Understanding Sologamy in Indian context

Last year the first incident of solo gamy was reported from India wherein 24 years old woman name Kshama Bindu from Gujarat tied the knot with herself. It has been projected and celebrated as the idea of self-love and liberation from the oppressive patriarchal social setup. The practice of solo gamy or self-marriage can be defined as the act of marrying oneself. However, it does not have any social/legal/religious validity. The act of solo gamy can be examined from different perspectives, for example psychological, legal, theological etc. But herein, I am interested to look at solo gamy from a sociological and anthropological perspective.

Family is considered one of the major social institutions along with polity, economy, and religion in the discipline of anthropology/sociology. In fact, students of sociology and anthropology are familiar with the concept of family as more often an entire paper is dedicated to understanding Family, Marriage, and Kinship. The basic idea of the family comprises a group of individuals sharing relationships based on blood (consanguineal kinship) and relationship based on marriage (affinal kinship). Marriage and family are the two sides of the same coin. Marriage provides the sanctity to the conjugal relationship of husband and wife. The website of Encyclopaedia Britannica[1] defines marriage as:

 “a legally and socially sanctioned union, usually between a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring (if any)”

The most common form of marriage observed in our society is monogamy, in which generally a union between a man and woman takes place. But it is important to note that it is not the only form of marriage that exists in our diverse society. On the basis of the number of spouses, marriage can be of two types- monogamy and polygamy. Polygamy is again can be of two types- polygyny (a man marrying multiple women) and polyandry (a woman marrying multiple men) and even fraternal polyandry (a woman marrying all the sons in a family). There exist different reasons to justify these kinds of marriage practices but to explain all that is beyond the scope of this article[2].

Marriage is an important life cycle event that marks the transition of an individual from one stage to the next stage of life. It is one of the ‘rites of passage’ along with birth, puberty, and death (refer to ven Gennep’s work).

Consider a scenario where it is not accompanied by any change per se in the social and cultural life of any individual.  One continues to stay with one’s own family post-solo gamy. There will be no change in the life of the individual per se ‘post-marriage’. The question arises in such a scenario is that will society function in the case of solo gamy?

In my opinion, it will still function as not all individuals are going to opt for solo gamy. We have the concept of ‘swayamvar’ in ancient times in India where the princes were called upon for the marriage of the princess. The princes or the suitors had to undergo tough competition in order to qualify to be the husband of the princess. We have heard many interesting stories of the swayamvar of Sita (from Ramayan), swayamvar of Draupadi (from Mahabharat), and swayamvar of Rani Sanyogita (wife of King Prithvi Raj Chauhan from Rajasthan).  Interestingly, the princesses were free to choose their own husbands in the case of this swayamvar.  Moreover, if we look at the word swayamvar, its loose Hindi translation will be that princess will choose her own husband but there is also a hidden meaning. The word Swayamvar is made up of two words- swayam + var which implies ‘kanya ne swayam ko var liya hai’ (English translation- the bride has married herself first).

As per the Alliance theory of Levi-Strauss, the institution of marriage is required for the well-functioning of society as the alliance of different groups forms through the exchange of women. But that was applicable in the case of traditional societies and not in the case of modern societies when we have all forms of networking and exchange.

In my opinion, one or two random cases of solo gamy are not going to affect the foundation of kinship and marriage practices in Indian society.                                                                           

References:

---

[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/marriage

 

[2] https://www.sociologydiscussion.com/marriage/5-important-forms-of-marriage-found-in-india/2342

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/7/20/the-indian-woman-who-married-herself#:~:text=Inspired%20by%20a%20Netflix%20show,of%20'sologamy'%20in%20India.&text=New%20Delhi%2C%20India%20%E2%80%93%20Though%20she,woman%20%E2%80%93%20she%20has%20married%20herself. 

Decoding Kantara: Nature-Man-Spirit Complex

 

                                            

Kantara, a Kannada movie that was released last year became a blockbuster hit. It is of interest to the viewers as it depicts the nature-human conflict and critiques the mainstream narratives of development and crony capitalism.

It is a visual treat to anthropologists and sociologists as it beautifully weaves together the elements of traditional folklore, mythology, and legends. The concept of the Nature-Man-Spirit Complex is extremely helpful to understand the plot of this movie. This concept was propounded by famous anthropologist L.P. Vidyarthi for the study of Sauria Paharia tribe (also known as Maler), residing in the hilly and forested areas of Bihar. He analysed the complex interaction between Maler and their natural habitat (i.e., hills and forests) and the role of the different spirits (called Gossaiyan) to regulate their lifeworld in his book The Maler: Nature-Man-Spirit Complex in a Hill Tribe of Bihar (1963).

