“If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought, and acted, inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore him at our own risk.”

Gandhi was always more than what we know where his political contributions, way of life, words of wisdom, ideals of lifestyle; enlighten India, and the world even today after so many years. How Gandhi’s techniques have sometimes been invoked even in the land of his birth, especially in recent incidents, would appear to be a travesty of his principles. As the countries across the globe has been in the grip of a series of crises ranging from Korea to the Middle East with a never-ending trail of blood and bitterness; Gandhi’s ideals echo somewhere far behind.

Gandhi since the start deviated from the claim of calling himself a prophet or even a philosopher. “There is no such thing as Gandhism,” he explained, “and I do not want to leave any sect after me.” There was only one Gandhian; the one who believes to see a changed India that lives in his eyes, he said, an imperfect one at that: himself. According to him, the real significance of the Indian freedom movement lied in its promise to be waged nonviolently, on the ideals of truth and goodwill and to not succumb to the brutal measures the other side initiated with.

He objected to violence not only because unarmed people had little chance of success in an armed rebellion, but because he considered violence a vicious weapon that spurted more problems than it resolved, and left a trail of hatred and bitterness in which genuine reconciliation was almost a distant dream (Parida, 2019).

This emphasis on nonviolence jarred alike on Gandhi’s British and Indian critics, as this novel idea even back then was met with a wide array of responses. To the former, nonviolence was a camouflage; to the latter, it was sheer sentimentalism – as the whites tended to see the Indian struggle through the prism of European history undermined the remarkably peaceful nature of Gandhi’s campaigns. While on the flip side the radical Indian politicians, who had drawn inspiration from the history of the French and Russian revolutions were vehemently opposed to the “Gandhian way of ushering peace” and strongly held that it was foolish to miss opportunities and sacrifice tactical gains for reasons more relevant to ethics than to politics.

This total allegiance to nonviolence did end up creating a gulf between him and the educated elite in India which saw force as the uptight tool to yield their lost power and prestige and temporarily bridged only during periods of intense political excitement.

His ideological proposition of doctrine of nonviolence was followed in accordance to its logical conclusion even by his closest allies: ‘the adoption of unilateral disarmament in a world armed to the core, the scrapping of the loaded armed forces, and the decentralisation of administration to the point where the state would “wither away” were certain aspects that raised doubts about the principle’s vitality even long back.

Even with its fair share of lacunas, India did not question the superiority of the principle of nonviolence as enunciated by their leader, but they did believe it to not be fitting conjunction to every aspect of practical politics. The Indian Constituent Assembly include a majority of members owing allegiance to Gandhi, but the constitution which emerged in 1949 was based more on the Western parliamentary than on the Gandhian model alone.

After understanding how even before his ideas were not adopted unilaterally since the start it’s important to put today’s world into context. As the changing times that we exist in, we need to realise the validity of these ideals that once accorded us freedom and led one of the greatest independence movements across the globe. The question one often ends up asking is if after Gandhi’s assassination on January 30, 1948, does his ideals of truth and non-violence remain relevant in 21st century India?

On ethical and behavioural paradigm Gandhianism has much meaning today because society is witnessing the degradation of values where virtues of self-control and righteousness are much needed in a materialistic world driven by the desire to achieve and acquire more. As the headlines are coloured with harassment incidents, the subjugation of women’s need and other gruesome acts with this ascending level of vicious violence Gandhian dream of a safe country for all still looks like an unachievable objective (Srivastav, 2019).

The shadow of a thermo-nuclear war with its incalculable hazards continues to hang over mankind with evolving technological sector and ever-increasing military capability of countries -from this predicament, Gandhi’s ideas and techniques may suggest a way out.

Unfortunately, his motives and methods are often misunderstood, and this perspective of a judged vision completely resonates with what he battled with the British Raj. He advocated nonviolence not because it offered an easy way out, but because he considered “violence a crude ineffective weapon; thus it is to be stressed that rejection of violence stemmed from choice, not from necessity” as many mistakenly portray.

Horace Alexander, who held Gandhi in his highest regard and witnessed his speeches, graphically describes the attitude of the nonviolent resister to his armed opponent: “On your side, you have all the mighty forces of the modern State. On my side, I have nothing but my conviction of right and truth, the unquenchable spirit of man, who is prepared to die for his convictions than submit to your brute force. Here we stand; and here if need be, we fall.” Thus he highlights here how detached from being a craven retreat from danger, nonviolent resistance demands courage of a high order, the courage to resist; the courage to call out injustice without rancour, to unite all with the idea of peace, to invite suffering but not to inflict it, to die but not to kill.

Looking at India’s present state of affairs, one would probably surmise that Gandhism cannot have any relevance in this twenty-first century; wherein the age of social media and instant gratification, we accord a secondary place for ethics and honesty. Gandhi is rightly called the Father of the Nation because he single-handedly stood up against the mighty British Empire, filled the zeal of independence in millions and brought us freedom as we stand today as the world’s largest surviving democracy. However, today, Gandhi is mostly forgotten and his relevance questioned even by his ardent devotees.

Since independence, the country has witnessed many violent communal riots which run parallel to his most-followed ideology of ‘secularism’ while also neglecting the ideal of ‘Sarvodaya, a broad Gandhian term meaning ‘universal upliftment’ or ‘progress of all’. On the contrary, the irony in today’s India is a unique distinction of being the country where industrial giants and nominees of richest people in the world come from while at the same time more than 30 per cent of its population lives in dire poverty and 45 % is unaware of their rights (Baura, 2017).

What is required is a global non-violent awakening of principles Gandhi gave birth to, where his name should transcend the bounds of race, religion and nation-states, and emerges as the prophetic voice of the twenty-first century. Where his passionate adherence is resonated in every corner of the world and thus more than ever now is the time to make Gandhi relevant.

As all of us move towards an all-pervading materialistic, agnostic and consumerist culture, as we fight these big wars and grapple with crises; the common ordinary people in this modern age need Gandhism to hold on to.

SOURCES

-Baura, R { 2017 , June }. Relevance of Gandhi in Modern Times. mkgandhi.org. https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/relevance-of-gandhi-in-modern-times.html

-Srivastav, R { 2019, August 13}. Bapu’s way : the relevance of Gandhi in Modern India and the World. One travel. https://www.onetravel.com/going-places/the-relevance-of-gandhi-in-modern-india-and-the-world/

-Parida, O {2019, October 1 } . Relevance of Gandhianism in today’s world. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.com/blogs/the-rock-bottom/relevance-of-gandhianism-in-todays-world/

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However, it was not just the collapse of the Twin Towers and the partial destruction of the Pentagon that made the attack globally monumental. It was what followed post 9/11 Attack – primarily in terms of the US’s counter-response to the attack and secondary in terms of the attack’s impression upon the larger eastern and western ideological realms.

“U.S. Under Attack” was inked as headlines after three commercial airliners were used as bombs to destroy the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan followed by twin towers as well as part of the Pentagon which serves as the headquarters of defence. Another hijacked U.S. airliner Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania, supposedly intending to crash into the White House in Washington, DC.

INTRODUCTION

The United States suffered an unprecedented loss of life on September 11, 2001, from what was labelled a “terrorist attack.” Mainly on the basis of data from professional association surveys and government agencies, it was found that the United States and many other countries of the world have been significantly affected by the events and aftermath of that morning’s events.

