| Hand that rocks the
Cradle
Napoleon Bonaparte is understood to have once said, “Give me a good mother and I will give you the world.” The great French military general that is encrypted in the pages of history as one of the most astute military tacticians of his time certainly scored a point or two when he made this famous observation.
The role of mothers in molding the character of the child cannot be over emphasized and human history is full of anecdotes of the role of mothers. Whether it is Kunti in Mahabaratha or Rebecca in the Old Testament, mothers have always played the central role in the theme of the story. Even Kaikeyi in the Ramayana is accorded a place of imminence as the mother of Bharat.
In fact Bollywood has even gone to the extent of immortalizing the role of mothers as witnessed in Mother India and Deewar where in both cases the films revolved around the character of the mother. Seen in this backdrop it is not surprising that people especially the predominantly Christian western countries should annually observe Mother's Day. This year the day was celebrated on May 12.
While Mother's Day, as we understand it in the layman's language, is predominantly related to the Christian beliefs and religion, the underlying theme behind the very observance of this day cuts across religion, community and nationality. There is undoubtedly a universal appeal in observing this day.
That mothers all over the world should be accorded the highest respect goes without saying but it should be realized that motherhood is intrinsically linked to womanhood and this is where certain aspects need to delved into especially in a society like Manipur where mothers are placed on a podium but the placement of women in the larger canvass of society is open to uncomfortable questions.
The same thing goes for other societies in India which worship Goddess Durga but do not blink an eye when women are burnt to death for dowry. Coming back to Manipur while there is no official record to show the occurrences of domestic violence against women, a cursory check around any neighborhood will reveal in no uncertain terms the frequent if not rampant cases of domestic violence perpetrated against women. If a proper survey is carried out by professionals in a systematic manner the instances of domestic violence would be an eye opener to the Manipuri society.
It is not only domestic violence that dogs our women but a number of factors like discrimination from childhood to lack of opportunities in any sphere etc. The culture of eve teasing, though it fortunately appears to be on the wane, is something that is insulting to womanhood. All this is however not to say that Manipuri women are overly ill-treated but we should be aware of the need to give due respect and importance to women then only then will our respect for our mothers gain some credibility. Remember, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express) |
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