Malers are dependent on their hills and forests for various reasons. Their livelihood is forest-based as they practice shifting/ Jhum cultivation and collect different forest products like fruits, berries, and herbal medicines. Even their different spirits reside in the forests and hills. They worship different spirits like Beru Gossaiyan/ Sun, Belpu Gossaiyan/ Moon, Bindke Gossaiyan/ Stars, and many more. Apart from these, they worship three village deities – Chal Gossaiyan. Raksi Gossaiyan and Kando Gossaiyan.

Coming back to the plot of the movie, the storyline unfolds over two centuries. It begins in 1847 with the granting of land to the villagers by the King in exchange for taking up their deity’s stone with him as it provided immense happiness to the King. His successors are forbidden by Daiva to take back the land from the villagers otherwise they must face the wrath of Daiva.

There are two deities- Panjurli Daiva and Guliga Daiva that are shown in the movie. Panjurli Daiva meant Boar Guardian spirit which is the ruler of the land. Guliga Daiva is the Kshetrpaal/ protector of the boundaries of the land ruled by Panjurli Daiva. Guliga Daiva is more violent in comparison to the Panjurli Daiva and his spirit resides in the stone which is invoked only at times of perceived danger by the people. To worship both deities, Bhoota Kola is performed annually during which the performer’s body is possessed. Villagers perform Bhoota Kola to appease the Boar guardian spirit or Panjurli Daiva as in ancient times the crops were destroyed by the wild boars.

Fast forwarding to the 1960s, the king’s successor becomes greedy for the land and coerces the Bhoota Kola performer to convince the villagers to hand over the land to him. However, when challenged to prove that he is truly possessed by the Daiva, the performer vanishes in the forest and the King’s successor dies outside the court while vomiting blood.

Later in 1990, three main players emerge in the storyline. Murali is the government forest officer who is assigned the task to convert the villagers’ land into a forest reserve. Devendra Sutturu is the landlord of the village and son of the King’s successor family who died in front of the court. Shiva, the protagonist is the son of the disappeared Bhoota Kola performer. The storyline moves ahead with the feud between Murali and Shiva and the manipulation of Shiva by Devendra Sutturu (landlord) for securing his claim on the villager’s land. It is interesting to watch the unfolding of these events and how in the end Murali and Shiva join hands against the landlord to fight for saving the innocent villagers. Shiva is chosen by destiny and Daiva to avenge the death of his cousin Guruva (Bhoota Kola Performer in the current generation) who is murdered by the landlord. The most powerful and fascinating part of the movie is the climax scene where Shiva enters a trance and is possessed by Daiva to fight against the landlord. The viewers feel mesmerized by the divine energy put in this scene by Shiva (the lead actor Rishabh Shetty).

Just like Malers described by Vidyarthi, this movie depicts the interdependence of villagers on their Jungle and Jameen. Their deities or Daivas are regarded as the powerful protectors of people and land. The supernatural phenomenon depicted in the movie can be analysed by using another concept of Vidyarthi (1961) - the sacred complex. It comprises three aspects- sacred geography, sacred specialist, and sacred performance. If you have watched the movie, you will be able to figure out these three aspects of the Sacred complex in the movie. The villagers’ land becomes sacred land as it was granted to them by the King on the order of Daiva who agrees to accompany the King on this condition only. King’s descendants must face the wrath of Daiva when they challenge the authority and existence of Daiva. Shiva is destined to become a Kola performer like his disappeared father as the practice of becoming the ritual specialist (like a Shaman) is continued within the same family over the generations. The performance of Bhoota Kola and possession of Daiva is a sacred performance when the divine powers enter the body of a specialist.  Various offerings of food items are made to please and pacify the Daiva. During the climax scene, Shiva takes out the sword from the land and touched it to a stone smeared with blood and engraved with a trident symbol. This was the same sword dropped by the King and now the landlord/ his descendant is killed by the same sword as he breaks the promise of the King.  Kantara means mystical or enchanted forest that is in between the realms or connects this ordinary world to the supernatural world. So mysteriously Shiva, like his father during the Kola performance disappears into the forest in the last scene of the movie. 

