क्यूँ है ये इतनी जद्दोजहद,
क्यूँ होता है ये इतना तड़पना,
क्यूँ, आखिर क्यूँ ?
जद्दोजहद, ये,
खुद से लड़ने की
मन को समझने की
झूझने तड़पने की,
बनावटी हंसी चेहरे की
मदद को तरसने की
झलकती चिंताओं की,
नहीं लड़ना मुझे खुद से,
नहीं इस कदर डरना मुझे खुद से
नहीं करनी मुझे ये जद्दोजहद !
Its been a long time since I last wrote something here and I am not happy knowing it.
There have been a lot of things going around in mind and I feel very confused. All of it is related to what I want to do in my future. Though I am happy doing what I`ve been doing for some time with Kudumbashree- NRO, it no longer feels home. I seriously want to start something on my own. I am up for the risk. I even want to read further and do something in the field of Journalism. At the same time, I feel that I am not suitable for a journalist. I do not know. I got some plans and will share those here as well-
The first plan is to open a CAFE! Yes, to open a cafe and that too in Mahendragarh. What is new about opening a Cafe? Something that this Cafe can offer is being a space for dialogues where anybody and everybody is welcomed to voice their opinions and share their stories. A Cafe is a place that offers something to eat to everybody and this would be no different. It can also offer Chai, Coffee, snacks and some food as well but the goal is just not that. The goal is to be a space for creativity, expression, stories, and voices. A stage for artists to perform, a gallery for exhibition, a little bookstore and a space for arts and crafts that would be offered them to buy.
The second plan is to go and study Journalism either from India or from someplace abroad. This is also one of the things that I have always wanted to pursue. I always wanted to write on issues that bother me. The place which I call home has got a lot of issues to talk about and I too want to write on them. I want to write it the way the community wants writers to write them. Similar to what Bhawani Prasad Mishra once talked of writers. I want to be a writer and hence this plan of actually starting a newspaper that would talk about the issues in and around this particular area. I don't know how but I still think of it, every day.
The third plan is to open some little cafe or restaurant somewhere in the mountains without any particular aim. The place could be Dehradun. It is one place that I think I really love. I am not sure but could be one of the options. This also can be one place from where even SHE can operate and does her art and craft related works.
The fourth plan is to do something that would help me in landing up to UNICEF, THE INDIAN EXPRESS and THE BETTER INDIA as a professional. These are some of the organizations that I still look up to and believe that these are the best in their respective fields of work. I would have an amazing time working with them.
I`ve always wanted to travel and the fifth plan is around it. For that, just keep working somewhere and save money to travel or leave everything and everyone and just roam without any aim. I wish I could the later one but I won`t be able to. I wish I had decided something like it earlier. I didn`t have confidence in me and then family issues. They would never let me go out of their hands. I don't know.
It's difficult to go for any of it but difficulties would anyway come. It's hard to take the first courageous step but that's how things are meant to be.
I hope to be courageous enough to take the first step and proceed with any of the plans mentioned above.
मुझे त्रिपुरा आये हुए कुछ 7 महीने हो गए है। पहले तो ट्रेनिंग ही चल रहा था , तो उसके लिए एक महीना और फिर जब अंतिम स्थान चुनने की बारी आई तो मैंने त्रिपुरा ही चुना। कारण इसका साफ़ और सीधा था- मुझे त्रिपुरा के बारे में कुछ था जो जानना और समझना था और ख़ास तौर पर पूरे स्टेट में बढ़ती हुई जय श्री राम की गूँज के बारे में! ये गूँज मुझे वापिस यही खींच लाई।
