Freedom to Choose Tradition Is Freedom Too
Kriti Sanon has made a statement. She asks a simple question: what girls will wear and what they will not wear—why should other people tell them? And when will this stop? Rahul Gandhi reposted her statement and wrote: “What a woman wears, what she does and where she goes is her choice. Stop trolling women for exercising their freedom. Smash the patriarchy.” At one level, the proposition is unexceptionable. A woman is an individual. Her dignity cannot depend upon the approval of others. Nobody should have the authority to police a woman's choices merely because they dislike them. But the moment this argument is placed in the context of Raksha Bandhan, a larger question arises. Is a festival merely an occasion for individual choice? Or is it also an expression of a civilisation? This distinction matters. Raksha Bandhan is not simply another day on the calendar. It is a religious and civilisational expression. Like every living tradition, it has its own symbols, rituals and conventi...