 

 

The movie tries to answer the underlying question that is to whom the land belongs- whether the government, which aims to protect the land by declaring it a forest reserve and evicting the villagers, the landlord who claims his ownership over the land, or the local villagers who depend on the forests for multiple reasons. In this movie, we see the complex interaction of the social and spiritual world of villagers to ensure and protect their land and forest rights.

 

 

 

 

Older Women and Younger Men

 

We live in a society where a matrimonial alliance between an older man and a younger woman is considered a norm. Usually, an age gap of 3-5 years is followed while seeking the rishtas in the traditional arranged marriage setup, keeping in mind that the girl should be younger than the boy. Even our Bollywood heroes do not age and it is common to see them romancing with heroines who are half of their age on-screen. No one seems to bother or question this age gap as long as the man is older than the woman. But what happens when we reverse the situation? How does our society look at older women dating/marrying men younger than them?

Interestingly, while browsing through the internet I came across the term ‘cougar’ that is used in a derogatory sense to refer to the “older women” as a predator who lures the younger men into a relationship. On the other hand, we have another term “gold digger” reserved for the younger woman who takes advantage of a rich older man known as “sugar daddy”, one who showers a young woman with expensive gifts in exchange for a relationship.

Now, I was particularly intrigued by some of the memes that were circulated on the internet recently when Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal tied the knot. These memes basically pointed at the age difference between them as Katrina is much elder than Vicky. The list is long if we consider the celebrities couple in India wherein the women are elder to their respective husbands. For example, Neha Kakkar and Rohan Preet Singh (10 Years), Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas (10 Years), Gauhar Khan and Zaid Darbar (8 Years), Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiya (9 years), Farah Khan and Sirish Kunder (8 years). The number in the brackets denote the age difference and most importantly in all these cases, the woman is much elder than the man. No eyebrow is raised if the man is way elder than the woman and it is generally considered as acceptable. For example, in the case of weddings of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor (11 Years), Milind Soman and Ankita Konwar (26 years).

We can say that the matrimonial alliance between an elder woman and a younger man is now getting acceptability to some extent in rich upper-class society. But is it a new and recent phenomenon to be observed in our society? Interestingly, Subhadra Channa in a paper titled “Older Women, Younger men” highlighted that it has been in practice in many tribal communities across India. She writes that Bondos, Bhils, Hos, Lepchas have the older wives normatively as compared to the husbands. So, we can say that this is not a recent phenomenon and has been in practice in some of the tribal communities in our country.

Considering the scenario in the tribal communities, I wanted to shift the attention to our contemporary caste-based society. What is the scenario in our middle-class society? Does our society accept such marriages with an open heart?

I came across two incidents wherein the man/ groom was younger in comparison to the woman/ bride. I am writing based on my own personal experiences wherein this kind of marriage has been accepted by their respective families. In the first case, the girl was about 2 years elder than the boy and it was an arranged marriage set-up. So, the girl’s family beforehand mentioned this point and as the boy’s family did not have any objection to the same, they are happily married now.

In the second case, the girl is almost 5 years elder than the boy. Both of them befriended on social media and later on convinced their immediate families to give their consent for the wedding. Interestingly, their extended family members and relatives were not aware of the situation. The marriage took place in a similar manner as an arranged marriage even though it was a love marriage. And all is well in the end.

What is important here is that, if the man and woman and their immediate families do not have any objections to the marriage then the extended family members, relatives, neighbours etc. are not involved in the decision-making process. This is also in sync with the popular Urdu phrase that ‘Jab Miyan Biwi Raazi Toh Kya Karega Qazi’? (meaning when two people agree on something then there is no need for the third party). Also as per some survey reports, about 81% of women are open to dating someone 10 years younger than they are, and about 90% of men are open to dating someone 10 years older. So, in a nutshell, age is just a number when it comes to dating or weddings.

Links: 

https://www.today.com/tmrw/more-older-women-are-dating-younger-men-survey-says-here-t231858

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41919869?read now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A39d205e3442549ab542302fdba1a649a&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents

COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy in India

 

I am writing this while the potential danger of the third wave of COVID-19 is looming over our heads with the news of the OMICRON variant. We all felt the impact of this pandemic at a very personal level during the second wave of COVID-19 in India. I don’t want to recall the deadly pictures of that time as it refreshes the painful memories of the loss of our loved ones and shared grief.

