- Why I’m a Love Jihadi and proud of it
Priya Ramani writes in her column for The Mint that she is convinced Love Jihad is the way of the future, the most effective way to combat hate. Lovers across India need to own this phrase, embrace it publicly, redefine it, broaden its scope and use it to change the world. Women will have to take the lead because the whole debate of Love Jihad, the favoured political tactic against interfaith marriage, centres around our wombs and our personal freedoms.
It’s time to free the idea of Love Jihad from those who believe it is “an Islamic campaign to deceive Hindu girls into love, compel them to accept Islamic religion and later use them as the instruments for bearing Muslim offspring”. Love Jihad should be the name of the ongoing Great War to win the right to love and have sex with whomsoever you want—gender, religion, frequency and marital status no bar.
Love Jihadis want you to stop defining love as control. Love can be anything from a whisper in the wind to a lifelong partnership. If you’re lucky, it won’t play out like your typical Hindi film where it all goes to hell in the second half. It’s okay, Love Jihadis believe in the power of second love and third love.
- Rahul Gandhi hugged Narendra Modi — and it hurt
In her column for The Washington Post, Barkha Dutt says that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a hugger who is unafraid to show his affection to world leaders. He has embraced President Trump, Vladimir Putin, Shinzo Abe, Benjamin Netanyahu — and even the erstwhile leader of the country’s biggest adversary, Nawaz Sharif, when he was still prime minister of Pakistan.
Yet he found himself entirely nonplussed and taken aback last week when Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress Party, suddenly walked across the aisle, right after finishing a scathing attack on the ruling government, and wrapped his arms around the man he had just called incompetent.
Modi would like nothing better than to make this a battle of two personalities — himself vs. Gandhi. Now Gandhi seems to show that he is up for the clash. But in doing so, he is taking a chance with the support of the non-Congress opposition, as they can’t be thrilled at all the attention he got in the media.
“The Hug” was Gandhi’s mischievous flirtation with what his life in 2019 might look like. He may have wooed voters with his flamboyance. When it comes to romance, we know that courtship is the easy part of building any relationship. But in the world of politics, the real work of keeping the voter interested will take more than headline-grabbing charm and chutzpah.
- Notes on a lynching
Killing of Rakbar Khan took place in a state where people used to lend a helping hand across social divides, writes Sachin Pilot in his article for The Indian Express. He says that The recent incident of mob lynching in Alwar has re-opened the festering wounds of Rajasthan’s failed administration. The killing of Rakbar Khan, the sole breadwinner of his family by cow vigilantes points to a series of ills that afflict the Vasundhara Raje regime.
Actually, it is the lack of any form of governance which leads to such incidents. The saffron brigade, encouraged by the BJP and propelled by the RSS, has shown yet again the inhuman face of political hatred. Mob lynching has to be viewed as a premeditated act. It’s not a spontaneous act of public rage. It derives nourishment from the favour offered by the administration.
When Union minister Jayant Sinha garlanded those convicted of lynching upon their release, it spoke of the general ideology the BJP wishes to support and propagate. This is the first government which welcomes mob lynchers with garlands, paving the way for future lynchings. What they fail to realise is that the public has had enough. A state which is battling especially difficult weather conditions and lack of water already has a lot to deal with. Moreover, thanks to the false promises of the Raje government, there is widespread joblessness and poverty. The chief minister has ensured the shutting down of schools and even made strides in the privatisation of education.
We, as a country, have been reduced to a vulnerable lot since 2014 by the deliberate acts of communal hatred all around us.
- Plastic has turned into an environmental disaster
Latika Thukral writes in her column for Hindustan Times that she once read that garbage isn’t exactly rocket science, but given the filth around us, one would think it is. Single-use plastic grocery bags came into existence 50 years ago. It was the answer to a question no one was asking and solution to a problem that did not exist. In the past, people carried stuff in cloth bags, sacks etc. Today, we see plastic bags and bottles reach the landfill after being used for a mere 12 minutes.
Plastic has become an environmental disaster. Most plastic is made from petroleum or natural gas; non-renewable resources extracted and processed using energy-intensive techniques that destroy fragile ecosystems. The manufacturing of plastic and its destruction by incineration pollutes air, land and water and exposes workers to toxic chemicals, including carcinogens.
Plastic, in general, does make sense to use if disposed of correctly, which is something we don’t see happening and the plastic waste is simply sent to the landfill, where it sits for generations and we wonder if it ever breaks down.
People then turn to paper bags, which degrade faster but still are not a better solution for the environment. Cutting down more trees to increase the production of paper products combined with the increased energy used to make them has an equally detrimental effect on the environment.
What we can do is to simply reuse cloth bags and try and be more aware. The best way to reduce one’s plastic footprint is to simply USE LESS PLASTIC.
- Sabarimala case gives the Supreme Court the chance to set right its inconsistency on personal laws
The court has had a chequered history when it comes to dealing with customs and religious practices, says Sruthisagar Yamunan in his column for Scroll.in. He writes that A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions challenging a custom in the Sabarimala temple in Kerala that prohibits women in the age group of 10 to 50 from entering the shrine.
Apart from the fact that personal laws have been given protection from the breadth of Article 13, two other crucial Constitutional provisions protect religious practices. While Article 25 provides the fundamental right to freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess, practice and propagate one’s religion, Article 26 provides the right to every religious group to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes, manage its affairs, properties as per the law. All three provisions together have been the main defence provided by religious groups against state intrusion into their affairs.
While the Supreme Court seems to be in favour of opening the temple to menstruating women, the matter does not end with this particular case. The court has again shown reluctance to deal with Narasu Appa Mali head on, despite the fact that the Sabarimala case presents the best opportunity for it to strike the 1951 judgment down. Instead of just declaring the custom as not essential to religion, the court needs to ask if customs, even if they are essential to religion, could undermine equality.