South Asia Citizens Web

18 December 2007

The Indian Left has in a single year managed to do through its own actions what all its opponents could not accomplish over eight long decades: namely, damage its credibility as a force which speaks for the underprivileged, the excluded and the wretched of the Indian earth, and which upholds the values and practices of inclusive democracy. This is starkly evident in the two major states where it rules: West Bengal, and to a lesser extent, Kerala.

Till death I would remain guilty to my conscience if I keep mum about the happenings of the last two weeks in West Bengal over Nandigram. One gets torn by pain too. Those against whom I am speaking have been my comrades at some point of time. The party, whose leadership they are adorning, has been the centre of my dreams and works for the last 60 years.

Indian Express, October 26, 2007
Family against woman
A year after the law to protect women from domestic violence was enacted, it continues to be defeated by social prejudice and blindspots
October 26 marks the first anniversary of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. The law was conceived as a civil law as distinct from the existing criminal law: Section 498A IPC. It was often said that criminal law had no space for settlement of disputes and could give no relief (…)

The circumstances surrounding Rizwanur’s death are a stark reminder that marriages across religion and caste are still unacceptable in India, even in supposedly progressive cities like Kolkata. Honour killings of couples who transgress social boundaries still happen, particularly in north India. Harassment of couples who marry against their family’s wishes is depressingly frequent. A worrying feature is the role of the police who often slap charges of rape, abduction and kidnapping against the groom in such cases.