Tirath Singh Rawat who took over as chief minister of Uttarakhand on March 10, 2021 is a senior cadre of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He started his RSS career by becoming the organisational secretary of the Uttarakhand unit of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarti Parishad (ABVP) which is the student appendage of the RSS, later promoted as its national secretary. He has been a whole-timer (pracharak) of the RSS since 1983. He is currently hogging national and international attention for his comments on a young lady who happened to wear a pair of ripped jeans while sitting next to him with her two kids during an air journey.   

Surprisingly, he shared the anecdote (date, details of air carrier not mentioned; those familiar with the conduct of the RSS cadres can vouch that this story could be a sheer fabrication in order to ‘expose’ the ‘degeneration’ of self-relying independent women and Jawaharlal University [JNU] which have been the favourite punching bags of the RSS) while addressing a workshop organised by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun on March 17, 2021.

Tirath Singh Rawat’s sermon delivered in Hindi on ‘Bhartiya’ culture which according to RSS is Hindu culture is reproduced verbatim with English translation as follows:

“Jab unki taraf dekha to neeche gumboot they, jab aur upar dekha to ghutne fatey they, haath dekhe to kai kade they…Bachhey do saath me unke they. Maine kaha behan ji kahan jana hai…Delhi jana hai, husband kahan hai…JNU me professor hain, tum kya karti ho…main ek NGO chalati hun. NGO chalati hain, ghutne fatey dikhte hain, samaj ke beech me jaati ho, bachhey saath me hain, kya sanskar dogi? 

(Translation: When I looked at her, she was wearing gum boots. When I looked further up, I saw jeans ripped on the knees, and when I saw hands [there were] several bracelets. I asked where are you going sister? I am going to Delhi. Where is husband? He is professor at JNU. What do you do? I run an NGO. She had two children travelling with her. Her husband is a professor in JNU. You run an NGO, tattered knees can be seen [wear jeans ripped at the knees], you move about in society, children are with you, what culture you will teach?).”

While calling the ripped jeans as “kainchi wala sanskar” (scissor culture), Rawat sermon went on to declare: “Main kahan le ja raha hun apne bachhey ko fati jeans pehna karke. Bade baap ka beta hun. Bade baap…betiyan bhi peeche nahi hai. Who bhi ghutne dikha rahi hain. Yeh achha hai kya? (Where I am taking my children in tattered jeans… even girls are no less, showing their knees. Is this good?)”

Rawat was also in news for equating PM Narendra Modi with Lord Ram and Lord Krishna for former’s work for society.

[https://indianexpress.com/article/india/uttarakhand-tirath-singh-rawat-jeans-remark-7233324/]

CM unconcerned about plight of children in his state

It was shocking that CM of Uttarakhand was denigrating a lady in absentia in a programme to discuss the rights of the children in the state. He was expected to address the issues concerning the plight of children in his state which were well documented. According to the government data released in 2019, 26.6% children were found underweight and 33.5% were stunted in Uttarakhand. Thus, out of 36 Indian States and Union Territories Uttarakhand ranked number 10. [https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1578362t]

Moreover, as per a survey conducted by the Integrated Child Development Services of Uttarakhand (ICDS), a government agency, in 2018 thousands of children were malnourished in the state. The number of missing children in the state was on the rise which could be due to the human trafficking also. According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) of the Indian home ministry 435, 607 and 633 children went missing in the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. No data on the missing children is available after 2018 onward. Rawat should have shared the plan of rehabilitating the women and children of those workers who perished in an unprecedented avalanche due to the breaking-off of a glacier in Joshimath in Chamoli district on February 7, 2021. In this avalanche, more than 250 people died, and two big dams under construction were washed off.

CM touted RSS take on women

Since the CM had nothing to offer to the children of Uttarakhand, he resorted to a diversionary tactic, a practice gone viral among the RSS-BJP rulers. It is to be noted that the degenerated and reprehensive narrative of the CM was not surprising. It was no aberration. He was simply parroting the RSS take on women and ‘Bhartiya’ culture. In this respect following facts need to be taken into account.

