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Nivedita Menon

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Nivedita Menon
Nivedita Menon in May 2015
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Writer, professor

Nivedita Menon (1960, Poona/Pune) is a writer and a professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.[1] She previously taught at Lady Shri Ram College and the Department of Political Science at Delhi University.[1]

Scholarly career

Menon is a feminist scholar who has taught at the International Studies School of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi since 2009.[1][2][3][4] Before moving to JNU she was a teacher at Lady Shri Ram College for 15 years, and the political science department at Delhi University for seven years.[1] Menon says that the Indian feminist movement she was exposed to in college, as well as the writings of global feminists, helped her evolve a better consciousness with respect to issues of sexuality and politics.[1] She was greatly influenced by the work of global feminists like Betty Friednan, Germaine Greer and Gloria Steinem.[1]

Menon has written or edited several books about feminism and politics, including the 2004 volume Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law.[5] She also writes on current issues in the journal Economic and Political Weekly, the online news blog kafila.org, and several newspapers.[6][7]

Reception

Seeing Like a Feminist, released in 2012, received favourable reviews. It also had high sales, partly due to uproar following the 2012 Delhi gang rape.[8] The title of the book is a play upon the title of Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott. A review in The Hindu said that the book "[dissected] social institutions, policy, and common ideas to explain the many ways the process of “gendering” occurs — here making a distinction between ‘sex’ as the biological characteristics and ‘gender’ as the set of cultural meanings that are arrived at over time."[4] Writing in the journal Economic and Political Weekly, feminist scholar Mary John said; "Written in a highly engrossing style, [the book] takes on very serious issues while also frequently making the reader smile. Nivedita Menon has managed to condense some of the most complex challenges facing the women’s movement in contemporary India and elsewhere in the form of a series of short reflections that are organised within six chapters."[9][10][11] A review in The Guardian noted that "Menon succeeds in shattering some deeply-engrained myths, and her efficient gathering of the intersectional strands makes it a breezy but sharp read."[12]

Political activism

Menon is known for her staunch opposition to nuclear power.[13] Menon has commented on the different portrayals of the Kashmir conflict within India and outside it, and has criticized the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.[14]

Describing Uniform civil code as anti-Muslim

In an article published in The Hindu on 18 October 2016, Menon criticised the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).[15] She wrote that, "the talk of a Uniform Civil Code has nothing to do with gender justice. It has entirely to do with a Hindu nationalist agenda to ‘discipline’ Muslims". She went on to describe the UCC as "a stick to beat Muslims with" and claimed that the "Muslim Personal Law is already modern", as it already provides women the right to property and recognises marriage as a civil contract, unlike Hindu marriages which were largely considered sacrament, until recently.[15]

JNU protests

Further information: 2016 JNU protests

During the protests in JNU in March 2016, Nivedita Menon made a speech titled "Nation, a daily plebiscite" in which she discussed nation formation, nationalist aspirations, and Kashmir's accession to the Indian Union.[1][16] The lecture was part of a series about nationalism.[14] The ABVP activist and students union joint secretary Saurabh Kumar Sharma filed a police complaint accusing her of having made anti-national statements to the effect that "Everyone knows that India is illegally occupying Kashmir. It is said the world over. Everybody accepts (this)". She was also accused of saying, "Manipur and Kashmir have been illegally occupied by the Indian state".[14][17][18] A video clip from her lecture was highlighted by the news channel Zee News, which labelled Menon "anti-national". In the clip Nivedita said that " Hindu Society is the most violent, to the root violent society in the world".[19][20] The incident led to her being targeted for her views by people and student organisations.[16][14]

Menon claimed that her actual statement was, "We [Indians] must accept that Kashmiris' call for freedom is absolutely justified".[21] She also said "We know that people the world over think that India is illegally occupying Kashmir". She also said, "If people are raising slogans for azadi (freedom), shouldn’t this be looked at in the context of India being seen as an imperialist country internationally?". She also highlighted the fact that Kashmiris equate "India" and Indian nationalism with militarism and abuse of power.[14][17][22] Menon later stated that she had not said anything anti-national.[23]

The video of her speech and the reactions to it also led to Menon receiving widespread support online. A number of activists published a statement saying that Menon was being vilified by the media and the police, and that the complaints against her constituted harassment.[14] Friends and students of Menon created a Facebook page in her support.[24][14] The controversy led to her being described as a figure of dissent against the Hindu right.[1]

