America
Indian government becoming extremely intolerant: Author Wendy Doniger ( Interview)
New Delhi, Aug 16
Author Wendy Doniger is back
with "The Mare's Trap" which revisits the Kamasutra. Doniger, an
American scholar, is no stranger to controversies. Her previous book,
"Hindus - An Alternative History" ran into rough weather last year over
its alleged misrepresentation of Hindus. Eyebrows were also raised over
the publisher Penguin India's decision to withdraw and pulp the book
after a court settlement.
In her new book, Doniger argues that
the Kamasutra is more of a feminist text and it is crucial for Indian
society to follow its liberal outlook towards sexuality and gender
issues. In an email interview with IANS, Doniger said that the Indian
government is becoming intolerant and the ban on pornography is
indicative of the repression by the state.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q:
From beef, books to porn, the government is on a banning spree. You
were also at the receiving end last year for "Hindus - An Alternative
History". What is the sense you are getting?
A: I fear that the
Indian government is becoming very intolerant. It is a terrible shame
that India, a culture that was once so open in its support of the arts,
has now become so repressive of the arts. Even in the time when the
Kamasutra was originally composed, there were elements of the Hindu
world that did not accept its values. India has also always had a streak
of puritanism, linked to the renunciant and ascetic tradition, and this
part of Indian culture grew stronger under the British and again in the
post-colonial backlash. Colonialism was repressive of Hinduism in many
ways, including a negative valuation of the erotic aspects of the
worship of the gods, and this gave rise to a negative valuation of these
parts of Hinduism by certain Hindus too. Finally, the rise of
fundamentalism around the world in the present period has played upon
those old colonial resentments, to produce the present repressive regime
in India.
Q: If ancient India was a liberal place according to
you, why has it become conservative now? How relevant is the Kamasutra
for modern India?
A: My answer to the first question is also an
answer to the question of why India has recently become so conservative.
As for the relevance, the Kamasutra values pleasure in the broadest
sense, including sexual pleasure. Surely today's global society shares
these values, and so the Kamasutra is more relevant than ever. At a time
when sexual violence has become a growing concern in India, this book,
which is concerned with ways to tame the more savage aspects of
sexuality, should be essential reading. The intellectual leaders of
India should let people know what sort of a book the Kamasutra really is
and encourage them to read it. This would greatly improve the general
level of understanding about the nature, including the dangers, of
sexuality.
Q: What was the idea behind revisiting the Kamasutra?
A:
I was concerned that the Kamasutra was being largely neglected in India
and hoped that by writing this book I would make more people aware of
the actual nature of the book - and make them want to read it. Among the
so-called "triad"of basic Hindu values - dharma, artha, and kama - kama
has always been the third, the least valued. This is the result of the
cultural ascendancy of the renunciant aspect of the Brahmin tradition.
Q: You describe Kamasutra as a feminist text. How can we ignore the class and caste realities of today's India?
A:
I think it is a feminist text, in the general sense of advancing
women's interests, because it argues that married women should have the
primary financial responsibility in the household, that women may leave
husbands who do not treat them well, that women's pleasure is an
essential part of the sexual act, that sex should not be limited to the
production of babies. All of this, if taken seriously today, would
greatly improve the condition of women in India. And the passages that
caution against sexual violence may also be useful in making people in
India aware of the causes of rape, and possibly some measures to deal
with it. This, surely, will be for the benefit of women in India. As for
caste, the fact that the Kamasutra finds caste totally irrelevant, that
it specifically says that people of all of the "twice-born" varnas can
live the life that it describes, is a total denial of the power of the
caste system and a fine example of the sorts of attitudes that we need
to cultivate today. Neither feminism nor human rights is a primary issue
for the Kamasutra, but its extraordinarily liberal attitude to women
and people of all castes makes it a valuable weapon for people who are
fighting more directly for feminism and human rights in India today.
(Preetha Nair can be contacted at [email protected]