Where are all the women?

THE New Year began with a galaxy of men in suits answering questions about what to expect in the year 2001. On BBC's "India Question Time" the natty Prannoy Roy had assembled four "leading" editors, all men, to face questions from an audience of men and women. Were there no women qualified to be on this panel? If not, why? No one really asked this question. Perhaps they did not care.

In fact, they did not care. This was evident from the lack of application and thought to a question about whether the Women's Reservation Bill would be passed in Parliament this year. The expression on the faces of three of the four "leading" men told the story - this is a tired old issue, why are we being bothered with it? Why, indeed! Only because the demand that women get a fair representation in the political space will not die down quietly. Only because even if the present Bill is unsuitable, there has to be some energy, imagination and enthusiasm put into efforts to arrive at an alternative, at a consensus. Expressing boredom with what is a legitimate demand of half of the country's population will not help us find an acceptable solution.

The programme was also a depressing way to begin the new year in other ways. For it demonstrated the hawkish views of some of the leaders of our media which were echoed by the audience - all from the capital city of India. To the question whether India and Pakistan would play cricket with each other this year, the overwhelming response was not just "no" but that they should not. Only one voice spoke up for reconciliation, for keeping doors open, for forging people to people contact, and for separating sport from politics. But his voice was drowned out by the chorus equating Pakistan with South Africa in the days of apartheid. It was a disturbing display of intolerance and absence of far- sightedness.

This represents the loss of a sentiment that one hopes has not died all over the country. People in the capital city are always more affected by the dominant politics than elsewhere. But the problem is that if the media portrays these views as the nation's views, then there is bound to be a greater acceptance of them, even if they do not represent the majority view.

It is not very different then from the Prime Minister's assertion that building the Ram temple on the ruins of the Babri Masjid was a "national" sentiment. (It is interesting that PM has reiterated that his statements on Ayodhya were "well though-out" and not off-the-cuff as some of the editors on the BBC panel had suggested).

But Ayodhya, Mr. Vajpayee and the male editors apart, 2001 has begun as a year of losses in other ways. Inevitably, we will see more of a generation that represented certain values and also fought for them through their lives, leaving us. Thus the passing away of Dr. Sushila Nayyar was noted, but just barely. At a time when we are crowing about an Indian woman being crowned as Mrs. World, one wonders who will value the contribution of women like Dr. Sushila Nayyar.

On a personal note, too, the year has begun with a loss of a woman who was an icon for many of us as we grew up. I knew her for close to 36 years. Hers was one of the first Parsee homes that I visited. And over the years she became for me a role model of a woman who could grow old gracefully and elegantly without a trace of having given up her zest for life. Seven days short of 87, which she would have completed on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti and Pongal, Jini Taleyarkhan passed away. On her last day, she went out for lunch with her grandson, and enthusiastically cheered "our boys", Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, as she watched them win their semi-final tennis match in Chennai. Jini loved sport, was completely up-to-date on cricket and tennis scores and never missed a chance to watch a match. She was also clued in on current affairs. If she could have, she would have given our "leading" editors some tough questions to think about on "Question Time India".

Women like Jini leave behind an important legacy. Regardless of their class, or their politics, such women had open hearts and minds. They lived at a time when they had to engage with issues far beyond their four walls. And they continued to do this till the end of their days.

In contrast, I think today of an entire generation who, understandably, say they are not interested in politics, of people who never read the newspapers barring perhaps page three of some newspapers, who hardly ever watch news programmes, who block their minds and hearts to issues that do not enter their restricted worlds. What will they pass on to their heirs? Not even a sliver of the riches that women like Jini have left behind.

KALPANA SHARMA

E-mail the writer at ksharma@vsnl.com

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