As an unprecedented attack on a country not usually affected by external terrorism, often cited as an example of leading powers it allows a unique study of how the notion of terrorism changed after the traumatic series of events. As a result of the “9/11 attack”, a number of changes were triggered as the economy, society and civilians recovered, the Arab world and Western allies diverged on the spectrum. Many of the initial logistical changes appear to have diminished over time as things restored normalcy but severed relationships between countries, prejudiced views and discriminatory practices linger on as memoirs of the incident.

WHAT IS TERRORISM?

Coined during the French Revolution to describe “the reign of terror” the term originates from the Latin word “terrere,” which reflects frighten or tremble and had positive connotations. Today, terrorism has transformed into a more menacing spectre where throughout the years, various scholars have attempted to define what constitutes ‘terrorism’.

Yet, the term is so loaded with conceptual problems that a totally accepted universal definition of it ceases to exist and the irony is that the recurrent theme of violence has become the daily part of the political drama of modern times. Where the U.S. Department of Defence defines it as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”.

On the other hand, the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism quotes it as, “any act or threat of violence, whatever its motives or purposes, that occurs in the advancement of an individual or collective criminal agenda and seeking to sow panic among people, causing fear by harming them, or placing their lives, liberty or security in danger, or seeking to cause damage to the environment or to public or private installations or property or to occupying or seizing them, or seeking to jeopardise national resources is – terrorism”.

Terrorists have a myriad of potential targets in the world; they strategically aim to disrupt high-profile landmarks, crowded public places with low security, targets that would hurt their enemy’s economy, and anywhere that could cause maximum harm to their enemy’s citizens. Perhaps it is in this regard that the attacks on the WTC affected the health of US civilians in uncountable ways: it created psychological distress for millions, exacerbated mental disorders among the younger segment of groups and jeopardised social cohesion which functions as the founding pillar for mental health.

THE EVENTS OF 9/11 ATTACK

Described by the U.S. Department of State as the deadliest international terrorist attack in human history it involved four separate but coordinated commercial aeroplane hijackings by 19 hijackers belonging to the Al Qaeda terrorist branch resulting in over 25, 000 injuries with $ 10 billion worth of property damage.

As all the aeroplanes had just taken off and were filled with jet fuel for their transcontinental flights, their intentional crashes into buildings had the effects of a bomb exploding as the fuel ignited upon impact and hundreds suffered the cost.

The 19 hijackers on 9/11 were described as ‘terrorists’ who came from various Middle Eastern countries. NBC Nightly News (2002) said the 19 hijackers all entered the United States illegally as with over 6,000 mi of land borders, 95,000 mi of seacoast, guarding all possible entrance points into the United States and keeping out any foreign entities that can accelerate chaos is almost impossible.

GLOBAL EFFECTS & GOVERNMENTAL MEASURES

The United Nations passed a resolution condemning the 9/11 attack while Interpol focused its attention on bringing justice by organising an 11 September Task Force in response to the attacks.

The attacks on 9/11 in the United States have directly and indirectly drawn many other countries into the fray against terrorists by tightening their security guidelines to even racial profiling measures.

The 9/11 attack triggered a number of responses within the global hegemony where the initial tenor of the populace in the United States was shock, sorrow, and outrage. Views were highly foreshadowed as reports of hate crimes and acts of discrimination against Muslims and Arabs became a regular phenomenon. While on the other end of the spectrum people opened up their hearts and pockets in an initial outpouring of donating blood and money to help the victims who bore the brunt of the tragedy. Employees became more oriented towards spending time with loved ones and balancing work and home time as well extending a hand of help to those in need. The testing times brought out the best spirit in people as the citizens of the United States were drawn much closer together; there was a significant increase in cohesion of the populace.

Stringent government changes were put in order as greater coordination of the intelligence and law enforcement communities like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and FBI was emphasised. Forty government agencies and units were assigned to collect intel on terrorism by employing multiple mechanisms.

A cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security was formed in the national government to overlook the supervision while congress laid the stone for the formulation of the Transportation Security Administration to hire and employ over 40,000 federal baggage screeners for checked baggage at the 429 U. S. airports.

President Bush declared “War on Terrorism” and received tremendous public support where his approval rating as President soared to 70% and solidified his image as a ‘strong’ leader.

There was an incursion into Afghanistan by the United States and its allies to find and destroy those guilty for 9/11 where the U.S. after the infamous invasion of Iraq; officially listed it under the U.S. Department of State as a sponsor of terrorism.

Even though the U.S. retaliated after the great shock but its economy was adversely affected by business spending dropping significantly. Analysts noted how terrorist strikes were the single greatest loss for the insurance industry in 2001 while the travel industry also decimated. Employers were mentally affected by the 9/11 attack in numerous ways and thus the importance of crisis management teams and plans took centre stage, where disaster plans were revised and meetings away were drastically curtailed. Increased security procedures led to the slower and more costly movement of services, and over-cutting costs often not viable for small business to withstand. Bernasek (2002) estimated that it would cost the United States an extra $151 billion a year because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks including an extra $6 billion for people costs such as extra absenteeism. Employers took leaves of absences and time off to recover from the troubling events of the 9/11 attack. With the passage of time, however, the initial effects of 9/11 declined and life in the United States generally reverted to pre-9/11 behaviours where national surveys have shown little lasting change on the U.S. population and economic market since the 9/11 attack.

POLARISATION OF VIEWS POST 9/11 ATTACK

Ideological and political conflict between the Western and Arab and Muslim world is one of the most dominant phenomena that override the relations across global issues of the present era where struggle and strive is mediated, reproduced, and circulated mostly by headlines and media. While U.S. and Western media have previously dominated the global mediascape, the emergence of the new Arab public sphere opens the way for productive dialogues, better mutual understanding and to curb hostility that has seeped in over years of projecting one-sided narratives.

One still needs to understand the need where Western mechanisms need to break with stereotypes of Arabs and Islam, incorporate more Muslim voices into its programming and provide a safe platform for real dialogue and debate rather than ideological posturing and polarisation.

Likewise, the emergent Arab public sphere should be open to Western dialogue as well as the diversity of views in its region as these opposites need to take into account how it will be one of the challenges in the coming years and calls for critical communication, interaction and deliberation between the Middle East and the West which has been so fraught with danger and will no doubt continue to be a site of immense importance and conflict.

THE DIVIDE

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Islam and Muslims started to come to the forefront of the Western media, albeit not for very positive reasons; it flared the already existing one-sided view westerners kept of the eastern world. Because Osama Bin Laden cited religious motives for his criminal attacks, a debate started brewing in the Western media over the real essence of Islam and whether it encouraged violence and promoted hatred, particularly against non- Muslims.

Many media outlets referred to the 9/11 terrorists simply as ‘‘Muslims,’’ which fuelled stereotyping further and did nothing to help stop the verbal and physical attacks taking place against Muslims in the U.S. at this critical time; it was noted how after the events of 9/11, ‘‘the U.S. media immediately fell back on the prevailing —and stereotyped—narrative about Arabs and Muslims and reverted to its historic tendency to present the world, as Henry Kissinger’s quotes, ‘a morality play between good and evil’’.

Despite the fact that all Arab countries condemned the attacks and took a solid stance against ‘ terrorism’ in all forms, for the most part, voices communicated through the mass media still failed to differentiate between Arabs and Muslims, on one hand, and terrorists, on the other.

Political scholars in Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR, 2001) noted that ‘‘many media pundits focused on one theme: retaliation; while not paying heed to what follows in the aftermath.
For example, on September 12, 2001, Steve Dunleavy wrote in the New York Post: ‘‘The response to this unimaginable 21st- century Pearl Harbor should be as simple as it is swift—kill the bastards. A gunshot between the eyes, blow them to smithereens, poison them if you have to. As for cities or countries that host these worms, bomb them into basketball courts.’’

