PRAGOTI

 As I write this, 7 unruly members of parliament belonging to errant political parties - the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal in particular, have been suspended for their pathetic conduct yesterday in the Rajya Sabha. These legislators were doing their worst to prevent the Women's Reservation Bill, which now enjoys a great degree of majority support in both Houses of the Indian Parliament. This post quickly brings out some facets about the idea of quota-based representation in legislatures all across the world. 

Hindu fascists of the Sri Ram Sene, encouraged by the indifference and tacit support of the BJP-led Karnataka government in the aftermath of the Sene's violent attack on women in a Mangalore pub have flexed their muscles again. They have now attacked Shruti, a PUC II student in Mangalore and a young Muslim boy, Shabib, her brother's friend with whom she had spoken while travelling on a bus.

One of the more depressing features of government policy in the social sectors in India is the extent to which it relies on the unpaid or underpaid labour of women.