Shalu Nigam

  The monetization of the `sacred’ bond is creating chaos: It happens only in India Shalu Nigam   From the Book  Dowry is a Serious Economic Violence: Rethinking Dowry Violence Law in India “Women are not for burning; women are human beings.” (A slogan raised in post-colonial India against the dreadful practice of the dowry in post-independent India.)   Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, in their famous thesis titled ‘ The Manifesto of the Communist Party’ in 1848, wrote,   “ The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation into a mere money relation”.   Likewise, in the patriarchal context of North India, the institution of marriage, though deemed `sacred’ is considerably reduced to a commercial relationship where money is prioritized over sentiments. The barbaric practice of dowry has been institutionalized and entrenched gradually, with religion playing a vital role in stubbornly determining the norms of sexual

 प्रेम एक क्रांति है, प्रेम मुक्ति है अधिवक्ता डॉ. शालू निगम @countercurrents.org 2 सितंबर 2023 प्रेम की व्याख्या दार्शनिकों द्वारा विभिन्न रूपों में की गई है प्रेम को कवियों द्वारा रूमानी रूप दिया गया है, जिनकी अपनी-अपनी कथा है फिल्मों में प्यार को सीमित आयामों में चित्रित किया जाता है प्रेम को टेलीविजन ने सीमित विवरण में सीमित कर दिया है लालची बाजार ताकतों द्वारा अपने निहित स्वार्थ के लिए जानकारी में हेराफेरी और तोड़-मरोड़ कर पेश करने के लिए प्रेम का अपहरण कर लिया गया है सत्ता के भूखे राजनेताओं द्वारा प्रेम को सतही सम्मान, संकीर्ण राष्ट्रवाद और देशभक्ति के बंडलों तक सीमित कर दिया गया है प्रेम जाति, क्षेत्र और धर्म की संकीर्ण अवधारणा और पितृसत्तात्मक धारणाओं से विभाजित है लेकिन इस सारी उथल-पुथल के बीच, जिस तरह से मैंने समझा, प्यार एक विद्रोह है, प्रेम एक क्रांति है; प्रेम मुक्ति है प्रेम विद्रोह है, जो व्यक्तिवादी अभिव्यक्ति या भावनाओं तक सीमित नहीं है। प्रेम को लाभ-हानि के हिसाब-किताब तक सीमित नहीं रखा जा सकता प्रेम विवेक को जागृत करता है और व्यक्ति को अहंकारी लेन-देन से परे सोचने मे

                                                         Love is a Revolution, Love is Liberation 02.09.23 Love is interpreted by philosophers with different variations Love is romanticized by the poets, who have their own narration Love is painted in the movies in restricted dimensions Love is confined by the television in a limited description Love is hijacked by the greedy market forces for their vested interest to manipulate and twist information Love is reduced to bundles of superficial honour, narrow nationalism, and patriotism by power-hungry politicians Love is divided by the narrow concept of caste, territory, and religion and by paternalist notions But amidst all this chaos, the way I understood, love is a rebellion, Love is a revolution; Love is liberation   Love is the mutiny, not confined by the individualist expression or emotions Love could not be restricted to profit or loss calculations Love awakens the conscience and enables one to think beyond egoistic transactions L

  Fighting for Freedom Every Day Shalu Nigam 15 August 2023 Politically, India gained independence on 15th August 1947, however, for those on the margins, freedom is not a one-time event, They are struggling hard and fighting for every inch of space and for freedom on a daily basis at every possible space - public or private.  Freedom implies a different sense to different people. For the elite and the privileged, freedom may be a one-day celebration. However, for a woman or a child in a violent relationship, a poor trapped in the vicious circle of poverty, a bonded laborer enslaved by the chains of bondage, or a young girl stuck in a trafficking channel, freedom may be desperately seeking liberation every moment. And there are a million men, women, and children who are entrapped in a similar situation.  The freedom struggle in India has seen a lot of bloodshed and sacrifice by millions. However, several scholars have noted that once India attained independence, it is the powerful and

 The Founding Mothers: 15 Women Architects of the Indian Constitution 2016 The current question of women’s autonomy and rights in India is rooted in the nineteenth century when the quest for independence of the country from British rule was going on and the issues of women’s rights gained a central position in debates on social reforms. Although, at that point in time, the notion of gender justice or gender equality had not gained ground, yet, the social reformers were of the view that something needs to be done about improving the situation of women. Women then were construed as members of the community rather than individuals on their own and therefore, the notion of women’s entitlements was interpreted within the context of the religious, personal, and customary law sphere which never treated women as independent entities. The official colonial and post-colonial discourses in pre-independent India were initiated by male reformers who articulated their thoughts on the abolition of Sa

  “The law is a site where marginalization is challenged and resisted by those who are subjugated. On the one hand, the law reinforces the patriarchal discourse, yet on the other hand, it has the authority to set out the social order. Women and  marginalized groups have used the law to challenge the hierarchy and dominant notions.”   Shalu Nigam  In an online session on Law and Our Daily Lives @  LPPYF- Law and Public Policy Youth Fellowship, a two-month online immersive legal awareness & action research certificate training course and internship program, on 14 th  June 2023.  Session Report Priyanka Negi LPPYF Law and Public Policy Youth Fellowship  is an Online National Summer School Program, a Two- Month Online Immersive Legal Awareness & Action Research Certificate Training Course and Internship Program, from June-August 2023 by  IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute . An informative and interactive panel discussion on “ International Human Rights ”  was held on the 14