Women hold flags while participating in the Quit India movement
"Nimirndha nan nadai naer konda paarvaiyum
Nilathil yaarkkum anjaatha nerigalum
Thimirndha gnana cherukkum iruppadhaal
Semmai maadhar thirambuvadhu illaiyaam."
Her head held high, looking everyone in the eye,
Unafraid of anyone because of innate integrity,
Possessing assuredness born of courage of conviction,
The Modern Woman never feels inferior to anyone.
-Subramania Bharati, Pudhumai Penn
In the days leading up to August 15, I hear the cadets and band rehearse at a feverish pace for the flag raising ceremony at the college across from my residence. On the streets outside the main market, vendors sell flags, stickers, and badges in the shape of the Indian map in makeshift stalls. A crowd gathers around an artist who adds finishing touches to an image of Gandhi made using color powder. Patriotism is in the air, and as the nation watches the Prime Minister deliver his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, grandparents narrate tales from the Independence struggle to a rapt audience of children.
"They did not think of anything but setting the country free," my grandfather says, speaking of the innumerable men and women who participated in the hartals headed by Sarojini Naidu during the Quit India Movement in 1942. One soldier derisively asked a group of women standing in front at a protest: "Do you know what you are fighting for?" They looked at one another, unable to understand the soldier's words. "Bharat Mata ki Jai," they shouted in unison, before getting beaten again. "Imagine how hard it must have been," my grandfather says after pausing for a while. "They had no idea how Independent India would organize itself and grow under native leadership. They did not even know if they will live to see the British leave the country. Yet, they fought with the conviction that their collective strength in resisting the Crown's rule was stronger than any armed rebellion could have achieved."
In 1858, Rani Lakshmibai jumped on a horse with her son in tow to protect her life and fight against the 8th Hussars. She did not need anyone's permission to stand up against the British. She led her regiment to defend the fort cloaked only in the belief that her motherland should not be under foreign rule. Aruna Asaf Ali, hailed widely as the Grand Lady of the Independence Movement, protested against the indifferent treatment of political prisoners in Tihar Jail by launching a hunger strike. She bravely raised the Indian National Congress flag at the Gowalia tank maidan in Bombay during the Quit India movement, regardless of police firing at the session she was presiding over.
There was no feminist movement then to grant these women the right to participate in the freedom struggle. The priority was to liberate a nation from the yoke of tyranny: any man, woman or child who showed an inclination to contribute towards the cause was accepted with open arms. That men and women are equal and have equal rights, and responsibilities was a self-evident truth. Poets like Sarojini Naidu and Mahakavi Bharati spoke of women with high regard emphasizing how a nation can be made prosperous only if both genders work together.
Seventy years later, the narrative has changed. Rallies and movements demand that women have equal rights both in the work place and in a marriage. The fundamental flaw in the feminist revolution today is that by asking that women should be allowed to exercise basic rights, we create the perception that the rights did not already belong to them and have to be secured now. An unhealthy bias is built on the premise that women are the weaker sex and they need the validation and support of a man to forge their path.
"What do you want to do when you grow up?" a relative asks my cousin sister as she plays with a doll. "I want to become a rocket scientist," she says happily, tossing the doll in the air. "That is a hard profession for a girl," the relative cautions. "You will find jobs that are less demanding when you grow up," she concludes. How do we, as a society, tell girl children what they should be capable of? Who gives us the authority to insert a ceiling on their aspirations? The boys who grow up hearing their families limit their sisters and cousins naturally begin to feel they are superior. It is social conditioning at the grassroots. Know the adage that unlearning is harder than learning? Men have trouble acknowledging women as their equals because of the invisible pedestal on which they were raised.
If I were to go out and conduct a survey: "What area must the country focus on in the next decade?" I would likely get a wide range of responses. Some will say, "clean energy and better infrastructure." Others might say, "improvement in the higher education system." I say, "we strive for equality in the broadest sense of the term." People are the initiators of any change that will drive the country forward, be it in the field of technology or urban development. How would we fare as a country if we did not restrict our women in any way? Here is a thought experiment I like to do: "Imagine a utopian world in which anyone can do his or her bit to better the society. A woman can, by her education and previous experiences be as valuable to the State as a man is. Multiply an individual's potential by the entire population of women." It's not difficult to predict how successful the nation will be and how we can set an example for the rest of the world to follow if we not only preached but practiced equality.
"My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards," says Dr. Abdul Kalam. Most people connect deeply with Dr. Kalam's words after hearing a motivational speech or watching a movie that stirs patriotic sentiments. Although there is significant meaning in his directive to the youth, it is still an idea on paper. To implement it would need encouragement from parents, teachers, and mentors. We have to open our minds to what is possible if we do not restrict the dreams of young women. For how is it a dream if we cage if with our constraints, not giving it much needed space to broaden? A girl might come up with an idea for how she could give back to our country. It is up to us to chisel her initial goals into a workable model to follow towards success. "Reach for the stars," the speaker will say during a university convocation. If we changed our mindset to be inclusive and approached the subject of women empowerment with a delusional positivity instead of cautious optimism, the stars might just be the first leap in a long sprint towards an envisaged future.
Women empowerment conferences attract participants from across the country. Panelists are top industrialists and political leaders, role models girls can follow. Some may despair: "we do not have the same educational background they do. How can we become like them?" It is a valid concern. We can, however, bridge the gap so that women achievers become the norm instead of the outlier they are now.
It is likely you will be called harsh names when you fight for something you deserve. You might not get the support of family or friends when you ask to be treated with respect. Know when you enter the manager's room to ask for a pay increase or raise your objection against harassment in the team, you carry with you the spirit of courageous precedents who helped carve your identity: women whose voices did not carry beyond the inner chamber of their houses as the men transacted daily business but shouted slogans protesting the British administration, women who pledged their jewels to sustain the non-cooperation movement even when daughters were not entitled to a share in ancestral property, women who burned foreign clothes and merchandise on the streets knowing they would be imprisoned and tortured, and women who learnt to spin the charkha in the darkness of their homes so the nation might some day be flooded with the light of freedom.
"Aanum Pennum Nigar Enakkollvathaal
Arivil O'ngi Ivvaiyagam Thazhaikkumaam"
(This world will achieve excellence in knowledge and wisdom by holding men and women equal.)