The Constituent Assembly of India passed the constitution on November 26, 1949 which guaranteed gender, political, social and economic equality. The RSS was furious. Its English organ in an editorial on November 30, 1949, stated that in the constitution:

“There is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing.”

Laws of Manu are very clear about women. It decreed in chapter IX:

1.            Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control. (IX/2)

2.            Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age; a woman is never fit for independence. (IX/3)

3.            Women must particularly be guarded against evil inclinations, however trifling (they may appear); for, if they are not guarded, they will bring sorrow on two families. (IX/5)

4.            Considering that the highest duty of all castes, even weak husbands (must) strive to guard their wives. (IX/6)

5.            No man can completely guard women by force; but they can be guarded by the employment of the (following) expedients:

6.            Let the (husband) employ his (wife) in the collection and expenditure of his wealth, in keeping (everything) clean, in (the fulfilment of) religious duties, in the preparation of his food, and in looking after the household utensils.

7.            Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), ‘(It is enough that) he is a man,’ they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. (IX/14)

Thus, according to RSS women can only be subservient to males and have no independent existence. It is shamelessly reflected in the organisational set-up of its organisation. When RSS was founded in 1925, it was to be an exclusive male organisation (and continues to be) where cadres were to be known as swayamsevak or volunteers. The RSS top brass made its intentions clear of treating women as of lower status than males when it decided to start its women wing; Rashtr Sevika Samiti in 1936. Its nomenclature made it clear that women members were not called as swayamsevak or volunteers but Rashtr Sevika; maid/female servant of the nation which was a Hindu nation.

Rawat liable to be persecuted under sexual harassment laws of India

Indian Supreme Court defining the sexual harassment in the landmark case of Vishaka and others versus State of Rajasthan (AIR 1997 Supreme Court 3011) declared ‘Sexually colored remarks’ and ‘and any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature’ punishable. It is true that judgment covered the work-places but the scope could cover the air journey which Rawat took with the lady in ripped jeans. It is clear from the narrative that the way Rawat described the lady in Dehradun meeting amounted to indulging in sexually coloured remarks and verbal comments of sexual nature under the garb of the ‘Bhartiya’culture.

[https://www.shareyouressays.com/knowledge/sexual-harassment-of-women-at-work-place-supreme-court-judgment/112360]

Moreover, the section 354C of the Indian Penal Code specifically reads, “Any man who watches or captures or makes public an image of a woman engaged in a private act can be imprisoned for his first offence for a minimum one year which may extend to three, and also be liable to fine.” In fact, according to a senior police officer, Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh, “A case can be filed against men who ‘annoyingly’ stare at women for more than 14 seconds…The stare need not really linger for a full 14 seconds to make it an offence. It is an offence if it makes a woman uncomfortable even for a few seconds. Womenfolk should come forward to register complaints against such offenders”. The police must find out the lady to know her version.

[https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/can-you-actually-go-jail-staring-woman-14-seconds-48461]

Rawat has also violated the historic judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on the issue of individual’s privacy. The bench, headed by the chief justice JS Khehar, and comprising justices J Chelameswar, SA Bobde, RK Agrawal, RF Nariman, AM Sapre, DY Chandrachud, SK Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer, in a unanimous judgment in 2017 decreed that,

1. Life and personal liberty are inalienable rights. These are rights which are inseparable from a dignified human existence. The dignity of the individual, equality between human beings and the quest for liberty are the foundational pillars of the Indian Constitution.

2. Privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation. Privacy also connotes a right to be left alone.

3. Personal choices governing a way of life are intrinsic to privacy.

Rawat as CM of Uttarakhand openly violated the above judgment and needs to be booked for its violation too.

Such person will go to Dark Hell: Swami Vivekananda

There is every likelihood that with the total hegemony of the RSS-BJP rulers over administration, police and judiciary the Uttarakhand CM would not be booked despite brazen violation of laws and Supreme Court judgments on sexual harassment. However, as part of the top brass of the RSS he must be familiar of the writings of Swami Vivekananda (regarded as saint of the Hindutva). He must take note of what he wrote about a Hindu who even thinks of a woman other than his wife. According to Swami, “He who thinks of another woman besides his wife, if he touches her even with his mind-that man goes to dark hell”.

