Arth and Inkaar: A Comparison Unworthy but Inevitable

Arth; a 1982 movie by Mahesh Bhatt based on real life incidents and Inkar; a 2013 feature by Sudhir Mishra deal with women's issue. Arth precisely showed the dilemma of a woman who experiences turmoil in her married life. Inkar on the other hand raises the issue of dilemma of a career oriented woman who faces turmoil and feels harassed at her work place. While, I watched the climax of Inkar unfolding with a love story, a comparison unfolded in my mind. 30 years ago, if a director had the courage to showcase a climax where a Indian woman decides not to behave like a 'patni' and refuses to give in to his apologetic and remorseful husband. The woman protagonist not just refuses to get back to 'subah ka bhula sham ko lauta' husband but rejects a proposal from another man who feels attracted to her and had indeed helped her during her troubled times. The end tries to give a message that woman in herself can be complete. Three decades and we have progressed (or regressed perhaps) to a point where the woman protagonist finds her weak, weak enough to go and try to sexually please her boss to not lose her job. It is now prerogative of the man to sacrifice everything because he thinks that he was wrong in doubting her love interest like Rama who cannot be with Sita despite his love and belief in her. The woman felt guilty enough of making her lover's life miserable to finally leave the job. If the two cinemas are in anyway reflections of India society then in the last 30 years we have been able to bring woman to our offices but have hardly been able to give her space to chart her own path. She still has to be given the tag of 'weaker gender' that needs help to move ahead in life. The biggest problem however is the message Inkar tries to give; a woman may not be professionally successful without a man's help. A sense of acceptance when it comes to harassment and discrimination against woman at work place. Arth was much ahead of Inkar; with a message of woman being complete in themselves.

Remembering Yitzhak Shamir

Yitzhak Shamir (1915-2012) Former Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, who took the mantle of the government after the towering Likud leader Menachem Begin suddenly retired from public life in 1983, died on 30 June after a long illness in Tel Aviv. He was 96 and was under medication since 2004. He was seen by his admirers and detractors alike, as a true compatriot, a zealot who never compromised his ideological stand and who passionately sought to defend Israel’s interest as he saw fit. Many felt that his uncompromising attitude was harming Israel’s cause at international arena but his firm believes and ideological convictions stood him apart from many of his predecessors and successors. Yitzhak Jazermicki (later Shamir), was born in Poland on 15 October 1915 and came to the Mandate Palestine as a youth in 1935. At the age of 14, he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded by Vladimir Jabotinsky. Shamir joined the Irgun, the militant movement which opposed the British Mandate over Palestine and believed in armed struggle. Later, he chose to side with Avraham Stern when the latter left Irgun in 1940 to form Lehi, also known as Stern Gang. Along with other leader Shamir led Lehi after Avraham Stern was killed by British forces in 1940. Shamir was accused of involvement in a number of acts of terrorism and assassinations, including the killing of UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte in September 1948. After the formation of the State of Israel, Shamir joined with the Israel’s external intelligence agency, Mossad. He served in the agency’s European headquarters in Paris and left the organization in 1965 to join active political life. Shamir joined Herut headed by Begin in 1970 and was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list in 1973. After Likud formed the government in 1977, the first right wing government in Israel, Shamir was elected Speaker of the Knesset. Then he served as the Foreign Minister under Begin and upon Begin’s resignation, Shamir became the seventh Prime Minister of Israel and served during 1983-84. He again served as Premier from 1986 till 1992, first as part of the unity government with the Labor Party and then as the head for a narrow coalition. Shamir resigned from active politics in 1999 when he also left the Likud opposing the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu. He supported Ariel Sharon during the 2001 direct election of the Prime Minister. As Speaker of the Knesset, Shamir presided over the Knesset during the historic Jerusalem visit of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt. As Foreign Minister he led the negotiations with Egypt after the 1979 Camp David Accord. As Prime Minister of Israel, he presided over a number of important events. The crowning moment of his tenure came when Israel witnessed massive Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union. Shamir was not enthusiastic about the Middle East Peace Process which began in Madrid in October 1991. Likewise, lack of personal chemistry with President George H W delayed the critical loan guarantees from the US. He also blocked the initiative by his Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in 1987, known as the London framework agreement with King Hussein on the Palestinian problem. During the Kuwait War of 1991 when Saddam Hussein launched Scud Missiles against Israel in his bid to break the US-led anti-Iraq coalition, Shamir famously refrained from any retaliation thereby showing his leadership acumen. In 1989, he formulated the Shamir Plan, a five-year transitional arrangement for the Palestinians in Occupied Territories but it did not yield much result. President Shimon Peres described his one time ally and cabinet colleague as “a brave warrior for Israel, before and after its inception. He was a great patriot and his enormous contribution will be forever etched in our chronicles. He was loyal to his beliefs and he served his country with the utmost dedication for decades.” Shamir was a person of iron-will, a man of modesty and a leader of firm self-control. His commitment to the Jewish people and Eretz Israel was second to none. He was deeply influenced by the Holocaust, where he had lost his entire family including his father. This historic memory shaped his tough outlook and hard-line politics. His wife Shulamit, who was also a holocaust survivor, died in 2011. They were married in 1944 and had two children Yair and Gilada. In a state funeral held on Monday 2 July Yitzhak Shamir was buried alongside his wife in the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem.

