It is only in the European, colonial mindset that the feminine is expressed as the weaker gender. This thought has been imposed on the Indian mindset since the last couple of centuries. Prior to that, in the medieval period, the influence from the near West of Bharat was imposed on the Bharatiya discourse that women were meant to be subdued and used. This twin oppressive approach towards women has had a strong influence on Indian thought for the last millennium, both in the physical nature and in the mindset too.
Reverence for Women
Prior to that, in chronology and in the parallel Bharatiya thought, the feminine gender has always been thought of and referred to as Shakti i.e the one with the power.
This power is not to be limitedly understood as the physical power that the individual possesses but a power that an individual imposes not just on another individual, but on a whole society and civilisation, by encompassing the power of wealth, the power of economic well-being, the power of knowledge, the power of nurturing and bringing up generations, the power of familial and societal bonds – what today comes under the gamut of Soft Power.
The Bharatiya Nari had the Shakti in all these spheres. That is Nari Shakti. It came from the complementary nature that women played in Bharatiya society and innately from Prakrti. For, Prakrti by its very nature is also held as feminine.
Western Notion of Women
In European thought, the oft used phrase is “Behind every successful man there is a woman.” This explicitly states that the woman is not in the same step as the man, but is only behind “him”. It is because of this that the call in the Western world is for “Women’s Equality”. The plea, the cry therein, is to be equal to the man.
It is from this that the phrase and thought of “Women’s Empowerment” comes forth, to imply that the women are not naturally powered and it is the male gender that has to empower the feminine gender.
This ideology emanates from the scriptures of both – the Near West and Far West of Bharat. Whereas Bharat’s concept of Stree Shakti is innately based on the fact that women enjoyed economic freedom, which comes from ownership of land and individual wealth by the women, independent of the male members in the family.
As we march towards the Viksit Bharat of 2047, it is important that this national slogan of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas essentially has both the genders marching ahead on an equal footing
In fact, the wealth of the women, Stree Dhana, was bequeathed only to daughters, daughters-in-laws, sisters and grand daughters in the family. This was at the sole discretion of the women of the family. Only in the absence of the above members, could their wealth be bequeathed to the male members. This was the well-set practice all across Bharat for many many millennia. This independent economic well-being naturally gave them the strength to be confident, capable and independent. It also gave them a status in society, independent of the men and made them be looked upto and respected in society for their own status and strengths.
Why Brits Deprived Women of their Wealth?
When the British administrators came to India, 300 years ago, to rule this land, this Bharatiya practice of Indian women owning wealth was anathema to them. For then, back in England, women did not have the right to own wealth nor the voice to express their views in a public forum. They found it strange that women in India had this natural privilege and hence disenfranchised the women of their legal wealth holding rights.
This led to substantial demeaning of the women in the societal dialogue in India, eventually leading to her being seen as a weakling and to furtherance of various kinds of ills on her ilk.
It is important for the Bharatiya society to recognise its own true character as it is beginning to unshackle itself from the constricting mindset, willfully imposed on it in the last few centuries. As we march towards the Viksit Bharat of 2047, it is important that this national slogan of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas essentially has both the genders marching ahead on an equal footing.
Which means, we have to recognize the purport in our traditional nomenclature “Ardhanari” i.e. the female gender and the male gender are complementary “halves” and not “fulls” which are equal to one another. For, in Prakrti, Nature, we see such a complementary nature as being the natural way of living.
Only when this fundamental thought permeates upto the common “man”, both through the legal framework as well as through the education system and thereon into the mindset of people, the women folk would naturally gain back their strength and their confidence to be able to stand secure without injustice being done to them.
Incidents of abuse of women are not independent stray cases but are a repeating pattern all across Bharat. There have been local, statewide, as well as nation wide uprisings against such abusive behavior whenever they occur. However, within a few days, the outrage is forgotten and one more fresh abuse is perpetrated. It has become a continuous and repeating pattern. Solutions have to be looked at, from both, the micro as well as macro levels, to ensure that such occurences cease.
While, at a micro level, tighter public safety and security, coupled with quick and harsher punishments could act as deterrents for such acts, it needs to be addressed at a macro level too, to prevent even thoughts of such behaviour towards women from arising.
Such a state can only be achieved when we repeatedly start speaking the lingo of “Gender Balance” and call it “Gender Complementary” instead of “Gender Equality”. When we, society as a whole, put women back on the pedestal of a Shakti, which can only happen when we, society as a whole again, start celebrating women, in all her roles, through festivals and social lifestyles that celebrate women and their Soft Power. We have to realise that Suraksha has to come from within and within is where the mind is set.
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