Is Western-wear enough?

 India is undergoing rapid westernization and that includes a drastic change in our dress code. We might call ourselves 'modern' and we might actually be but our responsibility doesn't end there. Most of us still stick to our hackneyed thoughts and beliefs and it's our responsibility to show them the light.

As offending as it might sound, India has many traditions and beliefs that don't make any sense and contradict each other. On one hand, we don't let girls or women on their periods enter holy places and on the other, we call traditional dresses ('dhoti-kurta'/Saree) obsolete.

Since Independence, India has become more civilized and educated. We've achieved milestones in fields of education, technology and economy. As we connected with the rest of the world, we took up their dressing style particularly Western fashion. We're more comfortable in denims nowadays.

IS IT GOOD?

It's absolutely necessary to keep up with the world and accordingly modify our lifestyle. Sticking to the same decade-old habit will do us no good. I hope we all agree on the point that 'change' is the most fundamental part of life. So, why change our dress code and not our thinking? Why does India have so many taboos? Why don't we take up rationalism and give up on our age-old baseless thoughts?

It's a shame to admit that even in the 21st century, we believe in caste division. We've lower castes or Dalits. The menstruation of girls is regarded 'impure' and looked down upon by our society. There are places where women are forced to live outside their village in small, unhygienic and suffocating huts during menstruation. 

In some villages of Rajasthan, there are rituals to check the virginity of new brides before marriage. It's fair for a man to sleep with other girls before marriage but they must marry only virgins. If this doesn't trigger your conscience, I don't know what will. Blaming all men for such despicable taboos is not okay. It's better not to play the blame game and build a united front to take down these rituals once and for all.

We often hear of women being lynched to death by villagers only because they believe she's a 'witch'. This kind of behavior is shameful and unacceptable.

Changing our outlook is alright but we need to pair it up with changing our beliefs. Dividing people on the basis of caste and gender must be discouraged. The next generation should be educated not only for the sake of literacy but also to discard baseless superstitions and treat all men/women equally.

As a reminder, I would like to say that it's not outlook that defines a person. It's his/her ideology and honour that holds his worth. In case you might have buckled up, I have another message for you. You can't put this all to an end by whip. You need to change as many minds as you can. It may not be much but every person counts. Again, giving too much of facilities to the lower classes would just mirror the present situation of caste division. We need to give up on the idea of revenge if we wish to get rid of these superstitions and caste divisions. So, I would suggest that we plan every step carefully and make progress however slow it may be. 

Content by Debopriya Halder

Picture credits to respective owners