#MeToo strikes a chord despite limitations
There are certain parameters for news items like rape and harassments to be considered as newsworthy in the media. The incident should have happened in Delhi or some part of north India. Victims must be from upper middleclass and if they work in IT or BT it’d be even better. The news would get even more prominence if the survivors are working and belong to upper caste. That does not mean all other incidents are ignored. If media had paid equal or significant attention to all kinds of exploitations and harassments against women, things wouldn’t have come to this point. Media considers two kinds of news of exploitation of women, worthy of inside and cover pages. Because a certain group of people who are also journalists, believe women deserve bad treatment, the society has been viewing this social menace with dual standpoint.
If a Danamma has been raped and killed, police department would dismiss it as a result of ‘illicit relationship’. No hashtags appear in the social media. But if an upper middle class woman reveals the harassment she went through in her work place at the hands of a man, it becomes a cry of solidarity. And the result is there for all to see through MeToo movement. On one hand, while welcoming the success of MeToo, we also need to understand ways of extending it to be movement of all women in the country.
One thing we need to understand is, why has the media taken MeToo so seriously? It is because they are concerned about women and their rights or owing to the background of women who are part of this? If the women didn’t belong to upper middle class or rich people sharing details of the mental and physical harassment they underwent, MeToo wouldn’t have been this serious and such discussions wouldn’t have taken place on social media platforms.
In the world of celebrities and their occupations, discussions about casting couch has happened many a times. Many people have indicated if women want to progress in politics, or entertainment industry, they need to ‘cooperate’. It has also been part of social media discourse and discussion too. In the recent times, a senior politician had said this very candidly at a public event. Another politician had used this line of argument when Jayamala was made the lone minister in the current cabinet, asking what ‘favours’ she had offered to get this plum post. These ‘compromises’ are deemed pretty common in entertainment and political spaces. Even common people understand this well now. Hence when celebrities speak of the harassment they face, it is reported in the ‘entertainment’ section. Woman’s body is ‘entertainment’ (actor Silk Smita’s words) for the cinema industry and this cruely is so totally acceptable to us now.
A director will ask an actor such as Tanushree Dutta to strip and dance even if the script does not demand it. Thousands of people come together to watch it. How does one identify how she has been exploited even in the name of ‘performance’? The audience may not have touched her, but what about their animal instinct when they watch her dressed skimpily on the screen? Why is this not a basis for MeToo? Tanushree has spoken about the revolting touch she had to put up with Nana Patekar. The latter has denied all allegations. This does not absolve all the spectators from their guilt of having watched her on the screen though Tanushree has not complained against them. This problem exists on the very basis of cinema industry which thrives on a woman’s body. To restrict the argument very callously to Tanushree’s accusations would be doing injustice to a larger issue.
One thing has struck very clearly through MeToo. Woman’s suffering knows no bounds. Even if she exists in rich class, she remains a woman and has to perform all the duties as per the norms of that space. She has to face torture of being the woman. Since women of that space opened their voice, this issue has come to the mainstream. We have to appreciate all the celebrities who rendered their voice to MeToo. Through this, men who always took women for granted in media, police department, banks and courts have begun to fear the repercussions. This issue has turned into a middle class problem of working women. This is a good indication. Even if MeToo can give a small solace to working women, who face hell for being born women, this movement is successful. This movement started by Tarana Burke in 2008, should help empower women in working spaces and outside across all categories and classes in India beyond allegations and counter allegations.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