During the second wave, much blame was put on the government policies that resulted in the low level of vaccination of adults especially in the age group of 18-45 years. However, soon afterward much attention and effort were diverted to ensure the wide coverage of the population belonging to this age group. Still, a large number of people are not vaccinated in India even though it is free of cost.  We all know someone or another person who does not wish to take the jab. What are possible reasons for hesitation of people to go for vaccination even when it is available free of cost?

Herein I am going to share the three cases of persons (X, Y, Z) who do not wish to get themselves vaccinated and the reasons they attribute to it.

The first one, X, is a research scholar at a Central University in Delhi. He is approximately 30 years old and belongs to a middle-class family. He stays in a university hostel and has his family living in Bihar. He shared with me that he does not want to take the jab because he was never vaccinated against any disease since his childhood. He was unsure how his body and immune system would respond to the COVID vaccine. He told me that he would not require to take the jab if most of the people were vaccinated, (pun intended).

The second one, Y, is a sexagenarian who works as a sweeper in my locality in Delhi. She confided in me that she was not going to take the vaccine even if the government makes it mandatory. As per her, she has already seen her lifetime and if it is time for her to die, she will happily accept it as her fate or the god’s calling. She believes that it is the conspiracy of the government and big companies to gain profit from the situation and eliminate the poor. She shared that many poor people lost their lives and their family members were not even given the chance to visit in the hospital and perform their last rites. She believed that it was a big organ trafficking business run by the hospitals. As no one cares for the lives of poor in this country.

The third case, Z, is my friend's father and works in a PSU in Rajasthan. He does not want to take the vaccine shot as he believes it is ineffective and one may die even after taking the shot. He thinks that there is a government conspiracy, He does not support the central government and Prime Minister. So, to mark his resistance, he will not take the jab. Moreover, his wife recovered from COVID during the second wave and he believes that all their family members have acquired immunity against the COVID virus now.

Safety concerns, lack of trust, belief in conspiracy theories, and political issues are some of the reasons that contribute to the vaccine hesitancy in India. These are real-life cases that I came across. And I am sure you might also be knowing such persons who hesitate to take the vaccine shot. Have you taken the jab, if not WHY? I would like to read your stories and reflections on this. Also do the factors of caste, class, age, gender, religion, ethnicity, and so on have any effect on this vaccine hesitancy behavior? Keep reading my blog to know the answer.

 

 

मन से आजाद ‘महिला’..?

 

 

स्वतंत्रता जो प्रत्येक प्राणी मात्र का प्राकृतिक अधिकार है, और मानव के लिए उतना ही आवश्यक है जितना कोयल के लिए मधुर ध्वनि। जैसे व्यक्तित्व के विकास के लिए स्वतंत्रता अति आवश्यक है, ठीक वैसे  मनुष्यता-विकास के लिए मनुष्यों का सार्वभौमिक स्वतंत्र होना अत्यंत आवश्यक है। सार्वभौमिक स्वतंत्रा से आशय मात्र इतना है कि “एक मनुष्य दूसरे मनुष्य से  लिंग विशेष,भाषा, स्वरूप  का होने के नाते प्रतिबंधित न किया करे, कोई भी मनुष्य अपने इक्छा और सामर्थ के अनुरूप अपने विशिष्टता को प्राप्त कर सके  और ऐसा करने हेतु उसे किसी के द्वारा प्रतिबंधित न किया जाए”। पुरुषवादी समाज ने महिलाओं के साथ सदैव द्वितीयक व्यवहार किया तथा उनके शरीर पर नियंत्रण के साथ ही महिलाओं के मन को भी स्क्छंद नहीं रहने दिया। आज हमने ज्ञान-विज्ञान के क्षेत्र में कुछ तरक्की करके यह मान लिया है कि हम विकसित समाज हो गए हैं, वास्तव में महिला के सर्वांगीण विकास बिना अब तक का विकास अपूर्ण है 

अंतरराष्ट्रिय महिला दिवस पर महिला विकास और प्राप्त होने वाले अवसरो पर पुनः मंथन अत्यंत आवश्यक है। और ये प्रश्नीय है कि क्या कागजों और क़ानूनों में वर्णित सारे अधिकार महिलाओं को सहजतता से प्राप्त हैं ? यदि है भी तो कितने प्रतिशत महिलाओं को ? इससे भी अहम प्रश्न यह है कि उनके लिए विशेष कानून या विशेष अधिकार देने कि आवश्यता ही क्यों पड़ी ? तो अहमतः हमें पुरुष समाज ही दोषी दिखेगा जो विचारणीय है।  जॉन स्टुआर्ट मिल कहते हैं कि “स्त्रीयों की पराधीनता ऐसी विश्वजनीन प्रथा बन गई है कि जब कहीं स्त्री के वर्चस्व का कोई संकेत मिलता है तो वह अस्वाभाविक प्रतीत होता है।            

