In a city where adda, politics and sharp one‑liners are practically civic duties, Derek O’Brien’s Politics, Policy, Predictions feels like it was written for a Kolkata living room in full debate mode. In this slice, he mixes outrage with dark humour: first skewering the “Nari Shakti” branding by walking through six moments when women pushed back hard, then following it up with a wickedly deadpan “rogues’ gallery” of BJP netas behaving badly—from porn in assemblies to emergency exits on planes. It’s political writing with a distinctly Bengali relish for irony, side‑eye and punchlines.
Excerpt:
The Nari Shakti Jumla: Six Times the BJP Failed Women
During its tenure, the Modi government has launched a few headline grabbing flagship schemes, ostensibly aimed at improving the lives of women in India. However, the patriarchal mindset that lies at the core of the RSS–BJP belief system has ensured that the outcomes are very different from those envisaged in the scheme documents. A former RSS chief had once suggested that women should stay at home and look after the household, cook and clean as part of their duty. The RSS is the fountainhead of the BJP. Are women allowed in an RSS shakha? Here are six instances when this government denigrated women, but received their due in strong resistance.
Female Farmers
In 2020, tens of thousands of women farmers—arriving in the national capital from states as distant as Chhattisgarh—gathered in makeshift camps in Delhi, and at the borders of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to protest the draconian farm bills. Some staged hunger strikes wearing bright yellow scarves that represented mustard fields, while others ran medical camps and soup kitchens. Amidst speeches and silent resistance, when the Supreme Court asked them to go home, the women farmers responded with a resounding No. The stakes were high. Distant and exploitative markets had rendered them extremely vulnerable as farmers in recent years. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), nearly 10% of farmers who committed suicide in 2022 were women. Over 80% of rural women work in agriculture, but less than 13% own any land.
The Women of Shaheen Bagh
Enraged by the Union government’s decision to impose unconstitutional citizenship laws that discriminated against minorities, women protestors retaliated by staging a peaceful demonstration in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. The 101-day-long protest caught the world’s attention as women across religions, ages and walks of life rallied for the same cause of justice. Shaheen Bagh became a symbol of intergenerational and intersectional political dissent to protect the Constitution. Inspired by the women there, demonstrations took place across the country. The government clamped down with violence, specifically targeting minority-dominated areas in BJP-ruled states. In the face of severe backlash that questioned their patriotism, the women of Shaheen Bagh defiantly challenged the Prime Minister to come and speak with them. Unsurprisingly, he did not.
Champion Sports Persons
The sickening story of Brij Bhushan Singh—former BJP Lok Sabha MP and ex-President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)—is too well documented to bear repetition. He was present and voting when the Women’s Reservation Bill was being passed in the Lok Sabha in 2023. Enough said.
Community Healthcare Workers
In 2022, 10 lakh female health workers, who tirelessly provided last-mile primary care in India’s villages, were honoured with the World Health Organization Director General’s Global Health Leaders Award. Once the Prime Minister’s tweets ceased, the workers were promptly cast into oblivion. Despite being the backbone of the nation’s healthcare system, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers continue to wait for the recognition they deserve. In August 2020, more than 6 lakh ASHA workers from all over the country protested against the lack of protective gloves, PPE kits and masks, delayed payments since the pandemic, absence of insurance coverage and exploitative working conditions that threaten to push them on the brink of poverty. Chief Minister Ajay Bisht, also known as Yogi Adityanath, had promised to increase the honorarium for ASHAs in Uttar Pradesh, purportedly to end the protests. Turns out, it was another jumla.
Women of Manipur
In July 2023, horrifying news broke out from Manipur. Two women had been stripped naked and were recorded by a mob of men. Women’s organizations from across the country rose in solidarity, and organized protest marches and demonstrations in Imphal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi, Goa, Bhopal and Bengaluru. Thousands of women took to the streets demanding the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah and Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh, urging them to take moral responsibility for the incident. But even as Manipur burned, neither the state nor the Union government took any responsibility. By November 2024, over 260 lives were lost and more than 60,000 people displaced in Manipur, as per government records. The much-touted double-engine sarkar miserably failed to control the violent situation in the state. The Prime Minister did not visit the state. Not a single question on the issue was admitted and answered in Parliament.
MNREGA Workers
Despite being some of the best performers under the scheme, the wages of 59 lakh MNREGA workers from West Bengal were withheld in 2022. Women constituted more than 50% of the beneficiaries. Their access to livelihood was cut off. MNREGA was more than just an Act; it was a guarantee, a promise by Parliament to the people of India, especially women. That promise was broken.
Dear BJP, You Need to Take a Hard Look in the Mirror
What does an elected representative do when he is bored with the proceedings in the assembly? Hmm … In 2023, a BJP MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) sitting in the Tripura assembly, watched pornographic videos. He wasn’t the first. In 2012, three BJP MLAs in Karnataka were caught purportedly watching porn in the assembly. In the Gujarat assembly, two MLAs from the same party reportedly indulged in similar misdemeanours. Here is a motley crew of six BJP leaders who did not do their party proud.
- Brij Bhushan Singh: The former BJP MP and ex-president of the Wrestling Federation of India was on the radar as wrestlers protested against him, alleging intimidation and sexual exploitation. Top wrestlers of the country like Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat have claimed that he has sexually assaulted women wrestlers for years. Matter brushed under the mat.
- Tejasvi Surya: While on a flight from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli in December 2022, the BJP MP ‘accidentally’ (how sweet!) opened the aircraft’s emergency exit without any authorization. The flight was delayed by two hours. Even though, in the past, passengers have been booked for similar acts, the airline refused to name the politician in their statement and only made other details public after a month.
- Anurag Thakur: ‘Desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maaro saalon ko!’ In January 2020, ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections—and in the wake of the protests in the capital against the contentious citizenship laws proposed by the government—BJP leader Anurag Thakur addressed a rally, where he raised provocative slogans. Later, he told journalists who questioned the controversial chants that he was merely asking people what should be done with the traitors of the country, suggesting that the gathered crowds responded of their volition.
- Akash Vijayvargiya: A BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh and the son of Kailash Vijayvargiya (who was also BJP’s leader in-charge of Bengal), he beat up an official of the Indore Municipal Corporation in full public view with a cricket bat. The incident was caught on camera by the media. Akash Vijayvargiya later went on record to justify his actions.
- Ashish Mishra: Son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, he has been accused of mowing down four farmers and a journalist during a farmers’ protest in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2021. There has been no resolution. The case goes on. He has been granted interim bail. After the incident, Ajay Mishra commented during a live-streamed video that the deceased were like ‘dogs barking and chasing his car’.
- Pragya Thakur: This former BJP MP is an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast that killed six and injured over 101 people. She is currently out on bail. She even gave a speech where she asked the majority community to keep their knives sharp and attack those who affront their dignity. She has made hate speech her brand identity.
Life has been cushy for this crew. On the other hand, there have been numerous instances of students, journalists and human rights activists who have been booked under draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code (now Section 152 of BNS)—commonly known as the sedition law—and the National Security Act.
These have become prime instruments for stifling any sort of dissent against the Union government. Are we surprised that India ranks seventy-nine across 142 countries on the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2024? That it ranks 102 across 142 on adherence to fundamental rights, 107 across 142 on civil justice, and 98 across 142 on order and security?
The ‘world’s largest political party’ (sic) would do well to take a long, hard look at itself in a mirror.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or the organization.