Even leaders of importance who uphold the ideals of rationality and diplomacy took sides like the former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger commented on CNN, ‘‘There is only one way to begin to deal with people like this, and that is you have to kill some of them even if they are not immediately directly involved in this thing’’. Statements like this coincided with and may have contributed to an increasing anti-Muslim sentiment which slowly seeped into other western nations who believed they were ‘‘doing the U.S. a favour.’’

The Arab Dilemma

It is difficult to draw a conclusion with one side as dual variables have functioned simultaneously where the Western media have produced dominant negative stereotypes and demonised Islamic fundamentalism, and in turn how Arab media have promoted negative images of the West and offers a rigorous narrow crevice to hold dialogue.

Chomsky (2001) asserted that the mainstream media in the U.S. constitutes a well- run propaganda systems that hold the immense capacity ‘‘to drive people to irrational, murderous, and suicidal behaviour’’ where citizens need to resist the notion of responding to terrorist crimes and must hold the wisdom to see both sides of the story.

During the post-9/11 era tensions and hostilities have been intensified due to the Bush Administration “war on terror” and Osama bin Laden and other radical Islamic groups promoting “Jihad” where Bush and bin Laden’s rhetoric and worldview and how their binary discourses and extremist rhetoric have shaped the representations of each side in their respective media.

This bias was further aggravated by what could be called ‘‘jihad journalism’’ a concept narrowly created to meet the partisan need where such slanted coverage was ‘‘the hallmark of the post-9/11 era’’ and a ‘‘a result of racist jingoism”.

CONCLUSION

A decade has passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Most of us remember where we were when we learned of the attacks, although our memories of the event and of our feelings that day may not be as accurate as we suspect as it is a known fact how the 9/11 attack did far more than destroy buildings and kill thousands of innocent people, it divided beyond boundaries and devastated perceptions beyond mending. They interrupted routine patterns and tugged at our social fabric, not simply in New York City, but across the global platform. They shattered a sense of security and perceptions of vulnerability among residents of the Western world even those who did not know anyone who died that day have been touched by the tragedy in one way or another. It now falls on to us to usher in peace, leave what’s all left behind and look beyond what is projected.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbas, T. (ed) (2007). “Islamic Political Radicalism in European Perspective”. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Andrew Silke. ( 2003) . “Beyond Horror: Terrorist Atrocity and the Search for Understanding” . Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 26(1) ,pp. 37–60.

Bergen, P. (2006). ‘What were the causes of 9/11?’

Bobbitt, P. (2008). “Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty First Century”. London: Penguin Books.

Maxwell Taylor and Ethel Quayle ( 1994 ) . “Terrorist Lives” . London: Brassey’s, Publication

Richard A. Clarke. ( 2004 ) . “Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror” .New York: Free Press, pp. 227–238.

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Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that nothing lives forever. The second law of Thermodynamics quite clearly indicates that the universe will perish as it attains a state of maximum entropy, devoid of any gradient needed to sustain information processing, one form of which is life. In what way that happens, will ultimately depend upon the shape and the amount of dark energy in the universe. But then, that event is trillions of years away.

On the other hand, theological cosmogony, particularly the Vedic time scale mentions a cyclic timeline that repeats itself forever, fundamentally divided into the four Yugas and then Manvantaras and Kalpas, ultimately culminating itself with the dissolution of Lord Brahma into the Para Brahm. This doctrine also attempts to describe the history of human evolution.

Now, in modern times, the prevailing theory of Survival of the Fittest explains that human beings are a result of the gradual evolution process starting from single-cell organisms. But the Four Yuga system speaks of the declining journey of human beings across the ages. Kali Yuga, the contemporary Yuga, is described as a time when human civilization degenerates spiritually. Common attributes and consequences mentioned about this Yuga are spiritual bankruptcy, mindless hedonism, breakdown of all social structure, greed, materialism, unrestricted egotism, afflictions and maladies of mind and body.

Personally, I have never paid serious heed to these principles. Like I mentioned earlier, I am an optimistic futurist. I think the best days of humanity are well ahead of us. A time where we employ our intelligence, intuition, wisdom and our mastery over technology to create an utopia, colonising worlds, seeding them with life, undertaking engineering at planetary or stellar scales, building Dyson Spheres, Alderson Disks and Matrioshka Brains. As optimistic as I am, I also never expected this fantastic journey to be smooth and rapid. I knew it would take thousands of years and is ultimately a subject to our triumph over some occasional but nonetheless potent hurdles that threaten to end our civilisation like nuclear or biological warfare, cosmic extinction events, the threat of artificial intelligence etc. but the same optimism in me has led me to believe that these hurdles are mere technological challenges, which will be overcome by our ingenuity, resilience and the exponential growth of our technological proficiency over time.

However, in the past few days, a certain prediction about the current era, from various theological perspectives has caught my attention. The aforementioned prediction about humanity’s spiritual degradation. We might be able to fight most of our existential threats with technology but can we overcome spiritual degradation with the same optimistic attitude and technology as a weapon in our arsenal? Are we, as I speak, gradually witnessing the same decline in human civilization mentioned in our Vedic doctrine of time? For instance, some of the narratives of Kali Yuga, mentioned in the scriptures refer to a time when avarice and wrath are common and humans openly display animosity towards each other.

Truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance and mercy diminish with each passing day. People cultivate thoughts of murder with no justification and feel no remorse. Lust is viewed as socially acceptable and sex is seen as the central requirement of life. Virtue fades way and ceases to flourish. People become addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs and no longer get married, rather choosing to live with each other just for sexual pleasure. Weather and the environment degrade with time bringing infrequent and unpredictable rain. Diseases and fake ideologies spread throughout the world and the powerful dominate the poor. One glance into the world today and it’s quite easy to observe the kind of spiritual degradation being talked about in those scriptures. We’ve achieved wonders with our mastery over technology but does our journey and growth in the spiritual realm need introspection and scrutiny? Has our species declined in virtue? Are we unknowingly plummeting into this demonic illusion of greed, lust, malice and jealousy? People are being killed for petty reasons, there exist unimaginable divisions between the rich and the poor. The sanctity of relationships is gone, replaced with lust and social utility. Are we becoming way too practical and logical for our own good? Was my optimism and pragmatic approach about the future in vain?

For many of us, these questions might seem to be of the rhetorical kind, designed to tap into our personal insecurities but I honestly think it’s time to stop, pull over for a while and introspect, whether we’re travelling in the path we ought to be and doing something that culminates into the greater good or tumbling into a future that begets a fiery cataclysm of destruction.

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I got down to widespread research on other alternatives that were available in the Indian markets and decided to go for tampons. These required lesser manoeuvring of the product and provided more fluidity of body movement. However, an abbreviation kept popping up every now and then while opening fresh packs- TSS. Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by the overgrowth of bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus, or staph that gets stuck into the body and releases harmful toxins. It’s often found to affect those who use the super absorbent variety because a tampon, warm and soaked with blood, is an ideal place for bacteria to grow. Moreover, it was just as problematic as a pad because there were leakage issues and sleeping with tampons inside the body for too long wasn’t an option.

Digging deep into how a menstrual cup is really used, its pros and cons, different types and folds, I found myself questioning how it first came into being and why a majority of us still prefer using a sanitary pad instead. Living beings don’t adapt to changes easily because apprehension about something new and the fear of the unknown plays a massive role in it.