स्वतंत्रता हेतु मौलिक अधिकारों की  कानूनी रूप से प्राप्ति होते हुए भी  समाज का आधा भाग हमेसा से द्वयम दर्जे का ही अधिकारी रहा है चाहे वो प्राचीन काल हो या आज की 21 वीं शदी। न सिर्फ भारत बल्कि दुनियां के हर हिस्से में यह अपराध हो रहा है । कई शताब्दी बाद भी अरस्तू का महिलाओं को  संपत्ति मानना,स्त्री दास है और वह पुरुषों के अधीन रहे, यह विचार आज भी जीवंत देखने को मिलता है। मध्य एसिया में आज भी महिलाओं के साथ कैसा व्यवहार हो रहा है ये सब जानते हैं वहाँ आज भी पति के इजाजत के बिना कोई भी स्त्री घर के बाहर नहीं जा सकती अधिकार तो दूर की बात है। आज भी हमारे देश में यह सोच जिंदा है कि ‘बेटियों को दूसरे के घर जाना है वो दूसरे की अमानता हैं’अब एक बात समझ में नहीं आती कि एक ही माता-पिता के दो संतानों में एक उनका अपना दूसरी पराई कैसे हो गई। इस तरह की सोच बच्चियों के मन में आरंभ से ही अनेक कुन्ठाओं को जन्म देता है। उत्तर आधुनिक युग होने के बाद भी आज स्त्री कुटुंब से लेकर बाजार तक कहीं भी सुरक्षित नहीं हैं यही हमारे समाज की उपलब्धि है। जीवन से जुड़े प्रत्येक स्थान पर उनके साथ भेद- भाव किया जाता है चाहे वो माँ-बाप का घर हो या विद्यालय या दफ्तर हो या फिर शादी के बाद पति का घर। आज भी महिलाओं को सिर्फ संवैधानिक समानता प्राप्त हुई है सामाजिक और धार्मिक नहीं। समाज में महिलाओं के मानवअधिकारों का हनन सिर्फ हिंसा के माध्यम से ही नहीं किया जाता वरन मानसिक प्रताड़ना और भेदभाव के माध्यम से भी उनके साथ हिंसा होता रहता है। महिलाओं के साथ भेदभाव पर जब वे  प्रतिरोध करती हैं तो उनको समझा दिया जाता है कि ऐसा इसलिए है कि तुम लड़की हो और वो लड़का है, ‘तुम स्त्री हो इसलिए चुप रहो’ धीरे-धीरे यह प्रतिरोध दबा दिया जाता है और स्त्री उसे ही अपनी किस्मत मान लेती हैं । एक मनुष्य से स्त्री बनने का सफर यातना, दमन, भेदभाव, शोषण, परतंत्रता, हिंसा से भरा होता है ।

 ‘महिलाएं पैदा नहीं होतीं हैं, बल्कि बनाई जाती है’ साइमन द बुआ ने सेकेंड सेक्स पुस्तक से जनमानस में क्रांतिक विचार पैदा करते हैं। स्तर दर स्तर  महिलाएं सामाजिक  हिंसाओं से घिरी हुई हैं  चाहे वो निजी जीवन हो या सामाजिक, अंतर बस इतना है कि निजी जीवन से जुड़ीं समस्याएँ लोग देख नहीं पाते, क्योंकि चेहरे पर झूठी मुस्कान रखना महिलाओं की मजबूरी बन गई है। महिलाओं के साथ होने वाले हिंसा में न सिर्फ पुरुष बल्कि महिलाओं का भी उतना ही योगदान रहता है जिसमे सौतेली माँ, सास, जेठानी और ननद जैसे किरदार अहम रोल रखते हैं। इसके बाद सौतेला पिता, पति और ससुर का नंबर आता है ये सब घरेलू हिंसा के स्वरूप हैं।

“अहमदाबाद की आयशा” इन यतनाओं की ज्वलंत उदाहरण है। क्यों आयशा घर में पिटे, क्यों आयशा माइके से पैसे लाकर दे, क्यों आयशा पति के पास रहने के लिए मिन्नते करे, क्यों आयशा आत्महत्या करे, क्यों आयशा अपने अंत का प्रमाण दे और क्यों आयशा ही चरित्रहीन बनाई जाए, इन सब का जिम्मेदार कौन है ? 

