Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize 2023
Second Prize (shared)
Essay Topic: Can the recently enacted reservation for women in parliament be considered Gandhian? Should it include Dalit and OBC quotas within it or should there be women’s quotas in existing Dalit and OBC reservation?
The Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize
by
Jeevitha S
Parikrma Junior College, Bengaluru
• WOMEN ARE MORE FITTED THAN MAN TO MAKE EXPLORATION AND TAKE BOLDER ACTION IN NON-VIOLENCE.
• THERE IS NO OCCASION FOR WOMEN TO CONSIDER THEMSELVES SUBORDINATE OR INFERIOR TO MEN.
• WOMAN IS THE COMPANION OF MAN, GIFTED WITH EQUAL MENTAL CAPACITY.
• IF BY STRENGTH IS MEANT MORAL POWER, THEN WOMEN IS IMMEASURABLY MAN’S SUPERIOR.
• IF NON-VIOLENCE IS THE LAW OF OUR BEING,THE FUTURE IS WITH WOMEN.
• WOMENHOOD, IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF SELF-SACRIFICE, BUT UNFORTUNETLY TODAY SHE DOES NOT REALIZE WHAT TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGE SHE HAS OVER MAN.
There are some of the most famous quotations from Gandhi’s Writings and speeches. Gandhiji believed that India’s salvation depends on the sacrifice and enlightmant of her women.
Any tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the great soul, would be an empty one, if we were to take no cue for our own guidance from his words and from his life, because for him ideas and ideals had no value if they were not translated into action. He saw men and women as equals, complementing each other. And he saw himself not as a visionary, but as a practical idealist. If then, men and women work together selflessly and sincerely as equals with a faith like Gandhi’s, they may indeed realize Ram Rajya, the perfect state. Traditionally, woman has been called abala (without streanght). In Sanskrit and many other Indian languages, bala means strength. Abala means one without strength. If by strength, we do not mean brutish strength, but strength of character, steadfastness ,and endurance, she should be called sabala, strong. His message, almost six decades ago, at the All India Womens Conference on December 23, 1936 was: “When women, whom we call abala becomes sabala, all those who are helpless will become powerful”.
Gandhi was totally opposed to gender discrimination Gandhi did not like Indian society’s preference for a boy and a general neglect of the girl child. In fact, in most cases she is not allowed to be born. If born her, survival Is not ensured. If somehow she survives, she is subjected to neglect. She does not get respect and that status she deserves equal to that of a boy. He described discrimination against women as an anachronism, as already stated, he said: “I fail to see any reason for jubilation over the birth of a son and for mourning over the birth of a son and for mourning over the birth of a daughter. Both are god’s gifts. They have an equal right to live and are equally necessary to keep the world going”.
Gandhi called women as the noble sex, he said that if she is weak in striking, she is strong and suffering. Gandhi described “women as the embodiment of sacrifice and ahimsa”. He further states: “a daughter’s share must be equal to that of a son. The husband’s earnings are a joint property of husband and wife as he makes money by her assistance”.
Gandhi firmly believed that if a husband is unjust to his wife, she has the right to live separately. He aversed, “both have equal rights over children. Each would forfeit these rights after they have grown up, and even before that if he or she is unfit for them. In short, I admit no distinction between men and women except such as has been made by nature and can be seen with human eyes”.
Gandhi preached sharing of homework by both men and women of the family. He encouraged women to do intellectual work and men to help in cooking, cleaning and caring, conventionally ‘women’s chores’.
Fundamentally, man and women are one; their problems must be in one essence. The soul in both is the same, each is a complement of the other. The one cannot live without the others active help.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt that at some point there is bifurcation, whilst both are fundamentally one, it is also equally true that in form, there us a vital difference between the two. Hence the vocations of the two must also be different. The duty of motherhood, which the vast majority of women will always undertake, requires qualities which man need not possess. She is passive, he is active. She essentially mistress of the house. He is bread-winner; she is the caretaker in every sense of the term. The art of bringing up the infants of the race is her special and sole prerogative. Without her care the race must become extinct.
The division of spheres of work being recognized, the general qualities and culture required are practically the same for both the sexes.