Evolution of the Menstrual Cup

Catamenial Sack- S. L. Hockert (1867) 

S. L. Hockert from Chicago, Illinois invented the Catamenial Sack ^[1] in the year 1867. The idea of a Catamenial Sack was the first prototype of a menstrual cup. It was a rubber pouch connected to an adjustable length wire (via a screw on the front) that was further attached to a belt worn around the waist. A string attached to the bottom of the pouch was to aid in the removal of the pouch just like a string in tampons. The wire was presumably rigid and was to help hold the cup in place and in shape to avoid it from slipping off or coming out. It often featured a small sponge for extra absorbency. There is no evidence of it being manufactured.

First Menstrual Cup Patent- McGlasson & Perkins (1932)

An early version of a bullet-shaped menstrual cup was known to be patented in 1932 by the midwifery group of McGlasson and Perkins. However, it was never commercialized and made available for the general mass.

First Commercialized Menstrual Cup Patent- Leona Chalmers (1937)

After the invention of menstrual cups in 1932, Leona Chalmers decided to take them a notch higher and make them available for the general mass. Hence Chalmers commercialized usable menstrual cups in 1937. She patented a design of a menstrual cup that was made from latex rubber, was soft as well as firm enough to not slip out. Her patent application stated that the design won’t cause “uncomfortableness or consciousness of its presence”. It also allowed women to wear “thin, light, close-fitting clothing” without belts, pins or buckles that would bother them or would show like the Catamenial Sack.

First Brand –‘TASS-ETTE’ later ‘TASSETTE’ (Latex Rubber, 1950s)

The 1930’s menstrual cup brand, “Tass-ette,” came up after Leona Chalmers designed the same. It faced hurdles during World War II as a shortage of raw material, latex rubber, occurred and the company was forced to stop production. After the war in the early 1950s, Mrs Chalmers made some improvements, modified the structure and patented a new design. Thus, it was re-launched as “Tassette” at the end of the 1950s with a bigger advertising budget. This cup was not well accepted even though women were far more progressive than in the 1930s they were somehow not ready for a menstrual cup with the idea of reusable internal protection. 

First Disposable Menstrual Cup-TASSAWAY (1966)

It was important to address problems that popped up concerning emptying or cleaning the Tassette cup. Those who were happy with the product didn’t feel the need to repurchase another since it was a reusable product. So, in the late 1960s, Tassette Inc. decided to come up with a solution to the biggest problem they were facing. They patented and began manufacturing a new disposable menstrual cup, “Tassaway,” to compete with the emerging market of disposable menstrual products. It was a big success and extremely popular in Europe. 

THE KEEPER (1987)

Reusable menstrual cups came back into the market in 1987. Another cup made out of latex rubber called ‘The Keeper’ was manufactured in the United States. The popularity picked up at a good speed as women were much more progressive and discontinuation of menstrual cups was not seen as an option thereafter. 

MOONCUP- First Silicon Menstrual Cup (2001)

The first silicone menstrual cup that became popular in the market was the UK-manufactured Mooncup in 2001. At the beginning of the 21st century a new material, medical-grade silicone, was integrated into the design which yielded great success. It ensured women a safer period cycle without latex allergies. Since Mooncup was a huge success Lunnette, Diva Cup, PeeSafe, The Women’s Company and other such brands started manufacturing the same kind of cups.

Pros & Cons of Menstrual Cup

It’s rightly said that we decide which pattern we really want to break and not let it trickle down to the next generation. When I thought of giving the menstrual cup a second try my mother was apprehensive about it too. Reading up the pros and cons, watching tons of informatory videos and a lot of self-exploration helped me more than I expected to not just understand the concept but also formulate an opinion of my own. I never found a proven drawback or medical threat with regard to cups but somehow the number of women who feel comfortable using a cup is just a handful compared to the vast chunk willing to settle for sanitary pads.

A menstrual cup in its true sense is a bell-shaped silicone cup that is folded for a smoother insertion into the vagina. It slides in and pops open to form a seal against the walls of the vagina. This helps catch all the menstrual fluid and can be emptied according to one’s convenience. This is not just the ‘real game-changer’ but a life-altering experience altogether.

The blood doesn’t get a chance to flow out and spread like jam on bread, hence there are no chances of irritation, odour, infection or rashes. Concerning flexibility and mobility, one can easily spread their legs and sleep in whichever position they want because gone are those days of uncomfortable sleepless nights. It provides comfort without making one conscious about its presence inside the body. Swimming with the cup on makes life so much easier.

Emptying it according to the flow of blood depends from person to person but it can hold blood up to 12 hours at a stretch which is very convenient for someone who’s travelling, attending lectures, working long hours or even lying around like a sloth. One must note that menstrual cups don’t make the vagina dry, they keep the good bacteria intact, and are not associated with Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) in any way. Hence it’s a win-win situation for all! Cups are also very environment friendly and avoid adding to a lot of unnecessary waste that’s hardly biodegradable.

Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations (2015) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals and these SDGs are structured and well defined, in such a way that they address important problems from the health and sustainability perspective. However, Menstrual Hygiene is not explicitly mentioned in any of the SDGs but still directly linked to achieving several SDGs^[2]. SDG 3 ensures healthy lives and promotes wellbeing for all at all age; SDG 4 ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning; SDG 5 which is all about achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls; SDG 6 ensures availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all and SDG 8 that focuses on decent work & economic growth. Menstrual health and hygiene are thus intertwined with various SDGs and a slight positive change in one creates a domino effect in all the other SDGs too.

Conclusion

There are a lot of developing countries and talking about menstrual health and hygiene is a comparatively difficult task even today. Many communities are hesitant to embrace menstrual cups because of moral concerns about hymen, virginity, masturbation, and its potential to act as contraception.

Though we’ve transitioned into an advanced world there are a lot of women who still use old cloths, rags and cotton to soak their blood instead of proper products due to poverty, illiteracy, unawareness and other factors that play a crucial role which increases mortality rates and diseases day by day.

Educational institutions hardly hold menstrual awareness workshops for students in developing and underdeveloped countries. They glorify basic information in the name of awareness and certainly keep the boys away from it. That’s exactly how regressive our understanding of period blood is as a society and the role of men in menstruation remains a far-fetched dream. The stigmatized status of menstruation questions the basic menstrual needs of women hence it’s disturbing to witness how the 21st century continues to pursue a stoic silence on the issue regardless of the impact. Menstrual cups have evolved over all these years and it’s high time we consider evolving too!

References:

[1] S. L. Hockert, “Catemenial Sack,” 12-Nov-1867.

[2] International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) Pg- 379; Vol.8; Issue: 5; May 2018

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India, spanning across 29 states and 8 union territories, offers unique ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity. While taking a stroll in the streets of India, one can see people doing their daily stuff, whatever that is. Or they are just standing and sitting around talking in a large group of people. Whatever they are engaged in, one thing is universal. They seem to be relaxed in whatever they do and be at peace with themselves and the environment. It is as if they don’t need the word ‘happy’ in their vocabulary to feel good and relaxed: they are fine with how it is. In India, happiness is not an abstract term. that people all intend to have as their life’s goal.

Maybe the Indian version of happiness has something to do with the present activities. Maybe being happy is just equivalent to being yourself. It’s more about not wishing for anything else and not to have big desires for which we would be willing to give something dear but to find these desires and happiness in the things we already have and as a result be grateful and at peace. Maybe it is acceptance of what is instead of hoping for what may be. 

Happiness, Well-being and Human Development

It is quite understandable that the ultimate objective of social and economic development is to provide improvements in the lives of men and women who generate employment now and the younger generation who we hope will generate in the future. This makes the idea of well-being universal: achieving a state of well-being has to be inclusive everywhere, whether in developed or developing countries (OECD, 2015).