यद्यपि की भारतीय महिलाओं को सुरक्षा प्रदान करने और उनके लिए स्वास्थ्य वातावरण के निर्माण के लिए तमाम कानून बनाए गए हैं उनमें मानव तस्करी अधिनियम 1956, दहेज प्रतिषेध अधिनियम 1961, कुटुंब न्यायालय अधिनियम 1984, महिलाओं का अशिष्ट रूपण प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, बाल विवाह प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, घरेलू हिंसा से महिलाओं का संरक्षण अधिनियम, कार्य स्थल पर महिलाओं के साथ लैंगिक उत्पीड़न प्रतिषेध अधिनियम आदि प्रमुख हैं।  इसके बाद भी भारत में हर दिन महिलाओं के साथ हिंसा होता रहता है ।समाज में कुछ महिलाओं के आगे बढ़ने से पूरा महिला समाज आगे नहीं बढ़ जाता, समूचे मानव समाज की यह ज़िम्मेदारी है कि वे महिलाओं को सम्पूर्ण विकास करने और  पूर्ण क्षमता का उपयोग कर सकने के काबिल बनने में उनकी मदत करे। स्त्री सशक्तिकरण के लिए नए सिरे से समूचे संसार में एक आंदोलन की आवश्यकता है, ताकि महिला अपने स्वतंत्र मन से दुनियां को अपने रचनात्मक कार्य, ज्ञान, शक्ति, संघर्ष और सृजनात्मकता से सिंचित करें । विषम परिस्थितियों के उपरांत महिलाएं आज सेना से लेकर चांद तारों तक का सफर तय कर रही हैं । आज भी महिलाओं के समक्ष शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, सुरक्षा, समानता, स्वतंत्रता जैसे परंपरागत चुनौतियाँ हैं। इसके साथ ही इस  युग में महिलाओं की प्रमुख समस्या-महिला स्मिता और सामाजिक संघर्ष की है। सामाजिक समानता हो अथवा धार्मिक समानता सभी स्थानों पर महिलाओं को समानता की आवश्यकता है। महिला मन स्वतंत्र रहेगा तो विश्व नए उचाइयों को प्राप्त कर सकेगा। 

लेखक परिचय :

1.  अम्बुज शुक्ल (शोधार्थी),  म. गा. अ. हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, महाराष्ट्र

2.  स्तुति धर (लेखक), म. गा. अ. हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, महाराष्ट्र

3.  डॉ. अरुण कुमार (युवा वैज्ञानिक), म. गा. अ. हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, महाराष्ट्र

 

Purpose of Education

 

Recently I received my Ph.D. degree in convocation ceremony. But I could not feel any kind of emotion while I was on the stage receiving the degree certificate. The act lasted just for a moment and it was nothing closer to what I dreamed for years. Obviously the congratulatory messages from the family and friends later on helped to sink in the special feeling of big achievement.

On this occasion, I could not help but wonder that I had spent almost 27 years (from age 3 to 30) receiving formal education in institutional settings ranging from schools, college and later on university. I had spent a major part of my life pursuing my education. But this brings us to the question - what is the purpose of education in an individual’s life? Why spend so much time on something? A question I was asked many times by my friends and relatives during my Ph.D. years was that “how long will you keep studying?” If only I had a definite answer to that.

Therefore in this blog, I attempt to enlist the purposes or final outcomes of education as understood in our society.

The first purpose of education as we listen growing up is to secure a job in our competitive world. This is to ensure that we become a functional part of this capitalist economic system. The most famous saying I heard during childhood is “padhoge likhoge banoge nawaab, kheloge kudooge hoge kharab” (meaning you will prosper if you study but you will be spoilt if you waste your time playing). Students are advised to pursue certain kind of courses which are in high demand in market to ensure their employability. I had seen some of my friends going for a MBA degree from IIMs after doing B.Tech. from IITs just to fit in the profile of a suitable candidate for marketplace. So the main purpose of education as understood generally is to get an employment and if you fail to get one then your education is waste. But if we look around the scenario is that even Ph.D.s cannot find the well deserving jobs (in terms of their qualification). The sad reality is that many Ph.D. apply for a government job of Class IV employee. This is not to undermine any job but to depict the sorry state of affairs in our country when our education system and employment opportunities are not in sync.