Remembering Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz

Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud (1934-2012) Security Czar Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdul-Aziz, the Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia since 1975, and the heir-apparent since last October, died in Geneva on 16 June while undergoing treatment for undisclosed ailment. The following day he was buried in the al-Adl cemetery close to the Masjid al-Haram or Grand Mosque in Mecca after sunset prayers led by King Abdullah. The death would necessitate King naming another heir to the throne in less than a year. Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz long-time Governor of Riyadh who became the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister last November following the death of Crown Prince Sultan, is the favourite to be named the next Crown Prince. As per the al Saud tradition, the name has to be proposed by the King and then endorsed by the 35-member Allegiance Council, comprising the sons and grandsons of the founder King. Should Prince Salman, another member of the powerful Sudari Seven, get the node, it will give the monarchy a unique situation where both the King and Crown Prince would be identified as reform- oriented. The appointment of Crown Prince may not tough for the 89-year old ailing monarch, but the appointment of Second Deputy Prime Minister (or second in line of succession) would be difficult and may witness a lot of contestations within the family. It is expected that a third generation prince may be appointed as most of the living sons of founder Ibn Saud are too old, have renounced their rights in favour of their sons or are more involved in family business than in politics. However, the popular Deputy Interior Minister, Prince Ahmed bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, the youngest among Sudairi-seven would be a strong contender. This process might take time as King and Salman would be more pre-occupied with the reform process in the oil-monarchy. For example, in 2005 after he became King, Abdullah delayed the appointment of the Second Deputy Prime Minister till 2009, when he was forced to appoint the Nayef as Second Deputy Prime Minister. With both King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan suffering from health complications and required periodic visits abroad for medical treatment someone was needed to run the country. Prince Nayef was however swiftly made the Crown Prince when his full brother and heir to the throne Prince Sultan died last October. The reason for not naming Nayef as Second Deputy Prime Minister for nearly four years was partly due to the ‘conservative’ tag he carried and perhaps King Abdullah did not want someone close to the line of succession opposing his reform moves. Nayef reportedly was opposed to a number of reform moves initiated by the King, mainly with respect to the demands by the minority Shias and liberals towards political openings and women’s rights. He was not happy when Abdullah as Crown Prince and de facto ruler had personally met liberal intellectuals, including academicians, writers and journalists, in January 2003 to accept their petition Strategic Vision for the Present and Future that demanded political reforms. Nayef again was reportedly upset over Abdullah’s meeting with a Shia delegation in March the same year when the latter submitted a petition Partners in One Nation demanding more rights for the Shias. These could be the reasons why the King was reluctant in appointing Nayef as second to the heir-apparent. Reiterating the prevailing perceptions about him after becoming the Crown Prince, Prince Nayef reiterated his commitments to Wahhabi Islam and the need for Saudi Arabia to preserve its culture, tradition and ideology. Addressing a conference of clerics he observed Saudi Arabia would “never sway from and never compromise on” its adherence to the puritanical, ultraconservative Wahhabi doctrine. The ideology, he declared “is the source of the Kingdom's pride, success and progress.” The late Prince was a self-proclaimed hard-liner and close to conservative ulema, the powerful Wahhabi religious establishment, which provides the religious legitimacy to the Al Saud rule. He was at the helm of Saudi operation to cleanse the country of home-grown terrorism and had ferociously crushed the Al Qaeda’s Saudi branch following the American pressure in the aftermath of 11 September 2001 attacks and several bombings and attacks inside the Kingdom in 2003. However, Prince Nayef had a roller-coaster relationship with the US. At one level, he presided over the Saudi crackdown against al-Qaida and but the same time he was weary of the US. Moreover, in a controversial media interview he blamed the Jews for the September 11 attacks. Along with fighting al-Qaida, he was also instrumental in the arrest of several liberal and dissenting political activists and gave free hand to the religious police (The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) to enforce strict adherence of Islam in public. Nayef was born in 1934 in the city of Taif, to Ibn Saud (founder King) and Princess Hassa Al-Sudairi (1910-2003), who was from the Sudairi clan of the royal family. Nayef like most of the brothers received early education in religion, culture and diplomacy in the Royal Court. His political career started in 1951, when he was appointed Deputy to the Governor of Riyadh. He shortly held the post of Governor of Riyadh during 1953-54, when he was replaced by Salman and was moved to the Interior Ministry. In 1975 he was made Interior Minister, a position he held until his death. He presided over a number of committees and councils, prominent among them are the Human Resource Fund, the Saudi Academy for Information and Communication and the important Supreme Hajj Committee. He as Interior Minister worked for the strengthening of internal security and presided over the comprehensive overhaul of the security apparatus inside the Kingdom, establishing a number of directorates and departments in the Interior Ministry including, the General Directorate for Civil Defence, the General Directorate for Border Security, the Department of Prisons and a Department for defence research and development. He also gave grants to universities in the Kingdom for research and studies on peace, national unity and strategic studies. Prince Nayef had a soft corner for the Muslims fighting for their rights around the world and instituted relief funds for Muslims in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Chechnya, Somalia and Palestine. He was married thrice and has ten sons and daughters, prominent among them is his eldest son from second wife Jawhara bint Abdul-Aziz Al Jiluwi, Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud who is Assistant Minister for Interior in-charge of security affairs since 1999. The sudden demise of Nayef has given rise to speculation regarding the succession issue which may lead to infighting within Al Saud that may destabilize the largest oil producer in the world. Given the delicacy of the situation, it would be safe to assume that King Abdullah will delay the naming of Second Deputy and might ask Salman to look for a heir. It is not very clear if the Allegiance Council will have a say in deciding the second in line of succession. For now, it seems to be more a deliberative and legitimizing body than with any real powers. At the same time, the new situation also raises hope for speeding up of the reform process as Prince Nayef represented the voice of Saudi conservative elements in the Royal family.

