06 June 2024

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS 

Q1. Rukmini Devi Arundale catalyzed the renaissance of the Bharatanatyam dance form, to preserve and popularize it and other Indian traditions. Elaborate.

GS I – Modern Indian History

Introduction:

• Rukmini Devi, founder of Kalakshetra, is credited with giving Bharatanatyam makeover from sensuous art form to more spiritual & devotional character. Her charismatic personality and contribution to the renaissance of Indian Classical music attained her niche in the arena of Indian culture. Rukmini Devi was also known for her efforts towards the protection of animal rights and their welfare.

Body:

• Her contribution to the performing arts industry is unmatchable and one cannot ignore the shackles of caste and community she broke with it. The institute she founded, Kalakshetra, has gained international recognition and become synonymous with all things “classical” in India.

Role of Rukmini Devi Arundale in Reviving Bharatanatyam:

• Honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1956, Rukmini is best known for her visionary work in the fields of dance, culture, and education that catalysed a renaissance in Indian classical dance forms.
• Often Rukmini Devi is described as the one who saved the art of Bharatanatyam dance from extinction. Some scholars also like to think that she appropriated the dance from the hereditary dance community.
• She is the person who is credited for the renaissance of Bharatnatyam dance form and more significantly making the dance which was primarily a forte of Devdasis, main stream and respectable in the society.
• She was the first woman performer other than devadasi to perform bharatanatyam on stage.
• The fact remains that a deep love for dance inspired her to go to its roots and study it with diligence with gurus at a time when crucial changes were taking place in our society with regard to temple dancers.
• Originally the dance form Bharatnatyam was known as Sadhir, practiced only by Devdasis who with the advent of British Raj very widely maligned in the society. Thus, she not only revived and resurrected the ancient dance form but also went on to reverse the negative stereotypes associated with the female practitioners of Sadhir.
• By adopting a puritan approach, she eliminated the dance form of its shringaaror erotic leanings and magnified the bhakti or devotional aspect, thereby making it more acceptable to the mainstream of the society.
• She also introduced modern costumes, temple jewellery, set designs, lighting etc which we know of the trademarks of the modern Bharatnatyam performances.
• Her unique contribution was to destroy what was crude and vulgar in the inherited traditions of dance and to replace them with sophisticated and refined taste. In this, the dance form received a new lease of life, going on to earn international approval.
• Other than conceiving and choreographing numerous bharatanatyam pieces, Rukmini developed a unique curriculum to broaden the dance’s appeal, that included aesthetically designed jewellery, costumes and stage scenarios.
• She indeed succeeded in giving dance and Bharatnatyam a place of pride in India’s national narrative.
• Rukmini Devi “retained the positive aspects of the system and persuaded outstanding musicians and dance gurus to join the faculty and created for them an ambiance devoid of commercial considerations”.

Conclusion:

• Rukmini played an instrumental role in transforming the dance form, giving it a new name, and popularizing it all over the world as a respectable art form. While Kalakshetra was a major landmark in her career as a dancer, her years as an MP were just as fruitful as she made sure Article 51 (G) of the Constitution of India was included under Part IV, making it the fundamental duty of every citizen to show kindness and compassion to all living beings.

Q2. The path to true inclusion of LGBTIA+ community begins with putting an end to violence and harassment against them and beginning sensitization about them among the echelons of the society. Discuss.

GS I – Indian Society

Introduction:

• The LGBTQIA+ community faces a lot of problems. The main problem is acceptance from people outside the community. For the Indian LGBT community, a truly inclusive society remains a distant dream. In urban India, where social media and corporate initiatives have created increasing awareness of LGBT rights, the scenario looks more upbeat for gay men than for transgender people or lesbian women. While urban LGBT voices that are heard through several online and real-world platforms form an important part of LGBT activism, these expose only a small part of the diverse challenges faced by the community.
• The Tamil Nadu government recently amended its police conduct rules to bar harassment of LGBTQIA+ individuals and persons working to help them.

Background:

• The Delhi High Court’s verdict in Naz Foundation vs Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) was a landmark in the law of sexuality and equality jurisprudence in India.
• The court held that Section 377 offended the guarantee of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution, because it creates an unreasonable classification and targets homosexuals as a class.
• In a retrograde step, the Supreme Court, in Suresh Kumar Koushal vs Naz Foundation (2013), reinstated Section 377 to the IPC.
• However, the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. vs Union of India (2018) declared that the application of Section 377 IPC to consensual homosexual behaviour was “unconstitutional”.
• This Supreme Court judgment has been a great victory to the Indian individual in his quest for identity and dignity.

Issues faced by LGBTQIA+ community in India:

• No legal recognition of marriage: Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in India even though many countries like USA, UK have legalised it.
• Issue of rights: The rights enjoyed by opposite-sex couples are not enjoyed by same-sex couples. They are prohibited from those rights. For example-
• The lack of a legal structure around their relationship became increasingly stark when they tried to bring each other on as nominees in insurance and financial plans, just as a married couples did.
• Lack of family support: Lack of communication between LGBT children and the parents often leads to conflict in the family.
• Many LGBT youths are placed in foster care or end up in juvenile detention or on the streets.
• Most often than not, LGBTQ children from poor families are abandoned. They end up begging as there is no avenue for education or employment.
• In some parts, secret honour killings are planned so that the only way for a young gay man to survive is to run away in the cover of the night to some city, with no money or social support.
• Sanctioned rape: In other parts, lesbian women are subjected to family-sanctioned corrective rapes, which are often perpetrated by their own family members.
• Village medics and babas often prescribe rape to cure lesbians of homosexuality. Refusal to marry brings more physical abuse
• Education and health: The LGBTQ children are abandoned and marginalised, who end up being isolated by the rest of the society. They are denied the fundamental right of education as well as health.

Way Forward:

• The LGTBQ community needs an anti-discrimination law that empowers them to build productive lives and relationships irrespective of gender identity or sexual orientation and place the onus to change on state and society and not the individual.
• Police must not harass sexual minorities. There must be changes to the police conduct rules to provide for punishing erring police personnel in this regard.
• Government bodies, especially related to Health, and Law and Order need to be sensitised and made aware about the changed position of law to ensure that the LGBTQ community is not denied public services or harassed for their sexual orientation.
• Enumerating sexual orientation and gender identity in non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies is an important step toward acknowledging diversity, protecting vulnerable students.
• Training school staff empowers them to respond when they encounter abuse. Younger generations of Indians will grow up knowing of criminalisation as a thing of the past, and that will be a boon to their basic rights.
• In 2014, the Supreme Court issued a sweeping judgment in NALSA v. India, which held that transgender people should be legally recognised according to their gender identity, enjoy all fundamental rights, and receive special benefits in education and employment. This must be implemented and enforced.

Conclusion:

• The queer and gender non-conforming people have found an ally in the court, but they would need greater effort on the part of the authorities at various levels, if their rights are to be protected. In any case, any change in law in terms of recognising same-sex relations or understanding self-identification of gender must be complemented by an attitudinal change in society at large.
• Government must sensitise the general public and officials, to reduce and finally eliminate the stigma associated with LGBTQ+ community through the mass media and the official channels. School and university students too should be sensitised about the diversity of sexuality to deconstruct the myth of heteronormativity. Heteronormativity is the root cause of hetero-sexism and homophobia.