SHANI SHINGNAPUR & TRUPTI
In a situation when fanatical expressions of religion, faith and the diktats of religious heads, and especially in this country a particular brand of Hinduism propagated by the Sangh-parivar hindutva forces, have acquired so aggressive postures, defying the ban on entry of women and forcibly entering temples to break/end the discrimination, isn't it a move that speaks of a deep-seated urge to break these medieval shackles? Trupti Desai's brigade, trying to do that by entering the Shani temple in Shingnapur Ahmednagar Maharashtra created such an impression. It is breaking a prohibition which earlier rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and veteran actor Shriram Lagoo also failed in their attempts. Obstructed once, she planned to bypass the road-block by even hiring a helicopter. Ultimately after the Mumbai High Court orders, on republic day she entered with her band of Bhumata Ranragani Brigade up to the sanctum sanctorum, the chavutara, of the temple. Following on the heels of that is the victory of muslim women initiated by Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolon and a number of activists assembled in Haji Ali Sabke Liye agitating and legally demanding entry into the majar of the Haji Ali shrine in Mumbai when the Mumbai High Court recently gave the verdict in their favour.
Some may say that it's a gimmick of Trupti Desai, a stepping stone for her publicity in order to come to limelight. But the women, Vidya Bala and others, who petitioned the High Court, or the women like Dr Noorjehan Safia Niaz and Zakia Soman, co-founders of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan and others agitating through different organizations for entry into Haji Ali Dargah, Trimbakeshwar and Sabarimala temples? Are all of them also part of such a gimmick? Even if some from those leading can use these agitations for their personal gains and publicity, the participating women of these agitations in several Southern states definitely represent a demand of reality. In whatever way the religious bigots and the surging fascist forces attempt to cling to the medieval customs of blind faith and oppressive restrictions and discriminations, incidents like these born out of the changing reality reflect objectively the inevitable urge of the masses to end these. It may be submerged and suppressed beneath the various distortions brought about by the dominating conservative forces, but it is there, more often rearing its head. Thus Trupti Desai is heard saying, "Women of every religion should be allowed to go to religious places of their respective faiths. People, who consider women as impure, should realise that they have come into existence only because of women."
But question arises when she swears in the name of the constitution and says-----"Our Constitution gives equal rights to men and women, it gives us Right to Worship and even after 66 years, if we can't have equal rights, then this is an insult to our Constitution," .Does merely reaching the sanctum sanctorum of temples ensure achievement of equality for women? Or have the ruling classes been able to ensure through this constitution the equality of women in at least all the other major spheres of society? The killing of the girl-child, even in embryo, the rape of dalit and poor women by the powerful upper caste men, the honour killings in the name of caste honour, dowry killings, the fatwas restricting women from coming out in society for work and studies all reveal the oppression of the old society still prevailing everywhere. This is apart from the humiliations and oppressions faced by women in the newer capitalist social relations. The prohibitions in temples are thus only a small part of all kinds of oppression of women spread throughout society.
The other part to it is the oppression of religion. Firstly, religious faith and beliefs are still a significant factor that intervenes in the this country's society, politics and state ----because religion has still not been separated from the state, establishing a secular state by an awakened mass where the old relations have been removed and various religious beliefs and customs are restricted to the personal domain of the people. Different religious scriptures still hold sway and have kept women bound for centuries in this position compelling them to obey various customs and rituals that discriminate them. The fatwas and diktats of the priests and mullahs still prevail in the rural country. The so-called modern, democratic state succumbs under pressure of these forces in Sabarimala temple prohibition like cases, or the Shah Bano like judgements. This is because of the large-scale prevalence of backward, wretched social and economic condition of the poor masses, for which they masses still look up to religion for solace amidst poverty and deprivation. It reminds us of Marx-----"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world...".
