By Dr. Sawraj Singh
It looked like the Me Too movement will be revived in India after it subsided in America. Bollywood has a long history of following and copying Hollywood. The Me Too movement was primarily a product of Hollywood. The movement met with very little opposition or resistance in America. The prime reason for this was that American society is an almost completely polarized and compartmentalized. Each group is supposed to support its own interests. Women are supposed to support women regardless of whether their cause is genuine or not. However, things were different in Europe. Whereas none of the prominent Hollywood actresses defended or supported men, very famous French actresses like Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot came in support of men and severely criticized the leaders of the Me Too movement. In India, things are very different. Whereas the movement got some response from Bollywood actors, the public at large has very negative feelings about the movement and its initiators.
I talked to several people from all walks of life and with different political leanings and to both men and women. Most of the people did not support the movement. Most of them seriously questioned the motives of the women who have accused these powerful men in the industry. Many felt that these women just used these men as stepping stones to advance their careers and now they want free publicity. Many questioned their sincerity and veracity of their accusations. Many questioned their timings of coming forward with their accusations. Most of these women have come forward with their accusations 10 to 25 years after the alleged incidents. Some felt that these women made it sure that at this time they have everything to gain and nothing to lose by these allegations. Some said that media is encouraging these women because the media likes sensationalism. Others called it consensual exploitation at the worst.
On every first Sunday of the month there is an open air theatre in the Baran Dari Garden Patiala by the National Arts Theatre Society. On Sunday the November 4, I was the Chief Guest at the performance of a play called Naika (heroine). This was the story of a poor peasant woman whose husband gets hooked to drugs. To support his addiction he transfers his land to the drug agents and sells everything in the house which can be sold. Finally, he runs out of everything which can be sold. At this point, to support his addiction, he decides to marry his teen aged daughter to a rich elderly man. His wife and his children have suffered tremendously because of his addiction. However, the wife decides that she will not let him sell their daughter. She kills the drug agent with an axe. After the play I was asked to say a few words about the play.
I said that this play differentiates true women’s liberation from pseudo women’s liberation. As opposed to the super rich actresses who are living life of luxury, this women took an action to save her daughter from becoming a victim of the worst kind of oppression and exploitation whereas these women did nothing at the time when the alleged incidents of sexual abuse took place. Then years after and at a time of their convenience and with highly questionable motives they come forward with their stories of sexual abuse. How can they be our heroes? I had a tremendous response from the audience which was highly educated and very well informed. There were many very accomplished women in the audience.
I feel that the Me Too movement is going to soon fizzle out and India will prove to be the burial ground for this pseudo women’s liberation movement. I also feel that the Indian people have the wisdom to differentiate between true and pseudo women’s liberation.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
