That's what Karan Thapar would like to call it! But imprecise, being the word of the day is what I would like to call his interviewing skills! This is the guy who when interviewing Renuka Chowdhury about her new bill said that "that laws are always judged by the extremes, not by the middle position." and then said less than 2 mins later "You talk of a minute percentage of people", even though this "minute percentage of people" is a reference to the women who are burnt on the pyres of their husbands, don’t you think that is extreme Mr. Thapar, losing your life just becos your partner did, a partner, one might add, not necessarily of choice (not that it makes any difference)! And he doesn’t stop there, he seems more worried about the sad plight of those husbands who cant be sarcastic to their wives, "That means you can’t be sarcastic to your wife, it means you can’t call you brother-in-law an ass or a mother-in-law a nag even if both of those are correct.", something to think about! There are women getting killed all over the country and all Mr. Thapar seems to be worried about is that men wont be able to call their brothers-in-law an 'ass'. Talk about priorities!
He is also worried about what would happen if a guy happened to abuse the step-brother of an ex-girlfriend of before a decade, and I wonder why anybody would want to do that in the first place! He almost reprimands the lady when she says that there is a chance that every divorce case need not have an alimony set on the merits of the case, by saying that "Are you saying that the judges are wrong? Are you stepping in to correct what judges have done? " and yet without a second thought to his earlier incredulous statements, he very happily declares "You are adding to the situation of bad judges by giving them a bad law. ", insinuating, no I would say, saying in no uncertain words, that bad judges are not a rarity in Indian courts.
Really Mr. Thapar!!!!There were also misplaced comments like "But you don’t need a law to tackle Sati" of course, grace saved by adjoining it with a "But it’s already a crime in India. We don’t need a new law", not a miss one would expect from a journalist of Mr. Thapar's experience. On the whole he seemed to be a bundle of contradictions in himself.
I think all of Mr. Thapar's worries would be swept aside by the one statement made by Renuka Chowdhury, if the relationship is harmonious then there would be no reason for the husbands or in-laws to be worried. And for anyone who lives in the Indian society, they would know let alone a harmonious household, it still is amazingly rare that a woman ever opposes her household, how much ever torture she endures there!
To Mr. Thapar I would like to say - Chill, 'innocent' husbands are not very likely to be dragged to the courts!
Nov 12, 2006
UPA Government’s Domestic Violence Bill - Imprecise Act?
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6 comments:
Wake up.
Karan Thapar's arguments are from SIF. That is, India's largest and fastest growing masculist organisation.
Sumanth, I am not sure if you heard/read the whole interview, I dont think there was any allusion to be being concerned about a family as a unit. There was no distress about disrupting a family, only about "innocent" men not being able to "abuse the step- brother of an ex-girlfriend" in the process of emancipation of women.
Hi
U might want to provide the link to the whole interview for ppl like me who might have missed the same !
The whole discussion by itself points out how ridiculous our System has become. I feel any System would eventually realize this state. Any thing that is being forced upon would never solve the real problem. We always beat around the bush and sometime even refuse to accept the presence and hence identify the real problem behind any issue.
Am sure 'an harmonious family' would not require or mis-use a law like above [for that matter a harmonious family does not require any law to lead a harmonious and happy life].
But at the same time it would be a big question as if this would be of help to ppl who would really requires this.
Sathya,,
you are right..
Domestic violence and the law to prevent it exist parlelly in our society... I dont think there is something new that this act is going to add to the list of offenses.... If you read IPC it already has got enough to curb these evils..
Inspite of it why is that we still have these cruelties happening in our society... is a new law enough to stop this or in first case do we really need a law to stop these things.....
though not many would have a second opinion that these evils shd be curbed.... i m not sure on how many will agree to the means that this govenment is following....
is a new law is going to help the innocent women who are really really in need of help or is it just another act that is going to be studied by the future students of law...
The expected results, i think, can be acheived only through a social change which i dont think a law can bring in.... Going forward i hope the act help in curtailing the cruelties as well..
Because if you really see the law is of now meaning to those families who live as an unit, and if you leave that then it is all about the extremes, as karan thapar rightly mentions " laws are always judged by the extremes, not by the middle position. " and he is right for this law atleast...
so in one extreme we have innocent guys who already suffer hell a lot in the hands of their "patnis", this law is going to add more wepons in the armory of those "patnis". and these women are the one who has access to all the gates that are being opened by this law, though the number is low when compared to the other extreme, no one can reject the existence of this category....
on other extreme we have a huge chunk of women who suffer the inhuman treatments, who are not aware of the right that they have and will continue to be in the darkness, much worse many of these women belive that this is the way the world is. Their mind is so conditioned that they will continue to see it as a taboo to use the right that the law provide to them..
So, its not a law only a social change can help us curb this evil... and in that way i think karn is right when he mentions the law is and "Imprecise Act", the example that he give might be looking silly.... but not the message thats there behind....
Pray, how does one go about bringing a social change?
:-)
Change, where ever happens, doesnt happens overnight. Even in professional environmentm we face tough challenge in managing the change. We see projects fail, we see great organizations crumble, and eventually disappear, jus because they were not able to manage change effectively.
There are a few hundred books in the stores on change management and innumberable training sessions being conducted thro out the world.
This I am saying jus to show you the complexity of change. Its the nature of every living being (not just human) to resist change.
And when it comes to bringing social change thro law, it is something that is proven beyond doubt that law is undoubtedly impotent to accomplish the required result. One obvious example that comes in this regard is the law on reservations.
Even after 50 years of implementing the law we still are debating the effectiveness and efficiency of the reservation laws, and it is now used as nothing but a vote capturing mechanism by our beloved politicians, they have gone to the extend of talking about reservation in the indian cricket team, but the ground reality remains the same, in many of the villages.
The best way to handle this is taking things on us and start changing the way we live. As they say "I can change the world, not the whole world, but the part I touch" change the part you touch, and try and inspire the people around you, the society will start changing, you know better that society nothing but a group of people including you and me.......
And ofcourse you should have the patience to wait for things to change, its like sowing a seed and watering it to see it grow. you might not be there to enjoy the fruits, but will children enjoy the fruits, your grandchildren will enjoy it, and your great grandchildren will also do that, though you will not be there to see that, it all started from you, infact there is nothing great that you are doing by this, its our duty, to give our children a better place to live, lets do it....
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