Remembering Pope Shenouda III

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (1923-2012) The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of Alexandria, died in Cairo on Saturday, 17 March 2012 after long illness. The death leaves a void at a time when the 10 million-strong Egyptian Copts, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, are facing increasing pressures and onslaught from the growing conservatism among the Egyptian Muslims. He ascended to the papacy on 14 November 1971 following the death of Cyril VI. For over four decades Pope Shenouda worked for peace between Christians and Muslims in Egypt and was respected all over the world for his leadership as well as scholarship. The Coptic Orthodox Church has announced a state of mourning attended by the bishops of the Coptic Church from all over Egypt and abroad. The Egyptian government had announced a three day off work for Coptic Christians for mourning. Following official ceremonies in Cairo and as per his wishes, his body was flown to the Wadi El Natrun desert monastery northwest of Cairo for burial later on Tuesday. He had spent several years of prayer, contemplation and abstinence in the remote Coptic monastery. Tributes have come in from around the world, with Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI offering prayers and US President Barack Obama praising Pope Shenouda as an "advocate for tolerance and religious dialogue". The Egyptian military rulers paid tributes to the departed leader expressing hope that his wish of “preserving the unity of Egypt and the unity of its social fabric” would be achieved. The Grand Imam of the al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb expressed sorrow and said he "greatly remembers his vision towards Jerusalem and its history". Delegations from all over the world attended the funeral in Cairo. Bishop Bakhomious, head of the church of Bahaira, a district in the Nile Delta north of Cairo, will temporally hold the post of pope for two months until a new leader is elected, which is based on a system of voting by board members of the church's city councils. The councils vote on three preferred candidates, and the final choice would be picked by a young child. He was born on 3 August 1923 as Nazeer Gayed in Asyut district of Upper Egypt and became a monk in 1954 and assumed the name of Father Antonius the Syrian. During the presidency of Anwar Sadat, he was banished to Wadi el Natrun monastery in 1981 (where he was eventually buried on Tuesday) for criticizing the government’s handling of an Islamic insurgency in the 1970s and for the peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Because of its opposition to Israeli polices, the Pope also forbad Coptic pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was released in 1985 by President Hosni Mubarak. The successor of Shenouda will have a tough task of reassuring the Coptic community at a time when Egypt is going through political transformation with Islamist parties gain more political support and endorsement in popular elections. Since the overthrow of President Mubarak the country has witnessed renewed sectarian tensions between Muslims and Copts and many Coptic churches faced arson attacks. The Pope had a good relation with the Mubarak regime, which was essential for the protection the Coptic Christian community. This would not be easier for the successor of Pope Shenouda.