[Vivekananda, Swami, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, vol. i, p. 43. Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 21st reprint 1995.]

Rawat trained in RSS boudhik shivirs (intellectual training camps) like any other RSS cadre keeps on boasting that Indian youth is falling prey to the degenerated foreign material cultural ethos. For him it is Hindutva culture amplified by works like MANUSMRITI) which is divinely ordained. In this respect it would be pertinent to tell semi-literate [a status worse than being illiterate] RSS cadres what Swami wrote about the denigration of the material civilization.

“We talk foolishly against material civilisation. The grapes are sour…How was it possible for the Hindus to have been conquered by the Mohammedans? It was due to the Hindus’ ignorance of material civilization. Even the Mohammedans taught them to wear tailor-made clothes.” [Vivekananda, Swami, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, vol. iv, p. 368.Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 13th reprint 1995.]

It means that saree and dhoti touted as true ‘Bhartiya’ attires only reflected the times when we did not know stitching of the clothes. The time is not far-off when Tirath Singh Rawat and RSS would declare Swami Vivekananda as anti-Hindu!

*Views expressed are the author’s own.

Other articles by Shamsul Islam:

On 72nd anniversary of the Indian Constitution
Demolition of democratic, secular Constitution, old project of Hindutva gang
In times of CAA & NRC remember the words of Kakori martyrs 

The post A lady dressed in ripped jeans rips apart eternal ‘Bharatiya’ culture appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A day after being shamed by women from across India for his misogynistic remarks about women who wear ‘ripped jeans’, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat says he sticks to his stand. He also said, ‘Mujhe Jeans Se Nahi, Fati Jeans Se Hai Aitraaz ( I do not object to jeans, I only object to ripped jeans)’.

Rawat’s bizarre obsession with women’s clothing comes, in his own words because he claims, “I have come from a normal rural family and our schools followed a certain discipline and dress code,” reported Outlook. However Tirath Singh Rawat’s who is the newly appointed Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, may have successfully distracted those on social media for a while as his ripped jeans remark created an online furore. Rawat had in his original talk, recounted a tale of when he supposedly sat next to a woman on a flight, then as his gaze traveled up her leg, he realised she was wearing ‘ripped’ jeans. He added that the ‘woman’ ran an NGO, and that her husband was teaching at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and that she had two children. It is not known if any such woman has come forth and identified herself, or asked why Rawat was scanning her this way on a flight. 

However, the clip was enough to get him a lot of attention online, so much so that he once again ‘clarified’ that he was not against women wearing jeans, but he had a problem with ripped and torn ones. Not that anyone has asked him for such a clarification. Rawat nevertheless has reportedly told Aaj Tak in an interview that his views come from his young days and his own experience with ‘torn pants’. He was quoted as saying, “I have come from a normal rural family and our schools followed a certain discipline and dress code. Whenever our pants got ripped while going to school, we used to fear how we would face our Guru ji and used to cover the torn part. Nowadays when children buy jeans worth Rs 2,000-4,000, he first sees whether the jeans are ripped. If it isn’t, he goes home and runs scissors on it. So what bad did I say.” 

Rawat’s wife Rashmi Tyagi has also defended him and has reportedly said that his comment was taken out of context. According to outlook, Rashmi Tyagi said that her husband Tirath Singh Rawat had said, “Women’s participation is unprecedented in building the society and the country. It is the responsibility of the women of our country to save our cultural heritage, save our identity, save our costumes.” He was in fact speaking at a workshop organised by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun on Tuesday when he made the controversial comment about women’s clothes and so called ‘sansakars’.   

