Degeneration of traditions brought out in DABH.

DABH compelled me to make the following observations.Some may be related to the episode some may not but I am just trying to prove a larger point so bear with me.

1.Celibacy is not imposed upon anybody in Hindu religion.There are 4 ashrams in a man's life according to Hinduism , Brahmacharya(bachelorhood), Grihastha(Marital life), Vanaprastha(gradual withdrawal from family life after fulfillment of responsibilities and Sanyas (retreat to forest). The so called puranas they quoted are explicit in their references that in all religious functions including the shraadh the wife is an ardhangani and will participate.The up smritis clearly advise the wife to lit the havan fire and than the priest and the elder son conduct the proceedings. Feeding of Brahmins is essential but they need not be Bal brahmachari. Priests in Hinduism are expected to marry and lead a normal familial life.

2.During the early Vedic period women enjoyed a very high position in society.They were educated and participated in debates frequently. The degeneration started with the Later Vedic period. The fall since than has continued.

3.The dowry system which was originally meant to give women their share of inheritance degenerated into excessive greed from the side of in laws.

4.Sati system which has its origin in Goddess Parvati jumping into the fire due to her husband Lord Shiva being insulted by her father was taken up by the Kshtriya women who performed sati when their husbands lost the war and they did not want to fall into the hands of invaders. In eastern India it was used as an excuse to get rid of the wife so that the property could be usurped by the husband's brothers.

5.The celebration of marriage in a grand scale inviting all relatives had two purposes.1. The relatives would be the witness to the marriage and later the boy could not deny he ever got married .2. It provided employment to many cooks, tentwalas, priests etc ensuring distribution of wealth. Now it has degenerated to such an extent that it breaks the back of a middle class parent of a girl.

6.Caste system was originally only meant as division of labour but later degenerated into exploitation and humiliation of shudras.

7.In the later years when male supremacy was almost fully established, they introduced measures like child marriage so that the girl never got educated and exposed to modern ideas and developed free thinking. The excuse given was to protect her from unnecessary male attention. Nobody thought of rape of a small child by the husband .That was legally permissable.

8.Another classic example of hypocrisy brought about by men was the shaving off of the hair of a widow so that she is permanently made unattractive to the male eye. While the husband got married within two months of his wife's death. No hair shaving or sati for him.

Female foeticide and infanticide are natural corollary of this. The men during the course of centuries wrote and rewrote and deliberately misinterpreted the original texts to establish their domination.Sadly it continues to this day when khaps in Haryana and Rajasthan meet and pass dikaits restricting the rights of women without having a single female representative in them. I am extremely happy to see Star plus take this initiative through Sandhya in enlightening the public to the irrationality of the whole discrimination business. Bhabo is only the symptom of this greater malaise and Sandhya the medium through which this disease will be fought. Even if it is toddler steps it will definitely make an impact on the psyche of the audience. Thank you once again for bearing with me and reading an exhaustive post.

You highlighted so wonderfully how man for his own convenience contorts religious practices and belief. What had set out to be for the sake of good soon becomes an overwhelming burden for the followers.

You have highlighted aspects of Hinduism...but as a studier of comparative religions of the Abrahamic faith...I can tell you their history is full of such tragic diversions from the orginial texts and good intentions of religion for the paltry gains of a mere few...

Yet again my hats off to the CVs of DABH for trying to enlighten the masses.

Also every new ritual or custom that is started with a good intention and for a specific reason that may have been valid for that time period continues and gets manipulated by the humans in power,

Really thanks to the writers of DABH and Star plus for taking bold steps in mixing entertainment with such serious and sensitive issues.

thanks dear to make a such nice post.

and also thanks to Star plus ,they give a opportunity to make a life live happly

I for one found points # 3, 4, and 5 especially enlightening. I feel strongly about the way weddings are structured in our society nowadays (both hindu and muslim weddings; although I have not personally experienced many hindu wedding). They are plagued with financial irresponsibility and unreasonably excessive wastage of resources. Combined with the dowry system (as it is practiced today), these factors deter people from marriage. This deterrence can lead to very harmful social consequences. Moreover, the treatment of widows can be sickening at times. All these societal illnesses are primarily due to ignorance.

Like others have mentioned, I hope DABH reaches those who are in greatest need for change. After reading this thread, I have a new-found respect for the efforts of DABH in spreading the relevant social messages!

Thank you so much Fatima for your encouraging words. I agree fully with you on the point that such interpretations of holy texts to establish male supremacy is not just restricted to Hinduism. It is a universal phenomenon across the board. I truly believe God created man and woman to be equal and the suppression of females is purely a human transgression. The idea that women are to be subdued and be always under the protection of father and brother first and than the husband after marriage is tragically reinforced by our very own gender. Here it is not Suraj or Bhabasa putting pressure on Sandhya but Bhabo meena and Chavvi. It amazes me to see how much they have been indoctrinated into playing a secondary role, that rationality has deserted them. I can only pray to God that atleast in my lifetime I get to see these evils fading away. Thank you once again for going through this exhaustive post.

Thank you Deebz for your encouraging words. I agree with you that with the spread of education, awareness has improved but a lot needs to be still done. The regressive stand taken by Khap Panchayats on child marriage and honour killing is taking us back rather than forward. Since the khaps can swing the votes for a particular political party, as many villages vote enbloc the Government is also not keen to take up social issues with them. I pray to God to instill some sense in them that they are in the 21st century not 18.