Well-being is a focal concept: human well-being provides a means of understanding the growing relationships between apparently diverse ideas and issues that abound as and often appear to compete, in the international agendas. The proper study of human well-being provides a possible way to map out the relationship between poverty and sustainability as it helps us to explore the relationship between various economic dimensions and development such as productivity and efficiency, social cohesion and governance which are vital for the successful overall development (OECD, 2015).

Following the need to study the relevance of happiness, well-being and human development, various methodologies were developed in the international conferences and meetings of the United Nations (UN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These methodologies presented frameworks that incorporated the socio-economic indicators which can be used to assess the improvements in human well-being. One of the innovations suggested by the well-being approach saw human well-being as a holistic phenomenon. The framework which was put forward by OECD was known as ‘How is Life’ framework. This provides a good example of this multidimensional approach to measuring human well-being that can be used to discuss its relevance for developing countries.

The above figure depicts the process of the OECDs ‘How is Life’ framework which involves three categories of variables. These three categories are listed below: 

• Material Conditions
• Quality of Life
• Sustainability 

Within each of these three categories, there are a certain set of variables upon which data is assembled. Under ‘Material Conditions’ following three variables are listed:

• Income and wealth
• Jobs and earnings
• Housing 

The variables included in the category ‘Quality of Life’ are listed below:

• Health status
• Work and life balance
• Education and skills
• Social connections
• Civic engagement and governance
• Environmental quality
• Personal security
• Subjective well-being

In the last ‘Sustainability’ category there are four types of capitals which are identified as being significant for the process that produces both material well-being and quality of life outcomes. These are listed below:

• Natural capital
• Economic capital
• Human capital
• Social capita

Thus the major innovation will lie in the integrated adoption of a multidimensional approach to understanding progress which integrally considers people’s subjective evaluation of their quality of life. 

Subjective Well-being as an Alternate Tool for Policy Evaluation

In recent times, subjective wellbeing measures have established themselves as reliable alternatives to standard economic indicators of welfare. Intertest in subjective metrics have been largely driven by the growing dissatisfaction with the conventional use of objective indicators like GDP to evaluate the impact of economic activities on public and private sector decision making. This has led international organisations such as the UN and OECD to advise against using the GDP as a measure of economic progress as it does not capture the outcomes that matter to the well-being of the people. 

Today, the governments in places like New Zealand, Wales, Iceland and Scotland have advocated and justified the use of subjective well-being matrices in evaluating public policy. As a result of which these countries have recently established the Wellbeing Economy Governments Alliance (WEGO) that aims to promote and share their expertise and transferable policy practices in regard to subjective well-being (Wiking, 2020).

The core benefit of using subjective well-being is that it measures individual experience by directly asking people to report how they feel about their lives. This is in contrast to the conventional economic metrics like inflation rate, unemployment rate and GDP per capita that focus instead on people’s market behaviour. The measures of subjective well-being have proven to be reliable across varying contexts. They remain stable over time, correlate with the third party, associate with physiological makers, respond to life changes and even help in predicting future socio-economic behaviour of individuals including suicide. 

It is observed that the United Nations for the last eight years has published national rankings of subjective wellbeing in their World Happiness Report. These well-being measures have proven to be aligned with economic objective country conditions, including GDP per capita, life expectancy and levels of corruption. Subjective wellbeing metrics are therefore poised to reveal important underlying dynamics that can help us to understand how people have felt and behaved during the COVID-19 pandemic (Wiking, 2020). 

The Lessons Learnt From Nordic Countries

From 2013 till today, every time the World Happiness Report (WHR) has published its annual ranking of countries, the five Nordic countries- Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland have all been placed in the top ten with Nordic countries occupying the top three spots in 2017, 2018 and 2019. It is of no doubt that whether we look at the state of democracy, structure of political institutions, lack of corruption, social cohesion, trust between the citizens, gender equality or Human Development Index, one can easily find the Nordic countries in the global top spots (Martela & Greve, 2020). 

There has been a lot of research done on finding the reasons that make Nordic citizens so exceptionally satisfied with their lives. Through reviewing the existing literature the prominent factors responsible for the happiness of Nordic citizens include quality of institutions, low corruption and proper well-functioning of democracy and political institutions. In addition, Nordic citizens experience a high sense of freedom as well as high levels of social trust among each other that play a significant role in determining life satisfaction (Martela & Greve, 2020). 

Denmark is one of the top five happiest nations in the world. It has consistently remained in the top three global spots in the World Happiness Report. Comparing the Indian and Danish GDP, the GDP growth rate of Denmark averaged 0.40% from 1991 to 2018 while the annual growth rate of India’s GDP averaged at 6.61% from 1951 to 2018 (Trading Economics, 2019). Indian economy is much larger as compared to Danish economy. However, there are other factors than financial prosperity and GDP that makes the Danish people among the top happiest in the world. 

If India has to go the Nordic way, it can adopt some features of the happy country as mentioned in Figure 2. It clearly depicts that Denmark does simple things elegantly and makes it the motto of their life. They seek happiness in the small happening of their life and build a hyggelig environment around themselves (Sarkar, 2018). 

Weaving the Path for India to Follow the Nordic Happiness Way: A Long Way Ahead

The happiness of the citizens in India needs to follow a six-pronged strategy to go the Nordic way of living and can be counted as a happy nation in near future. This strategy is depicted in the figure below:

Indian policymakers should carefully observe how education, transport, health and social policies will affect the happiness of citizens. Furthermore, policies that aim to promote public cooperation and equality are equally likely helpful in increasing the subjective indicators of well-being like longevity. India has been a place for poverty research for a very long period of time. With the appropriate policies in place, maybe it could become a laboratory to study happiness one day. 

Bibliography

Martela, F., & Greve, B. (2020, March 20). The Nordic Exceptionalism: What Explains Why the Nordic Countries Are Constantly Among the Happiest in the World. World Happiness Report. https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/the-nordic-exceptionalism-what-explains-why-the-nordic-countries-are-constantly-among-the-happiest-in-the-world/

OECD. (2015, April 5). MEASURING WELL-BEING FOR DEVELOPMENT. OECD Development Centre. https://www.oecd.org/site/oecdgfd/Session%203.1%20-%20GFD%20Background%20Paper.pdf

Sarkar, D. D. (2018, April 13). India and the happiness quotient. Mint. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/n5HPI9id2l3jBrjZLut3SL/India-and-the-happiness-quotient.html

Trading Economics. (2019, August 4). Denmark and India-Economic Indicators. Trading Economics. https://tradingeconomics.com/denmark/indicators

Wiking, M. (2020, June 20). Wellbeing in the age of COVID-19. Happiness Research Institute. https://6e3636b7-ad2f-4292-b910-faa23b9c20aa.filesusr.com/ugd/928487_f35139968bca4668b456726d010e8d45.pdf

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Anime is the animation or cartoon particularly made in Japan with a huge fan following all over the world.  This art form covers serious topics than usual cartoon animations, not only does it attract children but also young adults and teens. It is a huge concept covering different genres like comedy, romance, drama, pornography. 

All the animes share the same kind of appearance which is different from the other cartoons and animations. The editors, the designers, the creators all strictly follow a peculiar artwork for anime. The characters have big eyes, highlighted bright colourful hairs, and chick dressing sense. They also have exaggerated emotional expressions and gestures which are specifically meant for the anime characters. Many of the characters are inspired by the characters of Disney like seven dwarfs, Micky mouse, mini mouse, and so on. So we really cannot confirm where the idea of big eyes, well- endowed figures have come from.

