A Shout Out to Atishi

This  is  a shout out to Atishi  Wahi Singh. In choosing to add  Wahi and Singh to her name, I am also addressing her parents,  Tripta Wahi and Vijay Singh,very dear friends and senior colleagues at  Delhi University.  I am sorry you are in this place,  Atishi. To you,  Atishi, I will not say that elections are about participation, not about winning, because it would have been wonderful had you won, for then you would have taken our hopes and  aspirations ( with regard to  education and learning and schooling ) to Parliament and availed of the opportunity to strengthen and reform and transform education , which lies  in shambles, through the length and breadth of this country. So your loss is a huge loss for those of us who believe in the transformative and empowering possibilities that holistic education offers.

It is unfortunate that the constituency that you wished to represent did not vote for you in entirety. I know this must hurt and that it also erodes a sense of self-worth, because as the daughter of university teachers, with enough academic credentials, the world was your oyster and there was no dearth of opportunities available for you. You chose to put aside the comfort and pleasures of a privileged life and enter into the public domain which requires incredible courage. You have enough credentials for representing the cause of education in India as well as an accompanying   imagination and sensitivity, so do not think otherwise at any point.

For any woman to have  a political life anywhere in the world, intelligence and vision and clarity and imagination by themselves is not enough (although , as one has seen , men with none of these  qualities are the ones who thrive in the system). Women need to have a very strong solar plexus Atishi, maybe ten times as strong as the solar plexuses of  those women who venture out of their homes into a life beyond, because  believe you me, that is where all the ugly punches land, always invariably below the belt, and  cause  enormous damage  as they smash through living tissues and organs. You fought the good fight  Atishi, and  all those women and men who spoke up for you when that   vile pamphlet was circulated and when rumours were spread about your being Jewish, would concur.

However Atishi, the nature of the battlefield on which you stood your ground did not change. The world of ideas,( including  those voiced by  Marx and Lenin, whose names your fond parents yoked together to create  your idealized surname , because they believed that the world  needed to become an inclusive and equal space)  has always had to contend with recalcitrant  thought processes and calcified social and cultural practices.  Atishi, women live redundant lives in our world ;  they can be stoned to death  by men for violating imagined codes. Only an extraordinary leader, also a  statutory  male,   can ask the casters of stones  to introspect before  stoning a  hapless woman to death.. it is very long  since the world has seen any such saviour. Meanwhile learned women have burnt worldwide as witches. or have been  reviled and exiled  from their immediate communities.  Indian  grandmothers  have continued to say to  defiant granddaughters, “Look at  all that Sita had to suffer! If she could bear them despite being a princess, surely you should learn to adjust.”

I want to remind you Atishi that in our own country, Maryada Purushottam Raam  drove his pregnant wife away, in deference to public opinion, and continues to be revered. Gautama Buddha, abandoned his wife and new born child on a secret mission, and then chose a life, he did not want women to participate in. Our country is named Bharat, after Shakuntala’s son, and she in both Vyasa’a version and in Kalidasa’s had to speak up for her child’s rights and  defend her morality,  while she was  being publicly humiliated. Kalidasa let her weep and even stole from her power of speech that  Vyasa had  initially  given her. Do not therefore be surprised if mediocre men go on television to ask why your husband is not standing by your side and supporting your candidature.  Remember, that this is how the double standard works. Male politicians can abandon their wives, never bring them up for discussion or contribute to their welfare but no male  will say ..”But where is his wife.? Why is she not standing next to him validating his candidature.”

You have had to grapple with patriarchy and sexism and misogyny of the vilest kind. It is part of the trajectory of being a woman. Over and above this, Atishi, you have had to deal with little resources and word of mouth campaigning in a hostile and cash rich arena. So many of us are not clear even now  how the new EVM technology works or whether it makes for an even playing field.  So do not let this debacle leave you dispirited.

 Thank you for speaking for  us and continue your work as you have been doing over the past few years.  Many of us would be happy to pitch in and add our little bit to further the cause of learning and wellness in children. Please let us know how we can help. Here is wishing you more of that unstoppable courage and   large-hearted commitment. Do continue to inspire us   with your   innovative and imaginative ideas and projects.