मैं बेलोनिया नाम के एक छोटे से शहर में रहता हूँ जो एक तरफ से भारत का अंतिम छोर है और एक तरफ से एकदम पहला। गर्दन घुमायी नहीं की बांग्लादेश दिख जाता है। हर शाम को बॉर्डर के उधर से आज़ान की आवाज आती है जिसे सुनकर कानों को थोड़ा सुकून मिलता है। बॉर्डर के उस तरफ नजदीक में ही एक मस्जिद है, शायद वहीँ से आती भी होगी। लेकिन बॉर्डर के इस तरफ, माने अपने भारत में, अपने बेलोनिया में, ठीक इस आज़ान के कुछ समय बाद एक ही सुर में एक ही नारो की आवाज़ें आती है और जोर जोर से जय श्री राम उन नारो में सुनने को मिलता है। कभी कभी तो यही जय श्री राम 'मंदिर वही बनायेगे' वाला रूप भी ले लेता है। लोगो में ऐसा जोश और जुनून कुछ नारो के लिए मैंने तो कही और सुना और देखा नहीं है। शायद ही कोई दिन होगा जिस दिन ये आवाज़ें नहीं सुनाई देती हो।
खैर, मुझे इन आवाज़ों से कोई दिक्कत तो नहीं है लेकिन ये समझ में भी नहीं आता की इन नारो की हर दिन हर शाम इन्हें क्यों लगाने की जरुरत मह्शूश होती है? ऐसा भी नहीं है कि बिना इतने ज़ोर से चिल्लाये इनके राम खुश नहीं होंगे? 7-8 बजे के समय के आसपास ठण्ड में लोग सोने चले जाते है लेकिन इनका जूनून इन्हें अपने सुकून के कमरे से कैसे बाहर ले आता है? और फिर जो मंदिर वहीँ बनायेगे वाले नारे, उनसे ये लोग क्या कहना चाहते है? ऐसा भी नहीं है कि अयोध्या यही कहीं बेलोनिया के पास है? बेलोनिया कि आधी से ज्यादा आबादी तो कभी त्रिपुरा से बाहर भी नहीं निकल पाती अपने पूरे जीवन काल में फिर उनके लिए अयोध्या चिल्लाना भी थोड़ा अटपटा लगता है।
त्रिपुरा एक ऐसा राज्य है जहाँ पर पिछले 25 साल तक एक ऐसी सरकार रही है जिनका धर्म और धर्म के भगवानो से कोई लेना देना नहीं होता है। इन्ही लोगों ने ही वो सरकार 25 साल तक बिना रुके चलने भी दी। लेकिन फिर अचानक इन्ही लोगो को ऐसा क्या हो गया की वो हर शाम अपना आराम सुकून छोड़कर जय श्री राम चिल्लाते हुए पाये जाते है। लगभग 50 लोगो की तादाद में हर दिन ऐसा करना जरूर उनका जुनून ही दिखाता है।
अभी हाल ही में यहाँ पे म्युनिसिपल चुनाव हुए है और पूरे स्टेट की तरह बीजेपी हर सीट पाने में कामयाब रही है। जिस दिन ये रिजल्ट आया था, उस शाम का तो पूछो ही मत आप- जय श्री राम के नारे तो लग ही रहे थे, घर घर मोदी के भी लगने चालू हो गए और वो भी पूरे डीजे के साथ।
ये बदलाव तो यहाँ पे देखा है- चीखने और चिल्लाने वाला। जो मर्जी हो रहा हो, डीजे तो बजेगा। शादी बारात पे तो हर कहीं बजट ही है, कपडे बेचते हुए कौन डीजे बजाता है? अपने बेलोनिया में लोग ये काम भी कर देते है। और उस डीजे में जय श्री राम सुन जाए तो कोई आश्चर्य की बात नहीं है क्योंकि हर नुक्कड़ गली में तो वही ही चल रहा है- कभी नारो में तो कभी डीजे की आवाज़ों में।
एक बॉर्डर वाली छोटी सी जगह पे ऐसा कुछ होना, थोड़ा ताजुब की बात लगती है। यही बेलोनिया सीपीआई (म) का गढ़ रहा है, आज भी है। बस ये डीजे और नारे पहले नहीं थे।
ये सारा बदलाव तो किसी और चीज का संकेत दे रहा है। देखते है क्या होता है।
रविवार, 24 सितंबर 2017
ना तुझको है खबर, ना किसी को है पता,
दर्द-ए -दिलें दास्ताँ , कैसे करूँ मै बयां !
बोल दूँ तुझे तो खो दूँगा ,
ये मुझको है खबर, ये मुझको है पता !
तू नादान है, तू अनजान है,
दिल की इस वीरान नगरी में,
तू एक मनपसंद मेहमान है,
आरज़ू है की रोक लू तुझे,
मगर कैसे भूल जाऊ की तू किसी और दिल का भी तो अरमान है !
तू जा रही है आने के लिए,
या जा रही है दिल दुखाने के लिए,
मगर, फिर भी तू, दिल का मनपसंद मेहमान है
फिर भी तू, दिल का मनपसंद मेहमान है !!
How I wish you could see the eagerness in my eyes when I rush for the college early morning to get a glimpse of you,
How I wish you could know how happy my mother was when she first heard about you,
How I wish you could see the happiness in my father`s eyes when he saw a pic of you,
How I wish you could see the eagerness of my sisters when they first got to know about you,
How I wish you could feel those tears in my mother`s and my eyes that fell down to share the sadness of you,
How I wish you could see all of this,
and,
How I wish you could know that my heart beat starts racing too fast as soon as it spots you and
I truly wish,
you could love me as much as I love you!
