01-02-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk ASIA 01-02-2021 to 15-02-2021 9
Dalai Lama and gender reform: Malati Rao's 'The Geshema
Is Born' vividly documents a historic turnaround
New Delhi : What makes the 14th
Dalia Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the Tibetan
Buddhists spiritual leader, stand apart
from other temporal heads, is his firm
commitment to reforms and accepting
change as part of organic development
of religion. This is vividly evident in the
Public Service Broadcasting Trusts onehour
documentary "The Geshema Is
Born". Directed by Malati Rao, it traces
how Tibetan Buddhist nuns who have
sought equality for centuries, had their
longstanding aspiration being fulfilled
when they were conferred the highest
monastic degree, the Geshema, in 2016
bythe Dalai Lama at Drepung
monastery, Mundgod.
Welcoming the historic conferment,
the Tibetan political leader, Lobsang
Sangay had said: "We owe His Holiness
Dalai Lama a debt of gratitude."
The event is singularly significant.
Nuns were encouraged to pray and
chant and there are examples of 'arahants'
(monks who have achieved
enlightenment and passes to Nirvana at
death) among them attaining liberation
being in the female form. "Yet, education
and the centres of learning like the
Nalanda were only open to monks." In
1979, when the Dalai Lama escaped to
India in 1979, a large number of monks
and nuns followed him. One of the first
decisions taken by the Tibetan government
in exile when it came into existence
was to set up centres of learning.
"Preservation of their unique culture
was critical to the exiled community,"
says Rao.
Making a bold move then, the Dalai
Lama recommended that nuns receive
education as well, a change which was
hard for a society whose very existence
was endangered. "His holiness had the
fortitude to see how important it was to
bring gender parity," observes Rao.
Change is hard to come by and definitely
takes time. Gender parity in different
faiths in India, too took years of
struggle and now the can country boast
Dalit family attacked,
Ambedkar statue
DESECRATED in UP
Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) : A Dalit family was allegedly attacked
and a statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar damaged in the Nagra area of
Ballia district.
Suresh Ram filed a complaint with the police alleging that he
and his family were attacked by four people, belonging to an upper
caste, when they were sitting around a bonfire on Wednesday night.
The attackers also damaged the statue installed at Ambedkar
Park. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjay Yadav said
that three persons were injured in the incident, which took place in
the Kanwar village.
The motive behind the attack is not yet known.
Senior officials rushed to the spot soon after the incident and an
FIR has been lodged against four persons.
Two of the accused, identified as Manoj Singh and Ram Pravesh
Singh, have been arrested, he said.
of women Hindu and Christian priests
and Muslim imam. Rao feels, women
outnumber men when it comes to seeking
spirituality in their lives. "I think it's
valuable for religious institutions to
acknowledge this. Including women
and giving them equal status is not only
just but also a step to keep themselves
relevant to those who are searching for
answers. Every religion today is exploring
its efficacy in the modern society."
Praising the Buddhist nuns' perseverance,
Rao says, though the Tibetan
Nuns Project was put into motion
almost 25 years back, "the nuns of three
generations have stood on each other's
shoulders to sustain the ideals of transformation
and an end to suffering".
The film brings to fore the opposition
to this historic move. While Karma
Gelek Yuthok, the Minister for Religion
and Culture, Central Tibetan
Administration in Exile remarks that
Vinaya tradition forbids nuns, Geshe
Rinchin Ngudup, a teacher feels that
monks have better memory and debating
skills. "The fact that it took as long
as it did clearly indicate that change was
Budget Session begins with Prez
address, Oppn creates ruckus
New Delhi : The Budget
Session commenced on
Friday with President Ram
Nath Kovind's address to the
joint sitting of Parliament
amid 18 opposition parties
boycotting the event and
Congress member Ravneet
Singh raising slogans against
the government on farmers'
issue. Following tradition,
the President began Budget
Session 2021 with his
address at 11 a.m. at the
Central Hall of Parliament highlighting the
government's plan, policy and vision for
the next financial year as well as the steps
taken during pandemic. The President condemned
the farmers' violent march on
Republic Day and their attempt to dishonour
the dignity of the Red Fort where
Prime Minister unfurls Tricolour on
Independence Day every year.
Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu also
spoke on the event addressing the joint sitting
of Parliament. Earlier, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi addressed the media, saying
"This Budget is a golden opportunity to
fulfill dreams of freedom fighters".
