[Reader-list] Fwd: Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender

[Rakesh Iyer]

On Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 6:41 PM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:

> What I find particularly surprising and appalling in the mails sent, is the
> reference to our PM as 'Manmohini Singh'. The reference to him as being
> 'weak male' and a possible 'transgender', is also bringing to light the
> truth of a certain section of males in the society.
>
> The problem I have with such a description is that by stating that the PM
> is a 'weak male', it has been assumed that males are always strong. What's
> more, indirectly it seems to have been stated that females are weak. The
> notion of masculinity being stronger than femininity seems to come out of
> such a description of our PM. This is against the very basis of equality of
> men and women, which is a part and parcel of our Indian Constitution, and
> which we are supposed to adhere to, not only as Indians, but also as human
> beings.
>
> Hence, if Rajen jee or anybody means that masculinity is stronger than
> femininity, I believe such statements are an inkling of the constant fear of
> their masculinity being scrutinized, which makes males behave in a manner to
> prove that they are 'males indeed'. And in the 21st century, if this is a
> problem, it is certainly despicable, and somewhere our society and all of us
> deserve the blame for that.
>
> Equally, the trans-genders have been looked down upon, when Manmohan is
> referred to as a 'trans-gender'. Aren't trans-genders human beings after
> all? Again the Indian Constitution doesn't allow us to look down upon other
> human beings. Neither do human rights, or values which we as rational beings
> must adhere to. Then what's the problem even if Manmohan is a transgender.
>
> This reminds me of another statement which was made in the documentary
> 'Father, Son & Holy War'  (documentary made by Mr. Anand Patwardhan) by
> someone : 'Agar Rao (Narsimha Rao, then the PM of India) ko Babri masjid
> banana hai to use keh do sadi aur haathon mein chudiyan pehen le. (If Rao
> feels that Babri Masjid should be reconstructed, then he should wear bangles
> and sari).'
>
> What's the use of stating that 'trans-genders, gays and lesbians are also
> humans', when you will still look down upon them? Is that behavior
> acceptable even to you?
>
> I am not defending Manmohan Singh at all in this kind of discussion.
> According to me, Manmohan is an ineffective PM, as was Vajpayee. While
> Vajpayee slept over Kandahar, Godhra and its aftermath, and also during
> investigations of the Parliament attack, Manmohan has to his credit most of
> the negative things surrounding the UPA govt.
>
> His govt. has been involved in a Rs. 2,500 crore scam (unearthed recently
> and published in Outlook). The CAG constantly has indicted the previous UPA
> govt time and again for many wasteful expenditures in the past and even now
> (Even the Garib Rath is a total failure, going by the CAG report, because
> the 'garibs' who were to use the train, are not using it at all). Defence
> dept. may be sitting on the top of another huge scam since Bofors, the
> telecom dept. has been under the cloud ever since A. Raja was the minister,
> the consumer-price inflation has been touching the sky for the past 3 years
> (it is 8% for almost the entire year going by the CPI figures), handling of
> terrorism was a failure, and most of all, the NREGA was mostly running
> ineffectively. Even the much-touted handling of the Railways, under the
> previous Railway Minister, Shree Lalu Prasad, is now under the scanner, but
> ironically, even during his field days as a minister, the CAG was constantly
> criticizing his moves.
>
> Even the credible achievements of the UPA govt can be attributed either to
> the organizations fighting on the ground (for bringing issues to notice),
> Left or to Sonia Gandhi (for thinking they are important and introducing
> such legislations in Parliament). The PM's achievements were handling
> problems in the Ambani family, mingling with the corporate sector, and
> involving himself in a vote which brought about another shameful day in the
> Parliament (if you remember the trust vote his govt faced in 2008). And of
> course, now he is back with the UID in his second term.
>
> Manmohan is certainly a weak PM (or strong depending on which side you
> are), but so of course were many. And what's more, problems won't be solved
> if we make Dara Singh the PM of India (whom I believe Rajen jee would
> consider to be a strong enough male). It's in making the administration
> responsive and humane that the govt. would work. And that's what we should
> strive towards.
>
> And more importantly, all of us should learn the meaning of equality and be
> careful before making such statements. It's a request from me.
>
>
>