Who will deny that the real second-class citizens of this country are women? They are hugely disadvantaged politically, socially and economically. And they constitute nearly half our population. Any move to empower them will mean a diminishing of the oppressions they currently suffer. Simply because Indira Gandhi was indifferent to their plight does not mean that assured seats in parliament will make no difference. This is a bogus argument and those who oppose reservations should have the courage to come out openly and state that in their view the current status of women requires no affirmative legislative action. That argument would at least have the merit of honesty. When the proposed bill gets presidential assent, the political agenda of the country will change irrevocably. (The appalling Sati mela in Jhunjhunu would have been aborted on day one if 33 per cent of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha was occupied by women.) Is this what the scuttlers fear?
