shadow of familyism on women’s reservation

Of freedom After that, in the first two decades, the ruling power of the country remained in the hands of those who had done their own spiritual practice for independence and they actually worked for the public interest by being the representative of the people of India. Gradually, when that generation started merging with time, the family attachment got badly awakened in some leaders and they handed over the power to the next generation as if it was their inheritance and nepotism prevailed in politics. After this, Nehru family’s name came first in the name of dynasty in politics and now dynasty has become a matter of every state, every party, the difference is only of percentage.

As leaders of political parties grew older and families grew, nepotism began to disappear and was replaced by sons-grandsons, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law and sons. Familyism prevailed in the whole country, but the Lalu family of Bihar, the Mulayam family of Uttar Pradesh, the Badal family of Punjab, the Abdullah family in Jammu and Kashmir and the Raj families in Himachal too continued to hold power. It is a matter of regret that the kings of the British era, instead of working for the freedom of the country, did not leave any stone unturned to lick the lies of the British, in independent India, their families again became the rulers and are also carrying the burden of Raj. .

The Parliament of India gave 33 percent reservation to women in local government. This law was going to give happiness to every conscious woman, but its result was opposite, but then no one would have thought that neem would grow on bitter gourd and democracy becoming a family system would also take women’s reservation into its grip. I am of the view that by reserving wards for women the government has weakened the women workers. If our parliament had really thought of giving effective role to women in the field of politics and for local self-governance, then a rule would have been made that every political party would give tickets to 33 percent women in the elections, but this was not done. It is not appropriate to doubt the intentions of the women reservation law makers, but it can be said that they might not have anticipated the adverse conditions arising for women by reserving wards and changing reserved wards in every election. . Just as the public’s trust in politicians is decreasing, I feel that similarly leaders active in electoral politics also have little trust in others. The consequence of this is that the second and third line leaders participating in the elections in the local self-government have no faith in anyone other than their wives and close relatives of the family.

When the leader of the electoral summer land is unable to contest the election himself because the ward is reserved for women, he sees only his wife as the most qualified to contest the election and the result of this is that the municipal corporation and municipal corporations in Punjab Elections have been held or elections are being prepared in Punjab in the next three months, more than 90 percent of the same women are seen struggling in the field of elections, who have no social, political personality and existence, have only one identity. That she is the wife of a senior or active officer. Somewhere the mother or daughter-in-law of the leaders have got a place, this exception is only in those families where the wife could not come forward in the election field due to any reason. By the way, slogans of women equality and empowerment are raised from forums, provincial and national level seminars are also conducted on this by spending lakhs of rupees, but the vivid example of how empowered women really are are the posters and banners of elections in Punjab as well as in the whole country. Can be judged by sight. There is not a single male candidate who does not have his wife’s picture or name printed in his campaign material, but there is not a single female candidate who does not have a large photo and name of her husband printed along with her photo. Her only identity is that she is the wife of a particular worker. It became clear that this male-dominated politics takes support of wives to secure their seat for the elections to be held after five years, because no matter how qualified the wife proves to be a councilor or panch-sarpanch, she will not be allowed to contest the next election. And only the wife will be such an innocent creature that on the signal of the husband, leaving her ready-made workplace, she will be confined to the kitchen. In all the elections held for local bodies from 1991 to 2017, there are 90 percent women who, once elected as corporators, were not re-nominated. Now in 2023 also there is no special change. This week, I saw many such male councilors, now former councilors, who were worried that their ward is going to be a women’s ward, so what will be their own future and who from the family should be contested.

The exploits that many councilor husbands and sarpanch husbands have done in the past are not hidden from anyone. The old saying was that if a woman’s husband is an officer in the police or army, then his wife exercises two ranks more power than her husband. Now this thing has become old, today’s situation is that if the wife becomes a corporator, then the husband shows more authority than the MLA or MP. Now the matter of concern is that Panch Pati, Sarpanch Pati and Councilor Pati become more active and register their presence in the government and in the society. Few years ago in Tarn Taran, a sarpanch’s husband beat up a female employee of the health department. In district Gurdaspur, the owner who made a Dalit female domestic worker as sarpanch slapped the doctor. Most of the same councilor husbands and panch-sarpanch husbands reach government offices. These councilors also become the beauty of forums and often keep the stamp of councilor or sarpanch in their pocket. He also verifies all kinds of certificates by writing his wife’s name with his own pen. A few years ago in Uttar Pradesh, a law was also made for corporator husbands, on the basis of which they were ordered not to sit with their corporator wives in the meetings.

The truth is that if 50 percent of the members in a municipal corporation or municipality are women, most of them husbands, sons or fathers of women councilors will use or misuse power more than the councillors, they have been doing it before. The bill to give reservation to women for assembly and parliament has been hanging for years. I imagine it’s going to hang around like this for the next several years. Even if reservation is given, the common women worker is not going to get admission in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. The leader’s wife and the family of the leaders will capture this too. What would be the solution after all? From the day the women’s reservation law was enacted, I have been of the constant view that the law is good, but the ordinary working woman is not going to get anything out of it. The parliamentary committees which are formed to give tickets in the elections, there also there is abundance of those who present the case of leaders’ wives. These days in Punjab, the process of candidate selection for Municipal Corporations is being completed in this way. This is such a disease which is common to all the parties and not to any one political party.

This statement of mine gets confirmed if the assessment of the elections that are being held today is done. Now the question arises that women who have done important work in the political field over the years, have handled effective fronts, have been in the forefront of movements, have a great credit for winning the elections to the assembly and parliament, whether It is not their right to contest elections, to become councilor-sarpanch or panch, being deprived of this, some protest in desperation, some reach back to the four walls of the house in despair and there are some who do not follow Toko and not Moko Thaur. After a few days, they start appearing again on the stage and in the movements. It would be good that the Parliament of the country brainstorms on the loopholes left in the Women’s Reservation Act and passes the legislation being made to send women to the Legislative Assembly and Parliament, pending for years.
Before doing this, remove the shortcomings left in the present law, otherwise familyism, wifeism will not know in the future and which litigation will give birth.

Laxmikanta Chawla