The LLRC debate: Laugh like Renuka Chowdhury

The Parliament shook with Renuka Chowdhury’s rambunctious laughter and the ministers got all hot and bothered about it! All of a sudden, it became a hot topic for national debate, even as there are much more urgent things to address! Renuka Chowdhury, a member of the Indian National Congress laughed in the midst of a Parliament session, and PM Modi commented, comparing the member’s laughter to that of Shurpanakha from the epic Ramayana.

Whether it was ethical for the PM to compare a women’s laughter to an evil character in mythology, we got Gen-Y and experts to explore how there seems no end to such comments. Riya Sagu, a college student believes, “An interrupter who has reportedly been an intruder in the conversations previously really deserves a backlash or at least a comment. Which, I feel was fair from the PM Modi’s point of view but then the comparison was what shocked me, as I felt it could have been dealt with in a better way than comparing a woman’s laughter to an evil character.”

Girish Balachandran, a city-based sociologist says, “Patriarchy is about exercising power and control. By mocking Renuka Chowdhury publicly in Parliament, PM Modi has chosen to exercise his power and influence in a largely patriarchal setting, surrounded by his many minions thumping tables in wanton glee. It’s a candid view of his real beliefs when not camouflaged by image building machinery trying to portray him as moderate and progressive. Once again proof that what the nation needs more than Beti Padao Beti Bachao is Bêta Padao, Desh Bachao. It’s 2018.”

While on the other hand Anima Shukla, a law graduate disagrees, “You know what real sexist issues are — pay gap, women unemployment, women objectification, victim blaming and shaming. Renuka Chowdhary time and again continuously comments on the PM’s background, the fact that he was a tea seller, ‘hug diplomacy,’etc. We need to focus on the real sexist issues. Not how someone’s laugh is.”