Editorial 1: The inclusion Test
Recent Context:
- Recently, both the houses of Parliament passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eight Amendment) Bill 2023 under a new name, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam that reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the state legislatures, and the Delhi legislative assembly.
About the women reservation Bill:
- The Bill is the culmination of a legislative debate that has spanned over 27 years since 1996, including the lapsed Women’s Reservation Bill (2010), due to lack of consensus among political parties.
- The legislation seeks to allocate 33 per cent seats in the state and central legislative bodies for women which, at present, is abysmally low — around 15 per cent in the Lok Sabha and 12 per cent in the Rajya Sabha.
- According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, India ranks 148th out of 193 countries in terms of women’s representation while the global average is 26.5 per cent.
- Similarly, women’s representation in state assemblies is also dismal, ranging from 3.1 per cent in Nagaland to 23.1 per cent in Bihar. The Bill aims to increase the number of women MPs to 181 from the current 82 and women MLAs to more than 2,000 from the current 740.
- However, there has been a gradual increase in the number of female MPs in the Lok Sabha from a mere 5 per cent in the first Lok Sabha to 15 per cent in the current 17th Lok Sabha.
- The proposed legislation mandates that the 33 per cent reservation for women continue for 15 years. The Bill needs ratification from a minimum of 50 per cent of the states.
- The constitutional reasoning for requiring ratification by states is the potential impact of the Bill on the rights of states. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise
- The reservation is proposed to be implemented after a new Census is published and the delimitation exercise is completed.
- Criticism: By conservative estimates, it will not be implemented until the 2029 general elections.
- Many Opposition parties feel this amount to a fraud on women and have demanded its immediate implementation. The demand is that the provisions of delimitation and Census be done away with.
Expected positive outcome of the Bill:
- The Bill, when enacted, will empower women and promote gender equality in society.
- As, women face various forms of discrimination, violence, and oppression in India, such as female foeticide, child marriage, dowry, domestic abuse, rape, sexual harassment, honour killing, trafficking, and the wage gap.
- The Bill hopes to create a conducive environment for women to voice their concerns and demand their rights.
- It also hopes to inspire more women to enter public life, take on leadership roles and challenge the patriarchal norms and stereotypes that limit their potential.
- It is hoped that the Bill will improve the quality and effectiveness of governance and policymaking in India.
- Studies have shown that women legislators tend to be more responsive, accountable, honest, and collaborative than their male counterparts.
- They also tend to focus more on issues related to health, education, welfare, environment, and social justice, which are crucial for human development.
- By increasing the number of women in Parliament and assemblies, the Bill expects that the policies and laws will be more inclusive, progressive, and beneficial for all sections of society.
However, the Bill has also faced some criticisms from various groups, who have raised concerns about its feasibility, desirability, and implications.
- Foremost is the concern that the Bill will create divisions among women based on caste, religion, region, and class.
- Some parties have demanded that within the 33 per cent reservation for women, there should be a sub-quota for women from backward classes and minorities.
- Without such a provision, the Bill will benefit only upper-caste and urban women at the expense of lower-caste and rural women.
- However, some others have opposed this demand, on the ground that it will further fragment society along communal lines and undermine unity and solidarity among women
- Another point of criticism is that it may reduce the merit and competence of legislators.
- By reserving seats for women based on gender alone, the Bill may compromise the quality and efficiency of governance.
- In some instances, women may be nominated by male relatives or patrons who will influence their decisions.
- Women candidates may lack the necessary experience, education, skills, and vision to perform their duties effectively. It may also lead to perpetual inequality as they would be perceived as not competing on merit.
- There is also an apprehension that this new system may disrupt the existing electoral system and political dynamics. By reserving seats for women by rotation, the Bill may create instability and uncertainty in the electoral process.
- This may affect the continuity and accountability of legislators who will have to change their constituencies frequently. It may affect the loyalty and representation of voters who will have to choose from among different candidates every time.
Conclusion:
- The Women's Reservation Bill, with its goal of reserving 33% of seats for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies, represents a significant step toward achieving gender equality in Indian politics.
- However, overcoming political challenges and societal norms remains crucial for its successful implementation. Advocacy, public awareness, and consensus-building efforts are essential for moving forward with this important legislation.
