Shalu Nigam

  Hail Patriarchy! Of Supreme Judges And Elite Law 07 November 2015 S ince the Supreme Court of India pronounced its verdict in the matter of Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association versus Union of India also commonly known as NJAC judgement where the court consisting of five judges bench by the majority declared the National Judicial Appointment Commission to be formulated under the 99th Constitutional amendment as unconstitutional, a debate has been initiated. Opinions are expressed in favor and against it, and a fierce discussion has been initiated regarding the manner in which transparency and accountability may be maintained while appointing judges. However, the Supreme Court of India on November 3, 2015, moved ahead and conducted a hearing to work on suggestions to strengthen the Collegium system. By coincidence or by choice, I somehow got the chance to be present in the courtroom where these proceedings were conducted. The room was packed with advocates, senior advocates, e

  Fighting for the Justice in the Patriarchal Courts 29 August 2017 The last few days witnessed the pronouncement of several significant celebrated judgments by the courts in the cases relating to the right to privacy, triple talaq, and the sentencing of a 20-years life term to a self-proclaimed Godman who raped women. All these three cases, somehow uphold people’s trust in courts as the custodian of the rule of law. Even otherwise, in normal parlance in India, courts are considered a temple of justice as well as the custodian of constitutional values by the common people. The courtroom is a space where domination and oppression are challenged and social as well as economic and political justice is facilitated. The prime duty of the court, hence, is to uphold the spirit of the constitution, the rights of people, and the rule of law. In fact, the democratic society places a high value on the independence of the judiciary. However, often, deeply embedded in the layered, hierarchical, pat

 The Privileges of Being a Hindu, Upper Caste and Elite Class, Male in India Abstract When Peggy McIntosh referred to the term 'White Male Privilege' she describes conditions that systematically 'overempower certain groups' and 'confers dominance, gives permission to control, because of one's race or sex', in a Western society. These privileges according to her are unjust and unearned. She stated that, "I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group". Similarly, in a conservative, patriarchal, stratified, casteist, hierarchical, unequal modern Indian society, the undeserved 'Male Privileges' besides the unwarranted advantage of being a 'Hindu' hailing from an 'Upper Caste' and 'Elite Class' plays a significant role in defining the social status of a person which accordingly confers him the voice, the dominant position, the decision making auth

  THE FOUNDING MOTHERS 15 Women Architects of the Indian Constitution 2016 A Book  by Sr Mary Scaria and Shalu Nigam  15 women participated in the making of the Indian Constitution  Ammu Swaminathan Annie Mascarene. Begum Aizaz Rasul Dakshayani Velayudhan Durgabai Deshmukh. Hansa Mehta… Kamala Chaudhri Leela Roy Malati Devi Choudhury Purnima Baner jee Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Renuka Ray Sarojini Naidu Sucheta Kripalani.. Vijayalakshmi Pandit.

  From the Margins: Revisiting the Concept of `Marginalized Women’ 03 September, 2014 A few days back, I attended a seminar on `Violence Against Marginalized Women and Gender Justice’. The seminar discussed issues relating to various subgroups within the category `women’ like widows, Dalit women, tribal women, refugee women, and so on and so forth. The deliberations made me think as to who constitutes `marginalized women’ when `women’ being women are marginalized in the patriarchal world. Women as a `category’ or as a `group’ in comparison to `men’ have been relegated to margins due to systemic and structural discrimination within society. Women, irrespective of their hierarchical status, ranking or background, face violence within public and private spaces, they are being doubly discriminated against and denied of basic rights and are often oppressed by norms, culture and customs in a male-dominated world where capitalism and globalization commodify and objectify women. Considering th

Yes, I Am a Woman….. By Shalu Nigam 28 July, 2014 Countercurrents.org https://www.countercurrents.org/nigam280714.htm On the occasion of this Independence Day, I continue to fight for my independence as a common woman, as a citizen of this free nation and more importantly as a human being… Yes, I am a woman and I am proud of myself. I am strong and I am growing stronger by each passing moment. I am an independent, fearless, free thinking woman making choices at every step reaffirming my pride, contesting for my dignity and in the process shaping and writing my own destiny…. I am the one with vision you see carrying bricks on construction sites... I am a woman toiling in an agriculture field awaiting for the crop of my imagination to be harvested... I am a worker working in a textile organization weaving my hopes in the garments I knit… I am a student with dreams in my eyes, cycling or running after buses… I am a scientist inventing and imagining, an architect, shaping and cementing the