Civics clashes with religion as women face bans from some Indian shrines
(The opinions expressed are the author’s own, and may not necessarily reflect those of Thomson Reuters)
Mumbai’s Sufi shrine Haji Ali Dargah Trust has barred women from entering the sanctum that houses the tomb of the Sufi saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. The reason: authorities said that they saw a woman visit the tomb in inappropriate clothing.
This might not be entirely surprising. The mosque and dargah – or tomb – sit on a tiny island in the waters off Mumbai that is connected to the mainland by a tiny causeway. It is one of Mumbai’s most well known tourist attractions, and many people from India and other countries walk past the mendicants and beggars, some of whom are missing limbs and often chanting, on the causeway to admire the architecture and the view.
The decision to ban women from the tomb reportedly is a year old, but came to light recently when a women’s group, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan — the Indian Muslim Women’s Movement — visited the shrine in August. The group plans to write to state authorities to try to stop this from happening.
There are other instances of preventing women from visiting shrines and other holy places. The Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala in the state of Kerala bars the entry of women aged 10 to 50, the years in which they are most likely to experience menstruation. Last year, the temple high priest performed a purification ceremony there after a 35-year-old woman entered the shrine.
Women fast for their men on Karva chauth, but why?
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author. They are not necessarily those of Thomson Reuters)
Nov. 2 was Karva chauth. I wouldn’t have known it if it weren’t for the special discounts at stores, the diamond and sari advertisements, and articles wondering whether newlywed actress Kareena Kapoor would fast.
I wouldn’t know about the festival were it not for films like Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge or other Yash Chopra and Karan Johar productions.
How to insult people, Indian politician-style
If you were a reporter covering the Shiv Sena in 2006, the place to be was a nondescript restaurant located midway between party offices and those of Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj, who rebelled and formed a new party after a fall-out with his uncle.
At this hole-in-the-wall eatery, party workers from both sides would let it all out — the vitriol would flow freely against Raj, the Thackerays and the Congress party. A lot of these barbs were never repeated outside those four walls, but some of that vitriol certainly seeped into the public speeches of their leaders.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is certainly taking over from the Thackerays when it comes to handing out insults — he’s been targeting almost every single opponent in his election campaign.
Rahul Gandhi and an embarrassment of titles
“Young emperor”, “scion”, “leader-in-waiting” are some of the words used to affectionately describe Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. His official party designation is Congress general secretary, but that could soon change.
Various media reports say Rahul will soon be elevated to the “No. 2 position” in the Congress Party, and a lot of designations are being bandied about to qualify for the post just below the party chief, otherwise known as his mother Sonia Gandhi.
He could receive the title of “secretary general” or “working president” or “vice president”, but these almost feel like they’re trying to confuse the poor guy, not coronate him.
Narendra Modi, why shoot yourself in the foot?
I usually don’t spend too much time contemplating the bizarre pronouncements, snide comments and muddy slings of India’s political figures.
I’m talking about:
- The village elders who consider themselves the law, declaring that Indian girls should marry young to avoid getting raped.
Subbarao: an RBI governor who can hold his own
When RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao had his tenure extended last year, a TV channel reported that 90 percent of bankers, economists and bond dealers in a poll felt the extension was good for the economy.
In June 2012, less than a year later, people were criticising him for defying widespread calls to cut interest rates, as stubborn inflation continued to bother him more than slowing growth .
Subbarao’s latest decision on Tuesday to hold the central bank’s key policy rate steady may increase the number of his detractors.
Miffed Chidambaram widens rift with RBI
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram usually does not talk to the throng of news-hungry reporters and cameramen gathered outside the gates of the red sandstone colonial building which houses the finance ministry. A ‘no comment’ or ‘I don’t have anything to say’ suffices on an ordinary day. Tuesday, however, was not an ordinary day.
Some two hours after the Reserve Bank of India announced it would leave the repo rate unchanged, and said that battling inflation was a more important priority than backing growth, the assertive finance minister arrived in the ministry. He got out of his car and walked up to the voice recorders, microphones and camera-toting journalists waiting in the driveway.
He signalled them to quieten down, all the while having a look of contemplation on his face, as if weighing the words he was about to say very carefully. What happened next gave the clearest indication yet of a widening policy rift between the government and the Reserve Bank of India.
Fresh faces, old issues in India’s new cabinet
Remember the Satyam Computer Services scandal of 2009? This was the story in which its founder cooked the company’s books in what became India’s biggest case of corporate fraud till date.
The scam exposed problems that needed fixing at the Corporate Affairs ministry, and after much delay the Companies Bill is ready to come before Parliament. The task of steering the bill will be handled by the new chief of the ministry, Sachin Pilot. At 35, Pilot is the youngest face in the refurbished, and not entirely young council of ministers in India. He also has no experience in corporate affairs, his earlier posting being at the communications and IT ministry. He will be forced to handle an important bill in the winter session of parliament while still wet behind the ears.
Four ministers held this job in the last three-and-a-half years. With changes at the top occurring at the least provocation, it is tough to say what sort of character the ministry might be proud to make for itself when the intersection of politics and business is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Who can really take any credit if things go as planned and who takes the blame when they don’t?
Market-friendly Chidambaram toes socialist line with fiscal plan
The usually crisp and precise P. Chidambaram was uncharacteristically vague on Monday while announcing the government’s fiscal consolidation plan. While pledging to bring the fiscal deficit down to 3 percent in 2016-17 from around 5.3 this fiscal, the Harvard-educated minister gave no details on how the government would achieve this feat.
Perhaps the finance minister should remember that uncertainty and lack of clarity can spook markets and investors. We saw that when the government took months to clarify the controversial GAAR norms which made foreign investors jittery.
Chidambaram’s announcement is unlikely to impress investors, rating agencies and lenders like the IMF, who want the government to slash subsidies and cut spending.
A user’s guide to India’s cabinet reshuffle
(Opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Thomson Reuters.)
In what is most likely the last cabinet reshuffle for the UPA-II government before the 2014 general elections, 22 ministers were sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday.
Here is the background, as explained by Frank Jack Daniel and Mayank Bhardwaj of Reuters:
