Writers want vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Hindi University sacked for insulting women

Women activists and writers have demanded the sacking of Vibhuti Narayan Rai, vice-chancellor (V-C) of Mahatma Gandhi Hindi University and a former IPS officer, for his “derogatory” remarks against women who write on female sexual liberty.

In an interview to Hindi journal, Rai had said: “...Pichhle kuchh varshon mein hamare yahan jo stree vimarsh hua hai vah mukhya roop se shareer kendrit hai. ...Lekhikaon mein hod lagi hai yah sabit karne ke liye ki unse badi chhinaal koi nahi... [Feminist discourse taking place here over the last few years is mainly centered over the body. ...There is a competition among women writers to prove that there is no better adulterous woman/slut than her...].”

He had further said: “I feel the title of a highly-promoted and overrated autobiography of a woman writer should have been ‘How many times in how many beds’. One can find such examples among many women writers. With this many bigger issues of women’s liberation have fallen aside.”

Rai defended his statement, saying that by the word chhinaal (a derogatory term for adulterous woman or prostitute/slut) he did not mean prostitute. “Premchand has used the word more than a 100 times in his stories and novels. In my interview, I had protested against the writing of a few women writers in Hindi who believe that feminist discourse is the discourse of female body and focus only on certain issues relating to it... there are thousands of other issues to be taken up, that of tribal women, poverty, etc,” Rai told DNA.

However, women writers haven’t taken this statement liberally. “Rai reflects the same male mentality. Men have readily available words like chhinaal for women who have liberal views. Unfortunately, women don’t have such strong words for men who have extra-marital affairs and who sleep around,” noted woman writer Archana Verma said.

Verma thinks the comments are particularly disturbing because they have come from the vice-chancellor of a university.

National Commission for Women chairperson Girija Vyas has taken strong exception to Rai’s words and demanded action against him. Protests came from men writers too, who refused to buy Rai’s argument of Premchand using the objectionable word.