The second purpose of education is believed to get a decent rishta or matrimonial alliance (marital offer in case of arrange marriage set up). Obviously no one (girl/boy) would prefer to marry an illiterate person. Boys are encouraged to study so that they secure a job as soon as possible as it is a primary condition to fulfill in order to get married. One of my friend (man) wished to get married since his graduation days but his wish still remain unfulfilled as he could not get a decent job. It is considered necessary for men to be able to become financially sufficient before getting married.

But in case of girls this focus on education for marriage purpose becomes paradoxical as they are encouraged to get just a graduation or at most post-graduation degree in order to become eligible for matrimony. Higher education for girls beyond this is frowned upon as families find it difficult to find suitable grooms who are equally educated as their daughters. Women pursuing or completed higher education are seen as too much "opiniated" and "career oriented". So education up to a certain level is encouraged but beyond that it becomes a abomination.

From above discussion we see that purpose of education is often linked or associated with an individual’s job and marriage prospects. But is this the only purpose of education in our lives? The main purpose of education is to develop the ability of critical thinking in my viewpoint.  

I return to the original question that why do we need education? Obviously to gain knowledge but then the next question comes up, i.e. how do we intend to use this acquired knowledge in our day to day life- in our professional and personal lives? In my personal viewpoint learning is a life-long process and the entire world is our school. The process of learning is not limited to just formalized institutions but it extends beyond that and it continues as long as one has the desire to learn in the pursuit of one's dreams and hopes. 

PS: see this article to know more about purpose of education. 

https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/whats-purpose-education-public-doesnt-agree-answer

 

 

 

 

 

Understanding the Concept of Father

Generally the notion of “biological” father is associated with understanding the concept of father in a layman’s term. But Kinship studies in Social Anthropology makes a distinction between the biological father (Genitor) and sociological father (Pater). I found this distinction interesting as Todas (a tribe of Nilgiri Hills which practices polyandry) has the prevalence of ceremonial rituals to determine the sociological father of unborn child. The biological father of the child may be different from the socially accepted father of the child. In our own society we have the concept of adoption wherein the society acknowledges and provides the same status to the adopted child even if he/she is not biologically related to the adopting parents. So we see that there might by distinction between genitor and pater.

Recently I was listening to a Ted talk episode on YouTube by Otto Kelly. He pointed out that most of the sociological problems which are prevalent in the present society like drug abuse, delinquency, alcoholism, child abuse, rape and violence, teenage pregnancy etc. can be attributed to the absence of strong father figure in an individual’s early life. His main observation was that the childhood wounds of absence of fathers either physically or emotionally or both may have long term impacts on the overall development of the individual. He called upon the men to take up the charge and fulfill their responsibility of committed father to their daughters and sons.

But I was wondering what happens in case of children coming from separated/ divorced/ widow parents? Renuka Sahane in an episode of Behensplaining on the release of her recent movie Tribhanga (available on Netflix) spoke how she had to face discrimination growing up as she was coming from a separated family. Other children refrained from playing with her and she was looked down as if touching her would lead to break in their own families. This is important to note as our society treats these children (coming from divorced/ single parents) differently and a stigma (using Goffman's term) is attached to these children.   

Bollywood has celebrated the notion of ideal families (movies like Hum Sath Sath Hain) but Tribhanga tries to explore the so called “flawed” families wherein it depicts the lives of three generation of women in search of their aspirations and dreams. The issue of absence of father in one's life is highlighted through the character of Anuradha (played by Kajol). She always blames her mother Nayantara for the absence of her father. Later on Nayan’s second husband starts physically abusing her daughter (Kajol) and the movie shows its ramifications for Kajol as well as the entire family. Kajol’s daughter Masha (played by Mithila) does not want to repeat the “mistakes” of her mother as well grandmother and settles in a traditional family wherein she even goes for sex detection of her unborn child in order to ensure that the baby is not a girl.

I have used the example of of Bollywood movie here but real life situation is not very different. Young children especially the girls face lots of challenges in the absence of father in our society. This is not to undermine the role of mothers in child rearing and upbringing. But to also acknowledge the role of father in a child’s life.