"Madness is rare in individuals – but in groups, parties, nations and ages it is the rule."
– Friedrich Nietzsche
There was a time in this land when a woman could express her spiritual devotion, her ecstasy at being alive, in some shockingly simple ways. Lalleshwari, the 14th-century Shaivite Sufi poet more commonly known as Lalla, used to set Kashmir aflame by dancing naked in the streets. This was her teaching as well as her prayer – in addition to her rebuttal to the hypocritical clerical orthodoxy and the 'respectability' of her day.
Humanity has made much progress since then. Purdahs have fallen on women's freedoms. Christianity and colonialism have wrought their effect throughout Southasia. Victorian values have conquered and left their stamp on Hindu morals. Had she been alive today, Lalla would probably have ended up in a roguish prison ward.
Like Lalla, Pooja Chauhan, the 22-year-old from Rajkot, Gujarat, who recently made headlines by marching down the street in her undergarments, has also had an unhappy marriage. She was habitually abused by her husband and in-laws, particularly for not bringing enough dowry; her in-laws reportedly demanded that she bring them money "even if it entailed the flesh trade". Pooja and her young daughter now live separately from her husband, Pratab Singh Chauhan. But unlike Lalla, Pooja does not wish to end her unhappy marriage, because she does not want Pratab to victimise "another Pooja".
After having been forced to arrest Pooja's husband, her in-laws, and her equally abusive neighbours, the Rajkot Police Commissioner announced that he was "also planning to take action against Pooja, for indecent behaviour in a public place" – although the esteemed officer added that his forces would first "examine her mental condition". Since when did the police become arbiters of human sanity?