The Anime Culture and Its Popularity

The anime culture is purely Japanese. This culture was born in Japan along with the birth of Otaku subcultures in the 1960s. It has made a huge impact on its own country. The citizens and government of Japan constructed different kinds of statues, landmarks, and sites for the local citizens and also for the tourists. It is such a dominant side of Japan that many companies, business, brands, and organizations use anime characters in the advertisement, slogans, packaging, snacks and so on. Some brands have even launched anime-theme products for the customers, they are surprisingly doing very well in the markets of Japan as well as abroad. These markets are mainly the younger market, where audiences are more curious about the mascots or anime characters featuring in the product more than the product itself. It has become a household cultural trend among kids and young adults ever since the nineties along with pokemon, Digimon, yu-gi-oh.

The inspiration for anime has partially come from Japanese comic books, manga. Japanese culture can be seen in many TV shows. High schools in Japan are as similar as shown in anime. Staying in traditional ryokan inns, eating with chopsticks, the same kind of accessories, quite the same kind of hair and dressing styles are seen in the common people of Japan. There is a character called Hatsune Miku, Japan’s first Vocaloid singer, who has a huge fan base and craze over the Japanese young audience. There are also many realistic shows of anime that accurately blend Japanese culture into art. A Japanese village Manoyama has an anime based on itself named Sakura Quest. The Ambition of Oda Nobuna is based on another real man of Japan’s history called Nobunaga.

A massive part of the Japanese cultural industry, their animation industry is the country’s third-largest industry, bringing nearly $20 billion a year. It is visible everywhere across the country. As we can tell that most of the Japanese people are a fan of anime, the country is filled with people who are mad about manga as wekk and are really into otaku culture.

Anime’s World Domination

The world of anime is full of the genre, variety, and a lot of complexity. It is an incredibly rich culture. It is not only famous in Asian countries but also has an expanding fanbase among Indians, Americans, Europeans, and many more. An amazing thing about the animation industry is that 60% of all animated shows across the world come from Japan. Marketed to a huge global audience, it has been growing higher and higher in terms of popularity, income, and fame. Apart from providing the biggest selling film in Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, it has become the most likeable among the western countries.

When it comes to animation, Disney has always been the priority of many audiences. With the rising popularity of anime, Disney has decided to put a Pokemon theme park in Disneyland.

Astro-boy, Dragon Ball, Howl’s Moving Castle, Detective Conan, Cowboy Bebop are very famous and popular in the world. People try to make their anime characters inspired by the characters from these series. Many of the popular anime series and films are taken to be remade in different film industries in different languages. The fantasy world of anime is just taking over us all with lots of colours, moments, and sounds, and songs bring these cartoon characters to life. Shockingly this fantasy world of anime and its characters has more fan following and popularity than many real celebrities.

Anime and the USA has an old connection since the 60s, American fandom has always been loyal to the anime series since then. Channels like Cartoon Network and Sci-Fi programmed anime blocks, series, movies from the 90s. Anime has already taken over Netflix, Amazon Prime. Apart from these anime has a specific app for streaming named HULU. Social media has been a great platform to know about anime characters, their specialty. Halloween costumes, memes, sites like makegirlsmoe, cosplay community are just all about anime and its impact.

The Soft Power of Japan: Anime

The love of Japanese people is and perhaps always will be anime. A lot of ceremonies are celebrated in Japan with the presence of an anime mascot and theme. Before the K-pop industry in South Korea became popular, anime was already there with its immense popularity, huge fanbases, and sky-high viewership. The multi-billion dollar industry is quite a strong tower in Japan’s economy. Japan’s contribution to the world in terms of cars, video games, fashion, and anime is quite impressive.

As mentioned earlier, Japan has lots of brands, products specifically themed in anime for the market with the positive point of the blue ocean market. Well in the field of tourism anime has been a great plus point. Besides the reflection of Japanese culture, food, dressing style in anime already attract the tourist but different kinds of anime concert, anime-themed markets, mascot, statues, art camps are way more effective in promoting tourism to Japan as well as influencing pop-cultures. Places like Tokyo Anime Centre; holds daily radio with an anime character, the electric city Akihabara known as the otaku destination, J-talk Tokyo, Tokyo character street, Dogo onsen, Otome Road are hubs for tourists, people all over the world’s visits these places for their craving for anime, game worlds and many more. Tourism is becoming a high hit in Japan due to its influence all over the world.

Being the third biggest largest economy in the world, with the rising soft power, culture, and diplomatic relations, Japan is doing a great deal in enhancing its international standing. Japan has invested billions of dollars in cultural exchange and teaching of the Japanese language, which is a great success to date and giving a major boost to the economy of the country. A lot of the young generation coming to Japan in search of work, education, and to learn the otaku culture is a great deal for its economy and culture. The root of anime all across the world becoming a major soft power bouncer to the country. The Japanese government has exploited the power of its animation industry to make the country’s economy stronger. The Japanese government has made a lot of investment to make anime-themed towns and museums for tourist attractions. This not only helps the tourism, or work section but also brings a lot’s of business collaboration from the world.  

Rise of Japanese programs is also helping japan to promote their pop-culture in quite an impressive way. The formation and promotion of J-pop just like K-pop is one such example. It’s kind of popular among the younger generation.

“Art and culture play a vital role in globalization. It is a way to get your message across, an effective yet discreet way to create friends – opposite to the alarm and fear resulting from coercion.’’ said the commissioner at the Japanese government’s cultural agency, Seiichi Kundu.
‘’Japanese pop culture is a gateway to the deeper and more traditional Japanese culture’’ said, Ambassador Kondo.

Conclusion

Anime has become the soft power to Japan indeed. The paradox is that the concept of japan’s soft power is not very controversial. People back in Japan and abroad discussed it as a soft power very little. Not like other soft powers, it is not offensive, it is loved by all. It is creating a new pride and confidence in confronting the issue of soft power to the world. Anime’s emphasis on cultural diplomacy is quite agreeable to the whole world. The tourism market, education sector, learning camps are rising daily as lots of people across the globe are getting attracted towards Japan. The people who are still at home trying to learn Japanese, buying many anime-themed products, kind of being prepared for their first visit to Japan, helps the Japanese government to gain more revenues hence improving their economy.

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In the context of that reality, understanding the journey of someone like Jadav Payeng is essential. Belonging to a ‘mising’ tribal community of Assam, in the late 1970s he realised that nature around him was changing and on its way hurting objects of its own creation. The island of Majuli of where he’s a resident has faced the brunt of climate change first hand, yearly floods and erosion affecting not only human life and property but the rich flora and fauna and causing the island to shrink over time.

In the summer of ’79, he was deeply affected by the sight of hundreds of snakes washed up dead on the riverbed, he couldn’t imagine a similar fate for any other living being and decided to do something about it. On the sand bar, which didn’t even qualify for Government’s green initiatives owing to lesser levels of fertility, he started by planting bamboo trees, as it could sustain the harsh conditions.

He has lost count of the number of trees he has planted in more than four decades since then, estimates running up to ‘hundreds of thousands’ had shocked even the forest department. Jadav Payeng didn’t seek any permission to plant a forest, he had carried on with the ‘mising tribes’ tradition of honouring nature’. The dense groves that are a fully functional forest ecosystem today, sprawling over 550 hectares, is commonly known as the Molai forest, named after him. His dedication, he hopes has been able to set an example of what an individual can do to change the environment. Commenting on the size of his project, the ‘self-styled naturalist’ said, “It’s not as if I did it all alone. You plant one or two trees, and they have to seed. And once they seed, the wind knows how to plant them, the birds here know how to sow them, cows know, elephants know, even the Brahmaputra river knows. The entire ecosystem knows.”