Thus the democracy and equality for women that Trupti is demanding from the present constitution and the ruling classes in our country is not only denied in worshipping in the temples and mosques. That is only a small part of our lives. The half-baked, stunted democracy of this country denies rights and deprives, discriminates masses on the basis of religion, caste, gender etc in all spheres of our lives. The existence of feudal and other pre-capitalist remnants of socio-economic relations have kept alive these old kinds of oppressions of the middle-ages. The real basis of the oppression and discrimination against women lay in this socio-economic reality of whole society----in the patriarchy that operates through the feudal customs legitimizing oppressions, through the control and ownership of private property by the men and the social rules of keeping the women caged in domestic work and bearing and rearing of children.
Amidst this the religious places, where Trupti Desai has sought equal rights for women, have always been the staunchest den of conservatism with its archaic rules and customs. Thus temples are out of bounds for certain ages or during certain periods in the women's lives on the belief that they are ?impure' or they may come under the ?evil spell' of god Shani. Women are also prohibited to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah.... These are the places where it has continued and has been through the least changes in society for ages. Only with the arrival of capitalist relations and ideas of democracy, although still quite undeveloped in large parts of this country, protests have erupted from the oppressed, discriminated sections---somewhere by dalits, lower-castes, somewhere else by oppressed nationalities, or women or others. Wherever the old relations have started giving space to the new relations with the inevitable progress of society, the demands for equal rights and democracy has arisen. The cities reveal this, although in a very subdued, fragmented manner, as a thoroughly democratic society with lakhs of awakened masses yearning for end to all kinds of oppressions, for equality, progress and science in society is still to be attained.
Hence there arose that particular kind of opposition of the Shingnapur village men and women to Trupti Desai and her troupe's movement. Living amidst backwardness in the villages around Shingnapur in Ahmednagar district, situated about 300 kilometres from the megacity of Mumbai they still believe in the myth of extra-ordinary appearance of Shanidev in their village. To them, by entering the chavutara of the temple, these outsiders from the distant city have made sacrilege, hurting their belief and sentiments. Blind faith and superstitions are part of their reality, which is steeped in backwardness. Religious customs and traditions act as mere means keeping them subordinated. That is why these oppressed, discriminated women of Shingnapur and its surroundings not only did not come up and join Trupti's agitation but opposed them accusing them of breaking a much cherished tradition and harming the sanctity of temple. Due to this in spite of the existence of a law against discrimination for entry into temples Mumbai High Court had to be petitioned for its order and then the district administration had to convince the villagers of the court order allowing entry to women.
Thus the fight to realize real equality throughout society and end all oppressions of these masses is part of a bigger movement in which these masses has to be awakened to transform and establish a society based on real people's democracy. A movement in which these poor, oppressed masses themselves must become active subjects participating with new visions. Otherwise it cannot be established by a few enlightened section. On the other hand, as the basis of these discriminations exist in material life, in the socio-economic basis of this society, it is this very basis which must be transformed. This basis is the legacy of the old -----the religious heads, the local feudal powerful and the conniving role of the state----as seen in cases of khap or caste or religious panchayats----and to achieve equality it cannot be done away with just temple entry agitations.
It reminds us of another history of a series of temple entry expeditions----promoted by the Congress party led by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1920s and 1930s in the name of fighting for equal rights of untouchables through achievement of their temple entry rights. It was purposefully kept disconnected with the then radical mass movements in society, from which the demands of social equality of lower and so-called dalit castes sprang up. Even Ambedkar vehemently criticized Gandhi for it. The result is seen quite clearly today---- while anniversaries of the historic temple entry of the Dalits and other oppressed castes into the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or in Travancore are still observed with much fanfare, laws against any discrimination for entry into temples had been made, but the social inequality and oppression of dalits and lower-castes are still blatantly in existence. Many such attempts for partial changes in some isolated cases have been made leaving the roots of all these oppressions intact.
