Wallowing in tradition

Sir, - Ms. Subhashini Ali's article ``Outlawing inhuman practices'' (TheHindu, Dec. 27 and 28) is an excellent rebuttal to Ms. Madhu Kishwar's Hindutva perspective of the unfortunate incidents at Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh. I only wish that Ms. Ali had not jumped to the conclusion absolving the family of Charan Shah, who immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, of any wrongdoing. She could have made way for a proper investigation.

However, she has done a great job of debunking Ms. Kishwar's love for glorification of the ``Indian tradition.'' Ms. Kishwar and supporters of fundamentalism in India are not alone in glorifying the past in the name of religion, tradition and heritage. It is a worldwide phenomenon, with few challengers. We are buried neck- deep in our tradition merely because of the fact that we are born and raised in it. When we put the burden of glorifying it on our head, even our head sinks in the tradition and we become incapable of rational thinking. Why can't we become worshippers of ``rational thinking'' rather than of ``our traditions'' or ``our heritage'', which in most cases include a lot of irrationality.

Satinath Choudhary,

Pennsylvania (U.S.)

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Previous : Change foreign policy