Daily Hindu Editorials

Worse than the bland denial of the equality of free expression is a rude assertion of naked domination What does the continuing painful saga of Padmaavat tell us about ourselves and about social and political life in contemporary India? At least three messages are getting conveyed. First, that freedom of expression is important, not only to those who publicly affirm its value but paradoxically even to those who show scant respect for it. Why do I say this? All groups baying for a ban on the film know that they could not have moved even an inch towards their goal if their freedom to express themselves was restricted, and if the fullest possible range of media tools — print, electronic, and digital — was not at their disposal. If they were prohibited from using public media, they would be able to neither build public opinion nor put pressure on the government. Just imagine if state power was in the hands of a group with zero tolerance towards the very idea of ‘jauhar...

Triple talaq has nothing to do with religion. Both Sunni leaders and the BJP have failed to see triple talaq for what it is: a type of wife abandonment It is easy to blame political parties for the mess around the triple talaq issue. But before doing so, one has to put the matter in perspective: it is not political ‘manipulation’ that came first; triple talaq already existed. Can you really blame others for tossing stones into your house when you have a gaping hole in the roof? True, only a minuscule percentage of Muslim men practised triple talaq, but still the number of afflicted women ran in the tens of thousands. There was no justification for it — legal, political or social. There wasn’t even a convincing theological argument in favour of it, as the Shias wisely accepted. Rashly rejecting a constructive say in the matter (and, once again, failing to position itself on the progressive side of history), a section of the so-called Sunni leadership in India i...

The first runner-up was the committee deciding whether ‘Padmavati’ distorts history I don’t know about you but I’ve been busy this past week celebrating India’s latest triumph at UNESCO. Having already bagged the UNESCO awards for Best Prime Minister in the World, Best National Anthem in the World, and Best Currency Note in the World (which we won for the GPS-enabled Rs. 2,000 note), India has won in yet another category: Most Intelligent Committee in the World. As expected, all the three finalists were from India. The second runner-up was the government committee set up last year to study how people who drink cow urine can enjoy many health benefits, such as freedom from diseases and gas. It is still going strong, with the panellists engaged in intense research to sniff out new merits of cow dung. Titling the film The first runner-up was the special panel of historians and royals convened by the censor board to investigate whether the film Padmavati , ...

Low oestrogen levels are among the reasons why younger women are becoming vulnerable to cardiovascular disease It is common to think of heart disease as a ‘man’s problem,’ but you could be in for a surprise. The last two decades in India have seen a steady rise in incidences of heart attack among women, especially those in the reproductive age. A recent study in the United Kingdom published in Heart , an international peer-reviewed cardiology journal, has shown that women who started menstruating at age 11 or earlier, or entered menopause before 47 had a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. The findings of the team, led by Sanne A.E. Peters a research fellow at the George Institute for Global Health, University of Oxford, suggest that women who have premature reproductive cycles or a history of adverse events should get themselves checked for heart problems. While there are no studies of a similar kind in India, cardiologists say a low level of oestrogen —...

A few weeks ago in Uttar Pradesh, I was delighted to see mobile vans bringing cancer screening services within the reach of rural communities. Simple pap smears were being performed to test for the early signs of cervical cancer, a disease which affects around 1.3 lakh women in India every year. Yet, despite these numbers, discussion about this disease is often in hushed tones. A woman loses her life to cervical cancer every eight minutes, with a a fourth of the total number of cervical cancer deaths worldwide being from India — more than any other country. These figures are appalling, especially as cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that can be prevented. Awareness in India is so negligible that many women are not only unaware but also ignorant of the preventive options available. If pre-cancer is detected early it can be treated, and full-blown cervical cancer avoided. Barely 5% of women in India have been screened for cervical cancer. Further, the human papillomavirus ...