A lesson from the Mahabharata https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/a-lesson-from-the-mahabharata-india-hijab-7775630/ G. N. Devy February 16, 2022
As the hijab issue roils the nation, it would do to remember how Krishna stood by Draupadi at a time when, as now, dharma was under siege and anarchy loomed.
There is a well-set theory in linguistics: No signifier has the ability to produce meaning in isolation. Its signifying capability is determined by its place among all of other signifiers. Within the range of political signifiers of the day, where and how is the hijab issue placed? In the immediate vicinity of the lonely girl running in terror is the mob of young men, not all of whom are students of the same college, euphorically chanting the name of the “maryada–purush”. Mobs have become the authority, replacing the institutional authority, the judiciary and the law enforcing agencies. Their induction as substitutes for the institutions forming the pillars of democracy is strongly signalled by the prime minister who decided not to respond to the issues flagged in Parliament but to ramble endlessly on about his version of the history of India since Independence. Other political signifiers help understand the statements better. We are told about the perception that Independence was got as alms and that Jawaharlal Nehru was not the first prime minister. We are told that the history of India since Ashoka as written by historians is not history but a conspiracy to malign the Aryavarta.
Comment on WA: SG- I think talking of disrobing, is again fighting over the women's bodies as owned by community. And that is also not questioned. I find it offending reducing it to cause for war, without a critical comment.
SS: The reference to Mahabharat has been used just to effectively draw attention to the possibility of a devastating civil war that underlies the hijab row. ..The reference to Mahabharat has been used just to effectively draw attention to the possibility of a devastating civil war that underlies the hijab row... it's perhaps a bit unfair to chastise the writer for using and then not dissecting "disrobing" and bring out its various implications.
SG: one needs to be critical on all aspects. Protection of Woman's dignity works against women too. The very fact that the article starts with the disrobing is meant to have the dramatic impact, , which feeds in a very surreptitious manner the deep rooted bias in communities. So at least when women are foregrounding battle, one needs to be sensitive to that too.