He had profoundly said that the women is the incarnation of ahimsa: ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering. Who but woman, the mother of man, shows his capacity in the largest measure? She shows it as she carries that the infant and feeds it during nine months and derives joys in the suffering involved. What can beat the suffering caused by the pangs of labour? But she forgets them in the joy of creation. Who, again suffers daily so that her babe may wax from day to day? Let her transfer that love to the whole of humanity, let her forget she ever was or can be the object of a man’s lust. And she will occupy her pround position, by the side of man as his mother, maker and silent leader. It is given to her to trade the art of peace to the warning world thirsting for nectar. She can become the leader in Satyagraha which does require the stout heart that comes from suffering and faith.
The issue of 33% reservation of seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies, has seen many fiery debates both on the floor of the House in Parliament and off, in the past.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee report examining the 1996 Women’s Reservation Bill had recommended that reservation be provided for women of other backward classes (OBCs) once the Constitution was amended to allow for reservation for OBCs. It also recommended that reservation be extended to the Rajya Sabha and the legislative councils.
Neither of these recommendations were incorporated in the 2010 bill or the latest one. The Constitution does not provide for reservation for OBCs in Lok Sabha state assemblies.
With the Lok Sabha set to discuss the new bill on Wednesday [insert date], we look at the arguments presented by political parties and recommendations and observations made on the issue of OBC quota in the reports of the Joint Parliamentary Standing Committees led by Geeta Mukherjee in 1996 and Jayanthi Natarajan in 2009 respectively.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on law and justice in its report on the Constitution (108th amendment) Bill, 2008 presented in Parliament in December 2009 had stated that “the question of reservation within reservation for OBC women and some minorities generated great discussion in the committee, with one section of opinion strongly of the view that such OBC reservation within reservation should be provided”.
The Committee was of the view that this matter should be considered by the Government and action on this taken at the appropriate time.
They noted that the Geeta Mukherjee led committee that looked into the 1996 reservation bill had recommended that the government may consider the issue of extending the benefit of reservation of OBC also “at the appropriate time so that the women belonging to OBC class will also the benefit of reservation”.
However, the Mukherjee led committee had also observed that “Such reservation of seats has not been provided for in the bill for women belonging to OBCs because there is no reservation for them at present under the Constitution as it exists for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes”.
The report also records the views of different political parties on the issue. For instance, in its written memorandum, the Rashtriya Janta Dal had stated that “ In case of providing reservation to women, there must be a quota of OBC minorities including Muslims, Christians and other, and Dalits (SC/ST) within it.
There must be quota within quota for these sections. Of women proportionate to their population in the country.”
The Samajwadi party said that “if reservation is to be given to women, there must be a quota for OBC and Muslim women within it”.
On the other hand parties like the National Congress Party had opined that they don’t find any needs for reasons for special quota for OBC within the women’s quota and cited the then configuration of the house to highlight there is good representation of OBC’s existing on the unreserved seats.
Reservations for Dalits and women is important in India because these social groups have suffered centuries of social oppression in India. As a result, their social and economic position is weak.
• RELEVANCE OF GANDHI LEGACY – THE CONTEMPORARY WOMENS MOVEMENT
Contemporary feminist analysis on empowerment of women includes not only of sexism but also of racism, classism and imperialism as determining factors in shaping women’s status in the private and public realm. This development seems consonant with Satyagraha which for Gandhi was an inclusive quest to find creative solutions for all forms of oppression. In India and elsewhere. There are healthy movements of Gandhi’s followers and there are more moribund Gandhians who speak in Gandhi’s name but also subvert the power of his theory and practice by failing to be open to new movements. Feminists and other women are engaged in many forms of action that Gandhi may not have anticipated. We have much to learn from Gandhi’s theory and practice, but not to the exclusion of modern ideas and movements. He was never against any ideas coming from any quarter. He said: “I do not want my house to be walled on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.
I refuse to live in other people’s houses as an Interlopes a beggar or A slave”.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela and follower of Gandhi has an interesting tip to give to women to bring their men around.
He said : In the ancient Greek comedy ‘Lysistrata’ by Aristophanes, the women of Athens refuse to do anything for their men-including making love to get them to stop fighting the Spartans.
“I HAVE CHOSEN TO NO LONGER
BE APOLOGETIC FOR MY FEMALENESS AND MY FEMINITY. AND I
WANT TO BE RESPECTED IN ALL OF MY FEMALENESS
BECAUSE I DESERVE TO BE”
From We Should All Be Feminists
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Fourth Estate, 2014
Attribution inserted by the editors
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