Editorial 2: Three Hoysala temples on UNESCO heritage list
Recent Context:
- Recently, Three Hoysala-era temples are listed to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, under the collective entry of ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas’.
- Hoysala temples are known for the rare beauty and finesse of their wall sculptures, and have been described as “art which applies to stone the technique of the ivory worker or the goldsmith”.
- The selected three temples were built in the 12th and 13th centuries are important not just because they demonstrate their builders’ superior skill, but also because they narrate the tale of the politics that shaped them.
Which are the three Hoysala temples selected for the UNESCO list?
- The announcement for selection of three temples was made by UNESCO on September 18, during the World Heritage Committee’s 45th session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- The three temples include the
- Chennakeshava temple in Belur,
- the Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu, and
- the Keshava Temple in Somanathapura.
Who were the Hoysalas?
- The Hoysalas held power in Karnataka from the 10th century to the 14th century.
- The dynasty began as provincial governors under the Western Chalukyas, but as the two dominant empires of the South, the Western Chalukyas and the Cholas, crumbled, the Hoysalas established themselves as rulers.
- Two of the temples that made it to the UNESCO list are located in cities that served as the capital of the Hoysalas — earlier Belur, and then Halebidu (or Dwarasamudra).
When were the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas built?
- The Chennakeshava temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, was consecrated around 1117 AD by the mighty Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana, to mark his victories against the Cholas. It is thus also called the Vijaya Narayana temple.
- The other Vaishnava shrine, the Kesava temple, was built in Somanathapura in 1268 by Somanatha, a general of Hoysala King Narasimha III.
- The Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu is believed to be the largest Shiva temple built by the Hoysalas, and is dated to the 12th century.
What makes Hoysala architecture stand out?
- One notable feature of Hoysala architecture is the use of soapstone, a malleable stone that is easy to carve.
- This is one of the reasons behind the abundance of intricate sculptures one can see on the temple walls.
- The sculptures include animals, scenes of daily life, as well as depictions from the epics and the Puranas. The jewellery, headgear, clothes, etc. of the detailed sculptures give an idea of the society of the times
- The temples are generally built on stellate (star-shaped) platforms, and have several structures inside the complex.
- The walls and pillars are covered in beautiful sculptures that have “rich narrative and descriptive dimensions”.
- Another special feature of Hoysala architecture is the unique confluence of styles Hoysala architecture is an amalgamation of three distinctive styles
- the mainstream Dravidian architecture as represented in the Pallava and Chola temples;
- the Vesara style, the variant of the Dravida style that emerged in the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta temples; and
- North Indian Nagara style.
- The political dimension to this is the various military expeditions that the Hoysalas undertook, which led them to different regions from where they brought back masons, sculptors, architects who could visualise and actualise such temples
- Also, these Vaishnava and Shaivya shrines were built at the time Jainism was prominent in the region, and thus mark a turn towards Hinduism.
What makes the three temples on UNESCO list special?
- While hundreds of big and small Hoysala-era temples still survive, these three are believed to be among the finest surviving examples of Hoysala art.
- About the Chennakesava temple at Belur,
- It has the total number of pillars is 46. All of them, except the four in the central bay, are of different design so that the variety and complexity of the whole is astonishing.”
- It is believed that one of the sculptures, Darpana Sundari (lady with the mirror), is modelled on Shantala Devi, the queen of Vishnuvardhana who had the temple built.
- The Kesava temple in Somanathapura is built in the shape of a 16-point star, and has three shrines, dedicated to Keshava, Janardhana and Venugopala. The Keshava statute, however, is missing now.
- The Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu, is regarded as the highest achievement of the school, though its present ruined condition… renders it difficult to realise this…
- The infinite wealth of sculpture over the exterior of this temple makes it one of the most remarkable monuments of the world and an unrivalled ‘repository of religious thought expressed in plastic form’.”
- Halebidu was raided by Malik Kafur, a general of the then Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji.
Conclusion:
- Therefore, Hoysala temple architecture represents rich socio-cultural prosperity of the Kingdome and shows the prosperity of the Kingdome from the architecture point of view.
- And recent inclusion of three temples in UNESCO heritage list will promote the rich heritage of India and encourage tourists of different parts of the world to visit India.