S- What comes to mind when you hear the word rakshasa?
Are you disgusted? Horrified? Do you think of an ugly man-eating demon?
Well, you'd be right about the man-eating part but not about the physical attributes. You see, rakshasas are simply a different type of being, and their female population, the rakshasis, are no different. They don't have tusks or fangs and look just like humans and do many of the same day-to-day tasks as humans.
Hello! I'm Sarah Holloway and welcome to Good Morning India! Today we are going to be tackling the long-disputed topic of rakshasi oppression. Later on, we'll be joining Lindsay, our On the Street reporter, as she covers the first annual Women for Rakshasis rally. Though both rakshasas and rakshasis face social injustice, the female population has had a more difficult journey out of oppression. Rakshasis face discriminatation from human populations as well as from male rakshasas. The human perception of rakshasis has been completely influenced by controversial depictions in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and thousands of other stories. When Rama, a widely known human celebrity, viciously attacked and killed Thataka, a rakshasi activist and mother, the Ramayana justifies the killing by describing her as “misshapen and horrible, and continually [ravaging]” the land. This could not be further from the truth and, as we'll see in today's segment of On the Street, has led to widespread activism. Even when the rakshasis were protecting Sita from the evil Ravana, artists illustrated them as horrifying beasts. In fact, few know that the identifier rakshasi actually comes from the Sanskrit word raksha, meaning to protect. This origin has been long eclipsed by countless stories describing the rakshasis fighting and being attacked by humans. All of this is justified, of course, by the authors' choice to portray them as demon-like and disgusting. A choice that would lead to hundreds of years of discrimination and hate crimes. Though this has been combatted by rakshasas and rakshasis forming communities outside of the human scope, as societies expand and modernize, new generations want change. Cities have been merging and, as populations of rakshasas and humans intermingle, there has been an overall increase in hate crimes. Rakshasis have begun to rise up against their oppressors and are pressuring the government, which has always been majority human, for legislation to protect them. Today in the main square, a feminist group is hosting a rally and hoping to get the ball rolling on this. Now we go to Lindsay with our segment of On the Street and I hear you are actually getting to witness some of this activism?
L - That’s right, Sarah! Local feminist groups like Women for Rakshasis have started to rise up as hate crimes against rakshasas and rakshasis increase. Although in some areas rakshasis can live in peace, here in big cities, they have a hard time staying out of danger’s way. Recently rakshasis have even taken to the streets to demonstrate their refusal to accept such a low standard of living. That’s what is taking place today, as female humans and rakshasis are preparing their banners and signs for the first ever Women for Rakshasis rally. I don’t see any police out here yet, but some women probably feel better this way as police have been little help in the fight for the feminist cause. Throughout the day I’m going to try to interview some of the participants and maybe even find some of the organizers, but sources tell us there might be some issues as some rakshasi feminists refuse to talk to humans. This also creates tensions within the activist groups, which I hope we'll get to touch on when we talk to demonstrators later on. Now we’ll take a little break to hear a message from our sponsor.
Want to comment? Head on over to my Comment Wall!
Banner Image Courtesy of ~ pxhere.com