In 2010, a Jorhat based freelance journalist and wildlife photographer Jintu Kalita wrote about Jadav Payeng, in an Assamese Newspaper, the very first news piece on him that brought him to the limelight. It has led to hundreds of stories and news articles, books and chapters on him as well as numerous documentaries on his work. In a public function arranged by School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, Payeng was named ‘the Forest Man of India’ by the then Vice-Chancellor of the Institute.

In 2015, he was honoured with the Padma Shri and has received honorary doctorates from numerous universities since then. People from around the globe visit Molai Forest today, to see more than 120 species of migratory birds and Elephants, Tigers and Rhinos that visit from the Kaziranga National Park and a slew of other flora and fauna that call the forest home, some even native to the river basin.

Jadav Payeng is grateful for the honour and accolades, which come quite often these days, at the same time worried about this newfound fame which along with everything, brings poachers and smugglers to the forest. As the forest expands, he is concerned if he alone can continue to look after it and hopes the recognition he has found would actually help direct governments and organisations towards the cause.

In a 2013 documentary, titled ‘Forest Man’, by William D McMaster, he talks about the expansion of his reforestation project to the entire island of Majuli. To make it more economically viable and help with the development of its population, Payeng proposes the idea of planting Coconut trees which would reap monetary benefits and its stronghold over the land help against erosion. While Payeng’s plans haven’t yet received official status, the state government has been positive towards the expansion project and has recommended the island several times for UNESCO heritage site status, without much success. The due recognition could help spearhead campaigns that would essentially speed up the reclamation and reforestation project along with its protection.

The islanders, who in the past had termed our forest man insane, weren’t always supportive of his project. They are still fearful of the vastness and concerned if it would ever have negative impacts upon them. Jadav Payeng has been able to uphold a staunch protest to all such claims while making people aware that humans and our collective action causes more threat to the environment than they could ever cause. He would rather sacrifice himself than letting someone harm the forest.

Fame hasn’t changed his life on the island. He still lives in a traditional ‘chang ghar’ along with his family of four, gets up early every day, rides a boat to reach his forest, tends to the plants and replants new seeds and weeds out poisonous varieties, the process has gotten easier but he continues with the same dedication that started him on his journey some 40 years ago. He takes good care of his health, drinks a medicinal concoction of herbs collected from the forest itself, every day. He is brave, fearless and determined to do better for our environment till his last breath. When asked about climate change, he suggests humans to learn and teach the art of loving nature as much as we love ourselves, no other trick would ever compare to what we could achieve by treating nature right, the way it ought to be.

For this generation of youth, very much including me, whose war cry to heed to the climate crisis and help heal the earth has been louder than ever, Jadav Payeng’s journey and efforts to singlehandedly do better by our environment will always be heroic. In the power play of our world, biggest of our democracies either has done too little to reverse the climate crisis or shy away from accepting this theory of accelerated disaster in the interest of their ruthless capitalisation and material desires. Multinational organisations and NGOs haven’t necessarily been successful in changing the dialogue.

Understanding through Payeng, his lesson of ‘aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) and approach towards natures dilemma is truly empowering. To rely on government entities then is a big mistake, time for starting on a journey of corrective measures to heal our earth is now. Resources could be limited and the path could be difficult, but we all have to commit to restoring our home, our common heritage.

The ‘hero’ culture of our times, especially in countries like India, has often been problematic. Having said that, we need to start celebrating heroes like Jadav Payeng who has single-handedly stood up against privilege, against economic resourcefulness to understand the human impact on the environment, to reverse centuries of ignorance towards our better half, nature. Keeping someone like Payeng in our conscience will motivate and help gear up the fight against human actions that affect nature. Nature will always be unpredictable in its ways, either by love or war, but if we ethically and morally oblige ourselves to take care of it, nature would inadvertently look after us. Jadav Payeng’s fruit of labour and dedication has already led the way, we just needn’t falter away.

REFERENCES

GHOSH, AMITAV, THE GREAT DERANGEMENT: CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE UNTHINKABLE, PENGUIN BOOKS, INDIA, 2016.

MCCARTHY, JULIE (2017), A LIFETIME OF PLANTING TREES ON A REMOTE RIVER ISLAND: MEET INDIA’S FOREST MAN, npr.org

KANNADASAN, AKILA (2019), MEET JADAV PAYENG, INDIA’S FOREST MAN, WHO CREATED 550 HECTARES OF FOREST SINGLE-HANDEDLY, www.thehindu.com

MCMASTER D, WILLIAM (2014), FOREST MAN (documentary), YouTube

Featured Image: Jitu Kalita

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Lack of Women Identity and Agency in Bollywood

The female protagonists in Bollywood films often lack a voice and agency. The story narrated is always that of the male hero and the female protagonist is a mere appendage. According to psychoanalytic theory, this could be termed as phallocentrism. Laura Mulvey in her essay ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ states that “the paradox of phallocentrism in all its manifestations is that it depends on the image of the castrated woman to give order and meaning to its world”.

The only role of the female characters is to further the plot of the story and to aid the hero in the process of identity-formation. Women, be it the sister, the mother or the love interest of the hero, are always secondary characters. Bollywood films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Pardes and the recent ones like Dabangg, Zero are a great example of this. It is always the hero who is shown in Bollywood movies to go through a journey and the women either are a cause of that journey or help him on his way. Rarely do we see independent women characters with well carved out identities.

Kareena Kapoor’s character in Chameli is one of such few examples of a well written, round female character. In the film, she emerges as a strong female character who does not need a male figure to rush to her rescue, every time she is in a problem. In fact, the film subverts the expectations of the audience in a scene where it is actually the street smart prostitute who rescues the hero.

In a more recent film, Thappad, the issue of domestic violence, which has been plaguing our society since centuries, is addressed. Taapsee Punnu’s character stands against physical abuse. She refuses to bow down to the patriarchal ideas and in her journey, challenges the ‘sacred’ institutions of marriage and family. The film charts her growth from a dependent, almost subservient house-wife to an independent woman and a single mother. The film also breaks the stereotype that domestic violence is an issue only for the lower sections of society. In Thappad, we see how physical and mental abuse is as prevalent in urban, educated and rich families as among the poor, rural society.

Male Gaze

In most of our films, the gaze of the camera is also predominantly male and to a large extent, determines how we perceive the female characters. The male gaze of the camera is probably the result of the fact that the majority of the films are written, directed and shot by men. The male gaze of the camera, combined with the male gaze of the hero, commodifies and fetishises female characters. John Berger in Ways of Seeing points out that in the films, “Men act, women appear. Men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at.” The sexist and selective male gaze of the camera is focused on selective parts of the female body. Bindu Nair in her essay- “Female Bodies and the Male Gaze” explains how women are turned into a ‘spectacle’-

“The gaze is invited to certain parts of the body selectively considered sexual – the eyes, the lips, the breasts, the navel, the buttocks and the legs…All these add up in objectifying and sexualising the body of the woman for the benefit of the (male) viewer.”

Nair, 2009

The famous “item songs” in our films are a great example of the male gaze at play.  The songs like ‘Tip Tip Barsa’ or ‘Fevicol Se’ show how the camera angles, the costumes, the makeup and even the actions of the female characters in these songs fetishise female body and cater to male pleasure, i.e. the pleasure of the hero and the male audience.