Personal life

Menon is known as 'Nivi' to most of her students and peers. She belongs to an upper-caste middle-class family, and was brought up in different parts of India, including Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.[1] Menon's sister is the queer activist, stand-up comedian, and gender and sexuality consultant Pramada Menon,[25][26] who co-founded the organization Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA).[27][28] Their brother is Dilip Menon, who is a historian at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.[1][29]

Selected works

  • Power and Contestation: India since 1989 (Global History of the Present) (2007).[30]
  • Seeing Like a Feminist (2012).[31]
  • Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond The Law (2004).[32]
  • Gender And Politics In India [33]
  • Sexualities (collected volume)[34]

Awards and honours

In 1994, Nivedita Menon won the A. K. Ramanujan Award (Instituted by Katha) for translation from Hindi and Malayalam into English 1994.[35]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nivedita Menon.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dixit, Neha. "The Instigator: A Portrait of Nivedita Menon - The Wire". thewire.in. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  2. ^ Menon, Nivedita (1 January 1970). "Nivedita Menon | Jawaharlal Nehru University - Academia.edu". Jnu.academia.edu. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Nivedita Menon: We're witnessing new interventions by feminists of all genders". The Times of India. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Training the eye". The Hindu. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  5. ^ ":::Welcome to the official website of Women Unlimited". Womenunlimited.net. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  6. ^ "About". Kafila. 28 August 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Search | Economic and Political Weekly". Economic and Political Weekly. 50, 50, 50, 50, 50 (23, 23, 23, 23, 23). Epw.in: 7, 7, 7, 7, 7–8, 8, 8, 8, 8. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  8. ^ "A manual for new feminists | The Asian Age". Archive.asianage.com. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. ^ "The Little Red Book of Feminism? | Economic and Political Weekly". Epw.in. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  10. ^ Menon, Nivedita (8 March 2013). "It Comes Slowly Slowly..." Outlook. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  11. ^ Neha Thirani Bagri (8 March 2013). "Where is India's Feminist Movement Headed?". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  12. ^ Sharanya (16 February 2013). "Sifting through the myths and assumptions about feminism". Sunday-guardian.com. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  13. ^ Tanushree Bhasin (16 March 2013). "Women at centre of anti-nuclear battle, from Bhopal to Fukushima". Sunday-guardian.com. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Sen, Jahnavi. "'Vilification' of JNU Professor Nivedita Menon as 'Anti-National' Labelling Continues". thewire.in. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  15. ^ a b Menon, Nivedita (15 July 2016). "It isn't about women". The Hindu.
  16. ^ a b John, Mary E. (16 March 2016). "This attack on Nivedita Menon". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  17. ^ a b Young, Beyond Indigenisation 2017, p. 12.
  18. ^ "Kashmir illegally occupied by India: JNU professor says in controversial speech". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  19. ^ JNU Preofessor Nivedita menon Anti Hindu Speech. YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  20. ^ JNU Prof tells students "Hindu Society" is the most violent society in world. YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  21. ^ JNU professor says Indian occupied illegally Kashmir, video goes Viral. YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  22. ^ Lecture on Nationalism at JNU #5 - Nivedita Menon. Shilpi Gulati. 22 February 2016. 36 minutes in. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Fresh row? BJYM files complaint against Kanhaiya Kumar, JNU prof Nivedita Menon over 'anti-national' remarks | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". Dnaindia.com. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  24. ^ Kumar, Sunalini (15 March 2016). "To Nivi Ma'am, With Love". Outlook. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  25. ^ "pramada menon - Arrow". Arrow. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  26. ^ "Pramada Menon: Why do families occupy so much of our headspace? • In Plainspeak". In Plainspeak. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  27. ^ "Pramada Menon - Gender and Policy Network". Princeton University. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Interview: Pramada Menon • In Plainspeak". In Plainspeak. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  29. ^ "Dilip Menon". The Conversation. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  30. ^ "Power and Contestation: India since 1989 by Nivedita Menon and Aditya Nigam". PopMatters. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  31. ^ Sharma, Nalini (19 August 2016). "Book Review: Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon". Feminism in India. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  32. ^ Menon, Nivedita. "UI Press | Nivedita Menon | Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics beyond the Law". www.press.uillinois.edu. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  33. ^ Menon, Nivedita (2001). Gender And Politics In India - Google Books. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195658934. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  34. ^ Singh, Jyoti. "Feminist writings". The Tribune. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  35. ^ "Show Profile". Jnu.ac.in. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
Sources
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