As women from across professions, and age groups trended hashtags such as #RippedJeansTwitter #GirlsWhoWearRippedJeans and #GreetingsFromMyNakedKnee on social media throughout Wednesday and Thursday. Women shared photos of themselves in ripped jeans, as well as photos of male political leaders wearing shorts, like those of the RSS, and showing their knees. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared images of BJP leaders in RSS shorts 

Oh my God!!! Their knees are showing ??? #RippedJeansTwitter pic.twitter.com/wWqDuccZkq

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) March 18, 2021

Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi also slammed Rawat asking him to change his mindset

Ripped Jeans aur Kitab.
The country’s ‘sanskriti’ & ‘sanskaar’ are impacted by men who sit and judge women and their choices. Soch badlo Mukhyamantri Rawat ji, tabhi desh badlega. #RippedJeansTwitter pic.twitter.com/qYXcN88fY6

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) March 18, 2021

However, Tirath Singh Rawat by starting this controversy, has perhaps deflected attention on some of his decisions as newly appointed CM Uttarakhand, such as the relaxation Covid-19 restrictions in the state. Rawat has said that the pilgrims visiting the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar do not have to carry Covid-19 negative RT-PCR reports. Rawat also said, he “asked the secretary to respect akharas, shower flowers on them by helicopters, but also let the public come.”

Rawat faced protests in his own state 

People protested the CM’s comments in his home state on Thursday. According to a report in the Times of India, the protests were led by the Congress, and  the CM’s remarks were condemned. According to vertan leaders and former CM Harish Rawat, “Such a statement coming from a politician, let alone a chief minister, was a shameful act. Women in Uttarakhand have been at the forefront of all sorts of campaigns. Rather than focusing on what they choose to wear, the chief minister should focus on development. Tirath Rawat has been made the chief minister to cover up his predecessor’s failure. The replacement itself was enough to show that the BJP had admitted to its mistake. Rather than making unwarranted comments, the chief minister should focus on the responsibility he has been entrusted with.” 

In Almora, a group of around 20 women, led by Mahila Congress district president Lata Tiwari, raised slogans against the CM, burnt his effigy and demanded his resignation, reported TOI. “The chief minister’s views on what is appropriate for them to wear clearly shows his mindset. It’s ironic that the remark came from the chief minister of a state ruled by BJP, a party that goes by the slogan “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao”. We demand that the CM issue an apology and resign from his post immediately,” said Tiwari 

Tilak Girls Hostel of Lucknow University also has a list of clothes ‘not allowed’ 

Luckily for him, CM Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat may be able to seek some offline support from Uttar Pradesh.  A notice issued in the name of the Provost of Tilak Girls Hostel of Lucknow University has told women students “not to wear shorts, dresses above the knees, mini skirts, micro skirts out of the room in the hostel premises.” The students have also been asked not to wear spaghetti or “vulgar” tops reported Amar Ujala. Those caught violating this order “will be fined Rs 100.”

The notice was reportedly issued on March 17, and posted on social media the next day morning. After some time, on behalf of the students, it was shared on whatsapp groups and accused the girl students of imposing unnecessary restrictions on the university and collecting the fine. It was said that fines are being taken from the girl students also in the name of guest charge. Fines are being imposed for a short stay in the hostel. This notice soon went viral on social media. However, the officials have denied issuing it.

लखनऊ- छात्राओं के कपड़े पर लखनऊ विश्वविद्यालय प्रशासन का फरमान, तिलक महिला छात्रावास में घुटनों से ऊपर कपड़े पहनने पर लगेगा जुर्माना, शॉट्स, मिनीस्कर्ट, माइक्रो स्कर्ट पहनने पर जुर्माना, वल्गर ड्रेस पर पाबंदी।#LucknowUniversity pic.twitter.com/bwFyK2ODdQ

— News18 Uttar Pradesh (@News18UP) March 18, 2021

The All India Students Association (AISA) unit in the university has written to the authorities to “immediately intervene in the matter”, adding that the “provost is continuously intimidating women hostelers who raised their concern over notice for moral policing.”

AISA-LUCKNOW UNIVERSITY’S Email to LU VC, PROCTOR, and DSW to immediately intervene in the matter concerning Tilak girls hostel where provost is continuously intimidating women hostelers who raised their concern over notice for moral policing. #LucknowUniversity pic.twitter.com/ieemxmCDYr

— AISA Lucknow University (@aisa_lkouniv) March 18, 2021

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