Mar 30, 2011

Of Manusmriti and Madhusmriti


Mr. Manu [ yes, of the Manusmriti fame] did have the proper sense to pronounce that good karma was more important than biological lineage. He also emphasised that families and societies which demean women and make them lead miserable lives inevitably move towards destruction. He noted that truly prosperous families are only those in which women are honoured and happy.

So writes Madhu Kishwar, a prominent voice on the feminist landscape. Madhu interestingly argues:

I believe that Manu bhai would fully endorse my writing a Madhusmriti, no matter how much I differ with him. He would probably rejoice in the fact that many people of today prefer Madhusmriti to Manusmriti because Manu, like all other smritikars, emphasised that codes of morality are not fixed by some divine authority, but must evolve with respect to the changing requirements of generations and communities.

Much of the political grandstanding on caste, citing Manusmriti as an authoritative -- and avowedly immutable legal text -- happens without reading the text (I too haven’t read Manusmriti, though hope to get to it sometime) worthwhile reading a contrarian take on it. Here’s the link to Madhu Kishwar's article.

Mar 13, 2011

Religion and Sex

Religion. Sex. These two words matter. And, much as the world is  “modern”, “secular” and “liberal”, it shies away from a public discourse.

Mar 6, 2011

Marxist Historians' Fictitious Critique - I

by Raman Nanda

Marxist historians' critique of the Ayodhya verdict is remarkable for the eminence of the critics and reliance on brazen lies about the verdict itself. It exposes  fault lines of the secularist discourse; it also raises concerns  about intellectual probity and writing of history itself.
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