Jagmati Sangwan is a renowned social activist who is fighting against the rigid and patriarchal khap panchayats and in the state of Haryana. She stands up against the oppression of women with her small group of ladies called Janwadi Mahila Samiti (JMS).
She is a courageous, confident and determined lady. Qualities she displayed in the case of Manoj-Babli honour killing of 2007. She, with almost no help from anyone, she took the case to the court, fought hard and won in the end.
Being an ex-international volleyball player who represented India at the Asian games, she is superbly fit at the age of 56 and is still very active in the field of social activism.
She recently resigned from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), but is currently heading the All India Democratic Association for Women (AIDWA), Haryana.
I was lucky to meet her at her home in Rohtak on 19 March, 2017 and had a long discussion with her. Her husband Inderjit Singh, CPI (M)’s General Secretary of Haryana, also joined us in our discussion on the future of Khap panchayats, recent Jat reservation agitation and other issues concerning the state of Haryana.
Here are excerpts from our conversation:
Outside Haryana, people have only heard negative stuff about Khap panchayats but people here in the state have great regard for these institutions. What, according to you, is the true significance of Khap panchayats in today’s Haryana? Do we really need them at all?
Jagmati: Khap panchayats are a platform for caste consolidation in the state. We have elected gram panchayats in all of Haryana, but the hegemonic status of these Khaps have been the same through the years. There is no real need for these institutions, but for a caste like Jats to maintain status quo in society, these institutions help emotionally mobilize people based on the age old traditions. Also, to maintain the long-term patriarchal system, to pursue personal interests and to continue exploiting minorities like women and Dalits. These Khaps play a large role in triggering various community decisions and are able to influence the fate of political parties in the state.
But certainly, our society can do well without these institutions.
Ankit: If we look back at the history of Khaps, we find that they were supposed to unite and protect people. But that is certainly not true today. Are there any recent developments with regard to this history?
Jagmati: In history, Khaps were intended to mobilise people against the increasing day-to-day thefts during those times. There was no particular king in the area and people from outside used to pass through these areas.
“There is no real need for these institutions, but for a caste like Jats to maintain status quo…”
Local councils used to mediate between communities when there were disputes. In 1857, Jats acted against the East India Company by collecting grains from the community (as it was largely an agrarian society) and sending it to other parts of the state. But councils started getting formed because of the insecurity. People needed some social mechanisms to defend themselves, for example, at one time, the tribal peasant communities were dominating, so they formed councils and these, with time, became caste councils.
In case of Khaps, they were formed to protect all sorts of natural resources like Johads (water storage tanks), trees, jungles etc.
Khaps extend their jurisdiction even over villages where Jats don’t dominate because they are the ones who own a majority of the land and people from lower castes are labourers on their lands. In recent times, they have become the elements who mobilise people by emotionally blackmailing them and creating fears of caste dominance. They don’t tend to change easily, so no recent developments in this regard.
Ankit: What are some of the differences between the Khap Panchayats of different Jat belts in the state like the one in Sirsa and the one in Rohtak?
Jagmati: If we look at the Jat belt of Sirsa and Hisar districts, we would find that in villages like Chautala and others, people can marry into families from their own villages and from the neighbouring villages. But this is certainly not true for the other belts of Jats. It is mainly because in Rohtak or Jind belt, villages have only one gotra (sub-caste) and they dominate other minority groups. But Sirsa belt has villages with several gotras. This is why it is easy to marry within a village because of different gotras. Sirsa belt is also more flexible in terms of marriages.
Ankit: What about women in Khap panchayats?
Jagmati: Women, according to these Khaps, are not recognized as citizens. They believe in the saying – ‘Janana aur khazana agar khule me hai to fir vo loota hi jayega’ (If a woman or treasure is left out in the open, it will be looted). They think it is important to control a woman’s interactions. That is why there is purdah system such that their eyes are not visible to any stranger. Then, everything is fine and there is no fear. Also, her name is never revealed, as in, she is a sister first, then a daughter, then she is a wife and further, she is a mother and a grandmother. She is never a woman who has her own identity. And all these tags keep her from her individual freedoms.
But, it is also a fact that, when some women speak up against discrimination and are politically active, they try to persuade her to be a part of Khaps. Then, they are able to say that they work for the betterment of all sections of the society.
Ankit: This seems interesting. But then there are no youths either. Why exclude women and young people?