The significance of Trupti Desai and her team's temple entry move and such other agitations are it opens our eyes to the reality. It is revealing that how reality is pushing different sections of the masses to protest and revolt. Similar is the movement for entry into Haji Ali Dargah. It is also a reaction of muslim women led by the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolon against their oppression. Oppression of the patriarchy prevalent in muslim society that was triggered by increased victimizations like triple talaq and also communal oppression prevailing throughout society at large. Thus BMMA founder Noorjehan Safia Niaz says "But the seeds of this revolution were sown much earlier," on 6th December, 1992 when Hindu fundamentalists destroyed the Babri Masjid. "It is on 6th December, 1992 that I realized the magnitude of a religious identity and it is on that day I became a Muslim,". It shows that all such agitations and social movements of dalits, adivasis, women and students (of course not those manufactured by the established parties and leaders), like the protesting large mass of dalits in Khairlanji, the students on issues of democratic rights of Rohith, Kanhaiyas and rationalists like Dabholkar and Pansares, the masses of workers and peasants struggling against denial of their rights to organize and agitate are arising out of the increasing contradictions within society. With these are emerging all those forces who are expressing in their own ways that the obstacles in the way of real democracy must be removed. The urge for real democracy, democracy for the people is being expressed, albeit today in a smaller, but growing scale. But tomorrow, day after, it will churn out more and more of them. The large masses of peasants, workers still remaining away and passive must also be awakened for this.
To build up the bigger struggle out of it, for transforming this oppressive, discriminating society into a thorough democratic society what is required is the unity and leadership of these forces. The middle class urban youth, students or Trupti Desai and her team with their aspirations and outbursts may become a part. But the workers of this country are victims of double attack of this ruling system on their lives----the lack of democracy that prevents them from even getting organized to fight the exploitation of capital, that pose hurdles through divisions of caste, religion, regionalism....on one hand, and the exploitation by capital on the other. Because of this position of theirs in society it is they who are the aspirants for real, thorough-going democracy. They have already started to rise up for their unity and organization in the factories, and in different industrial areas of the country. Women workers much down in society of Munnar tea gardens and Bengaluru garment factories have risen up in struggles not only for their increase in wages but led their struggles out of their factories against discriminations on them, against the state oppressions. The workers are thus being pushed by this increasing oppression and exploitation of the ruling system to unite in a bigger scale, to fight and sweep and eradicate all divisions of caste, language, religion etc. They are the force that can unite in a class and challenge this capitalist landlord state and lead the sections of masses fighting in the different corners of the country for democracy, unite the aspirations to end all oppressions, for a people's democracy and still further against the exploitations of capital. They will be the real leading and binding force for this social transformation.
This is where and what the reactionary forces fear. The march of times for real democracy and progress, which no one can stop and take backwards. So they want to oppose the small, partial struggles at the start-----through threats to Trupti Desais, Narendra Dabholkars, Pansares, Rohits and Kanhaiyas---all forces who fight for democracy. Trupti Desai said, "Sanatan Sanstha, the rightwing Hindu organisations are opposing me. Openly, they claim that with the brute majority they have now, their dream of a Hindu Rashtra is coming true. I received a letter that if I don't stop my protest, I will face the same fate as Dr Narendra Dabholkar (the rationalist who was shot dead in cold blood in Pune)". These reactionary forces are part of the guardians who have been protecting this oppressive order of rule. And it is a fight between two different forces for two completely opposite systems .......one the present oppressive, exploitative system based on the backwardness of the masses ; the other----the urge for the birth of the new----a society based on equality, free from oppressions, for real democracy, marching towards a socialist society free from exploitation. This later is the transforming, revolutionary struggle that reality churns up and awakens the masses for, which leads the masses in millions to make their history, in a self-conscious way. Trupti Desai's and such other smaller agitations remind and awake us to the necessity of that. What history now demands is the real leading and binding force of these struggles-----a party of the advanced, class conscious workers, a real working class party.
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