The two Houses later met separately for
the tabling of the President's Address. The
Economic Survey was also tabled in both
Houses during the 30-minute sitting after
paying obituary references. Both, the
President's address as well as the
Economic Survey was tabled first in the
Lok Sabha amid sloganeering by opposition
parties against the three farm laws.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later
adjourned the House till Monday -- the day
when the Union Budget will be presented
by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The session is being held in two parts
this year due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The first part of the
Budget Session is scheduled
to conclude on February 15
while the second part will
commence on March 8 and is
expected to end on April 8.
Given the Covid-19 outbreak,
Parliament will sit in
two shifts. The morning session
is dedicated to the Rajya
Sabha while the Lok Sabha
will sit in the evening.
The Rajya Sabha will sit
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., while
the Lok Sabha will sit from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Zero Hour and Question Hour will also be
held. All Covid protocols will be followed
during this session on the same lines as the
Monsoon Session last year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
will present the Union Budget at 11 a.m. on
February 1. The Lok Sabha shall hold 12
sittings and during the second phase of the
session, there will be 21 sittings of the
House. Question Hour, Zero Hour will also
be held during this session. The Bahujan
Samaj Party and the Aam Aadmi party also
joined the 16 opposition parties, who boycotted
the President's Address over the
manner in which the three farm laws were
passed. This is the second time in a row
when the opposition stayed away from the
Presidential Address. Last year, the opposition
parties, barring the Bahujan Samaj
Party, had staged their own programme in
front of the Ambedkar statue, reading from
the constitution and preamble in support of
those opposing the citizenship law.
This year, the opposition parties, who
are divided and fighting each other in the
states, made a joint statement in solidarity
with the farmers protesting against the controversial
new agricultural laws and other
issues to boycott the Presidential address.
not easy," avers Rao. Elucidating she
explains, that in the origin stories,
Buddha's aunt Mahaprajapati asked him
if she and other women could join the
Sangha. He is said to have refused thrice
before finally relenting. "This has been
the main thrust of why women are second
class citizens. This along with the
fact that the Bhikshuni order cannot be
traced to Tibet hence the women's lineage
is broken." There were fears that
Buddhism will not survive beyond 500
years once women were included; that it
was against Buddha's wishes; and that
nuns cannot have the same discipline as
the monks in the keeping the vows.
Do the misgivings still continue? "I
think the fact that all the top leadership
was present at the podium when the
Geshemas got their degrees shows that
there is now an agreement about the
way forward." It is noteworthy that the
nuns do not view gender equality as a
mere civil or human right or the conferment
of Geshema degree a tremendous
achievement. They perceive it as a
means to achieve spiritual salvation,
nirvana. "The nuns are here to seek
freedom from suffering. The Geshema
degree is a triumph of them overcoming
their fears and disappointments and
paving the way to their future."
Rao does well to capture the scenic
beauty of the locales where the film was
shot making the viewing a pleasant
experience!
BJD demands
Women's Reservation
Bill be passed in this
Budget session
New Delhi : Biju Janata Dal has demanded
that the Womens
Reservation Bill be
passed in the
Budget Session of
Parliament.
This was
demanded by Pinaki
Misra, BJD
Parliamentary Party
leader in Lok Sabha
in the All Party
meeting held at
New Delhi on
Saturday for the
Budget Session of
Parliament
On behalf of the Biju Janata Dal, senior Lok
Sabha MP Pinaki Misra stated that Odisha Chief
Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik has
specifically requested the Union Government to
have the Women's Reservation Bill passed in this
Budget session. Misra said Biju Janata Dal gave
7 out of 21 MP tickets to women in 2019 Lok
Sabha elections, being the only political party to
have done so. Five of the BJD women MPs won
and so did 2 BJP MPs.
"Therefore, Naveen Patnaik is happy that
Odisha is the only state in the country to have
1/3rd women MPs in Lok Sabha," he added.
Misra added that both BJP and Congress has
publicly backed this Women's Reservation Bill
along with a number of political parties (YSR
Congress and TRS today openly backed CM of
Odisha's demand for passage of Women's
Reservation Bill), therefore it should be no problem
to pass this in Lok Sabha.
"Rajya Sabha has already passed it almost 10
years back. Therefore, Naveen Patnaik ji feels
that the time has come when the Lok Sabha must
pass it," Misra added.