Conclusion

This problematic depiction of women in Bollywood films translates to real life as well. The impressionable minds of youth accept this sexist and misogynistic portrayal as the norm. This could be an important reason why women in our society face a lot of backlashes if they stray from the stereotypical idea of femininity and try to assert their voice and freedom. Films borrow from reality but they also influence our reality. Therefore, in a society where films largely shape our way of thinking, we need more films with strong and independent female characters. The need of the hour is good films which tackle the rampant misogyny in our society, and not increase it by projecting stereotypical and regressive ideas of femininity. We are definitely on the path of change and progress, but we are not there yet. The Hindi Film industry is waking up to the importance of this issue, but there is still a long way to go.

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Sorry to call out the spade again and again, but do you really not see how pathetic and pointless that is?

Unless there are viable alternatives for you to switch to, whining about what Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp does in terms of policies and business model, will be just that – whining.

You have signed up to use their services. If you wish to continue, you have to agree with whatever they come up with. You have a choice to leave. But no alternative to go to. And it is this conundrum that any private company with a monopoly in the market it operates shall capitalize. There are no ifs, nor buts here.

Seeing a lot of hullabaloo about WhatsApp’s new policies. Your this data will be shared. Your that data will be shared. But ask yourself. Is it really that surprising? When you click on a cute little link to find out when you will die, or how you will look like the opposite gender, are you not consenting to share your info already?

Here’s the thing you need to understand once and for all. In this digital age, everything you put up online is accessible by others. In some way or another. And privacy in this context is just a fancy word, with no real meaning, nor applicability.

The only thing you should be mindful about is whether or not you have something to hide. If yes, then you need to remove yourself from the online world completely. If no, then which app collects what data of you, shouldn’t bother you at all.

This is how the new world is. You are either in it. Or completely cut off. There is no middle ground. So, make up your mind. And stop whining about it.

Featured Illustration By: Glenn Harvey

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Origin and Trend Setting of Colour Sexism

It must be noted that gender-colour stereotype and assigning a colour to gender isn’t an ancient concept but a twentieth-century trait. After World War II, blue was used extensively for men’s uniforms. Therefore, blue was identified as more of a masculine colour. Since 1940, pink was promoted as a woman’s colour. “Think Pink” was the marketing slogan to convince women to embrace their femininity. It grew massively in the 1970s and by the 1980s it was a full-fledged concept where markets were captured by brands selling gender-specific merchandise to parents indoctrinating a stark contrast in their minds. Also, the introduction of clinical tests that were capable of revealing the gender of an unborn baby, in different countries, played a major role as parents had the opportunity to preplan shopping for their children and stock up on everything that would speak loud and clear for the gender. Scrolling up and down social media apps I came across a trending concept of ‘Gender Reveal’ which was first started by Jenna Karnuvidis in the year 2008. She baked a cake full of pink icing to celebrate a baby girl they were expecting. After 10 years of this viral phenomenon, she realized how the trend picked up and someone’s potential and talent should not be compartmentalized depending solely on what’s between their legs. 

Sexism in Toys: Not a Child’s Play

With sexism being the primary focus while growing up, most children face a huge dilemma about peculiar universally accepted, gender-specific presents. Girls get a lot of Barbie dolls, kitchen sets, jewellery sets, anything and everything that’s ‘pinkified’. Boys are assumed to fancy GI Joes, Hotwheels, toy guns, for god’s sake the society loves gifting their sons a lot of weapons! It’s not just the gift that needs to be focused on but the dull mindset behind it. Gifting a kitchen set is the most suitable way to glorify what the society actually thinks of women, trying best to nurture their homely instincts because clearly, society would rather assign specific gender roles than let women dream of being bold, independent, and sore high with a mind of their own. I’ve seen parents often discouraging their boys who dare to show even the slightest of an inclination towards so-called ‘girly’ toys or makeup. This discrimination affects their thinking and behavioural pattern tremendously. The trauma of not being able to open up to your own birth givers about personal preferences, toys or choice of colours is claustrophobic in itself.

Second Home

We call schools our second homes and now I know why! There’s an uncanny significance between the two. A divide between girls and boys surprisingly exist in schools and educational institutions even today. We choose to ignore red flags of clear cut segregation that children commonly face on a day to day basis. For instance, boys who don’t like being a certain way and aren’t necessarily rough, rugged, crass and ‘manly’ if I must use the word are commonly subjected to a lot of bullying and are vulnerable to great deals of trauma that follows. This not only creates a problem for the child but also breaks their self-esteem. Yes, schools are very thoughtful and progressive about holding menstrual awareness workshops. Sadly these are strictly girl-specific and therefore boys are not just unaware of how a woman’s body functions but also made negligent about menstruation in general. Which is why the role of men in menstruation is still vague and sanitary pads continue to be sold wrapped in newspapers or black plastics. Girls are also taught to not speak about menstruation openly or involve the opposite gender because it doesn’t speak well of how ‘cultured’ they are. Sensitizing children about natural, biological phenomenon like these is a necessity and we need to acknowledge it as a society that’s concerned for the future generation.

‘Gender’ or ‘Sex’

Biology also teaches us the difference between a boy and a girl but what we’re often not taught is the concept of behaviour. Sexism forces one to behave in a set way. When we get behaviour into the picture let me tell you ‘Gender’ and ‘Sex’ are two very different terms. However, we end up using them interchangeably. During the second year of under-graduation, I took up Educational Psychology as an elective. While exploring certain topics I happened to come across a study which explained how humans are born as male or female biologically but socially, culturally and personally they might associate themselves as more masculine or feminine by nature. This masculinity or femininity is controlled by the society and anything that doesn’t seem to fit into their social construct is termed as abnormal and looked down upon. When a boy or a man places himself on the pink side of the spectrum we associate his gender or sexual identity with that of a woman and assume they’re homosexual. A lot of homophobics repel men who wear pink. Pink, thus in this scenario is seen as a badge of shame because it’s socially unacceptable for men to be inclined towards a colour like Pink because it’s assumed to be a colour for those who are soft, weak and feminine and men don’t gain social acceptance if they fall under such categories.

Fun fact, during 1930-1940, Nazi concentration camp badges included a pink triangle for gay men, while lesbians were lumped into an ‘asocial elements’ group with a black triangle. This shows the relevance of pink to femininity. However, in the late 60s, with the articulation of the LGBT rights movement, the significance of pink began a shift from shame to pride. The ‘Queer’ Community still struggles for acceptance because these factors are so deep-rooted. 

Live and Let Live

I’m sure if you’re a boy you must be able to relate to sentences like ‘don’t cry like a girl’ or ‘boys don’t cry because crying is for the weak’ and if you’re a girl you might’ve come across sentences like ‘sit like a girl, talk softly like a girl’ a zillion times! We need to get our basics right and realise that it is every human’s right to choose what they feel is best for themselves, associate or dissociate with people, colours, art forms or ideologies. Especially babies shouldn’t be pushed towards something purposely, taking advantage of their age and their inability to form an opinion or even understand what likes and dislikes are. This cycle of unnecessary pressure and dominance also has to stop. There should be absolute freedom in order to keep diversity alive. Diversity nowadays is probably best defined in an LGBTQ rainbow flag which is symbolic of an all-inclusive society. We should learn to live and let live instead of assigning particular colours and laying expectations on toddlers to stay true to them. There should be absolute freedom of picking any colour at any age, making it your own, and possessing the liberty to change it too because let’s face it, we’re much more than the X and Y chromosomes that we limit ourselves to!

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