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Dialectical Imaginations: Sabarimala and Beyond

Someone rightly exclaimed that the "liberty is one of the greatest blessings for humankind". The very semantics of liberty has evolved over the years; for examples, Greek excluded women and slaves from polis; imprisoned their intellectual imagination under the guise of Oikis. The freedom to participate in political activities was available for free men. Reasoning, of course, was given to justify that freedom and capacity to have responsibility go through hand to hand. Indian ancient tradition was not favorable with the idea that each one is free; particularly women and sudras were included within the system "to be excluded" (Giorgio Agamben, Homo Sacer). Kantian formulation of liberty went ahead and demolished all the predestinated teleogical philosophy, emanted from the philosophy of Aristotle. Kant advocated for human dignity which was possible to have once humans are capable to change the pre-established, pre-supposed fate, originated and interpreted from theology to the secular philosophy. In his famous paper on What is Enlightenment? In which, Immanuel Kant argued in favour of "courage to use reason against blind faith"; dogma, in order to achieve the Enlightenment in true spirit. 

Hegelian dialectical imagination was inclined to achieve the perfect rationality through historical process. Hegel advocates for a progressive change in the outlook of ideas. In that way, no knowledge is static; no belief could be grounded for pertuity. Most of the theological ethics and societal norms were inclined towards "Traditional Authority" in ancient time (Max Weber, On Politics as a Vocation). In classical age of Renaissance, "Charismatic Authorities" and "Rational-Legal Authorities" challenged the traditional systems; wetphalian age with constitutional morality diminished the effects of traditional outlook of human's life. Feminist movements became popular in America in 1960-70, however, it was Mary Wollstonecraft with her remarkable work, The Vindication of the Rights of Women, and Simone de Beauvre with the seminal work, titled, The Second Sex, challenged the hegemony of male dominated ideas and practices. Rajaram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar did practice the path-breaking praxis towards the progress of human's rationality.

Be it Sabrimala or discrimination of women under Muslim Personal Law, The Constitution of India provides the perspective to judge theology if it is discriminatory. Narasu Appa Mali judgment of the Bombay High Court was not a judgment delivered in the right spirit. Belief is though an integral part of our life; but it should not be dogmatic. Idea of God should be kept outside from the pollution and corruption theory. If humans are conceived as the legal guardian of God; isn't this acquired role is awkward? No God could be polluted by rituals. The idea of God lies in its capacity to protect and preserve the creation. Is it possible to corrupt him simply by few rituals by ordinary humans?

What is Constitutional morality? For me, it is a very problematic category which could be used by judges to instill the ethics, professed and propagated by them. Whether, it will reflect the constitutional mortality? It is hidden in the graveyard of future. This idea will inevitably change in future to come. But, for the moment, Sabrimala is a matter of celebration for those people who are willing to change the traditional outlook of human's life; and it is a matter of grief for those who are unwilling to sail under uncertain waters.

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