed that the communalisation of polity had a detrimental effect on women's unity apart from eroding their rights and status. Also, delegates reported of deliberate attempts to communalise opinion on the ongoing war against terrorism and making any opposition to the war look like support for terrorism.

Another issue that came up for discussion pertained to efforts to saffronise the school curriculum. Delegates objected to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) position that textbooks should reflect the ``socially- appropriate role for women. This, they felt, added to the ongoing effort to typecast women. In this regard, the visual media came in for attack for promoting the image of an ideal Indian woman as a ``practising Hindu woman from a high caste''.

A number of delegates reported the use of public space - even Government office premises - for religious discourse and promoting adherence to rituals with the intention of homogenising and emphasising the Hindu identity. This emphasis on rituals had further strengthened the culture of ``son preference as many of these traditions are male-oriented''. Some delegates reported that societies which had hitherto been free of rituals had begun adopting them because of the culture that is being patronised by the State and promoted by the media.

It is this and the growing incidence of dowry-related violence - highest in States with the most adverse female-male sex ratio - that inspired the delegates to pass a resolution on this social ill which, in their view, has got a fresh lease of life with the consumer culture promoted by globalisation. While the delegates resolved to fight against dowry and press for changes in the dowry prohibition law, there was a general feeling that a more intensive effort than before would be needed in view of the fact that the current dispensation at the Centre is wedded to an ideology that seeks to put the ``woman in her place.