Jagmati: See, these Khaps are nothing but ways to ensure that systems of patriarchy continue without any setbacks. What happens in a society like ours is that the older you are, you seem to get more respect in society. And these Khaps constitute of ‘older’ people, the eldest one of the family is the head and these heads of the families become the main members of the Khaps. So, institutionally, there is no space for women and youths. Also, youths tend to go outside of the village, for the sake of education and return with their own choices of spouses that is not accepted by the elders. These many reasons have pushed Khaps to be wary of young people in their institutions.
“Khaps are nothing but ways to ensure that systems of patriarchy continue without any setbacks.”
Ankit: How important is it to question these khaps and where does the solution lie?
Jagmati: We live in the modern era, the 21st century, and these Khaps want us to live the life of the 1700s. How good is that for all of us? Don’t we want equality and freedom? Don’t we want to marry someone of our own choosing? These Khaps challenge all of us in doing that.
We need to educate more and more people so that they come out of the corridors of castes and have some compassion for the marginalized sections like women, Dalits and young people. I’m pretty sure that that time is not far when there would be no Khaps and women of the state will be exercising their rights ontheir own terms.
Ankit: If we look at the recent Jat agitations, what according to you, triggered these demands? Is there any role of Khaps in this whole incidence? Any comments on the history behind the demands?
Jagmati: If you look back to 2014, when Prime Minister Modi first came to Haryana, he addressed the crowd that gathered at the rally in Jind by saying – ‘Mai khapo ki sardari ka naman karta hoon!’ (I acknowledge the heads of the Khaps gathered here today’).
He looked at Haryana as the land of Khaps not as the land of farmers, land of warriors or anything else. Clearly, no political party is actually against the functioning of these Khaps. Since the time BJP has come into power, Khaps have been trying to regain their position by reorganising themselves. They are trying to gain their lost land in the state.
Haryana is an agricultural state, but in recent times, the agricultural sector isn’t doing that well, thanks to the policies of the state. Service sector is not in demand. There is no place for young people to go now. All their lives, they have been living off their lands which, with time, they sold and now, have nothing. This traditional way of life kept them from moving ahead with their education.
BJP is a party that basically works on communal and caste alliances to gain power. And at times, this has also led to communal violence in various states. Khaps, in Haryana, supported BJP in recent Lok Sabha elections and thus, BJP won with amazing results and formed the central government. Today, in the time of identity politics, these BJP people and RSS ones have never supported reservations.
They look forward to destroying this whole scenario of reservation in our country. But they can’t do it one go. So, they have tried to help Khaps and the Jat community to demand reservations for themselves. They did the same in Maharashtra and Gujarat where Marathas and Patels came forward to demand reservations for themselves. And all of these castes – Marathas, Patels and Jats – are economically very well of. But then, what reservation do they seek?
Clearly, there are political intentions behind all of this. Jats have control over all the resources of the state. There is no need for reservations for them. So, I would like to say that to end reservations for all communities, BJP, with the help of caste-based institutions like Khap panchayats, is instigating well-off communities to demand for reservations. This would cause ordinary people to start thinking that reservations are of no use and thus, they can put an end to reservations. Unless there are scenes of violence and fear among people, communities will keep demanding for reservations. Violence is certainly the route, according to BJP politics, by which they can put an end to all of this.
Ankit: So was this all planned?
Jagmati: I certainly think so. One has to wonder why, at the same time, three different communities in three different states under the rule of BJP start demanding for reservations? And all of these communities control most of the resources of their respective states.
Ankit: What suggestions would you like to give to a student of development studies, like me, to start thinking of ways to make society just and equitable?
Jagmati: I would suggest that you to think first and then act. Because the times we are living in are complex. We cannot jump to conclusions as soon as we see something happening in front of us. You should try to read as much as you can and it will help you reflect on things happening in society.
Haryana needs young people like you to become a prosperous and peaceful place for all communities and sections of society. Keep working hard and keep reflecting on things. You can do everything that seems impossible now but impossible itself says – I’m possible. All the best!
हँसा देती है जो रोते रोते ,
रुला देती जो हँसते हँसते ,
यादो में कर दे जो जीना मुश्किल,
टूटने पे कर दे जो बिखरना मुश्किल,
तोड़ देती जो पूरी तरह,
जोड़ती जो बिना किसी वजह,
सिखाती जो करना बन्दगी ,
कभी कर देती जो मुश्किल ज़िन्दगी ,
पिघला देती जो सुलगी हुई सी समां को,
रुला देती जो हँसते हुए इक इंसा को ,
मोड़ देती जो सावन की झड़ी को ,
आँसुओ से भर देती जो मेरी अँखियो को,
नाम मे है जिसके बस जो तन्हाई,
समझ लेना तब की, है ये जो तन्हाई,
बस इसी का नाम है जुदाई!
बस इसी का नाम है ये जुदाई!!
