MATCHBOX

Greetings readers,

In the November Edition of Matchbox by Usawa, we celebrate two important days and the values they hold.

25 November is the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women, while 26 November is (India’s) Constitution Day.

Given the recent increase in instances of violence against women around the world, 25 November gathers new impetus for us. Gendered violence is rooted in, among other things, patriarchal dominance on, and control of women’s bodies. From the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata in August 2024, to the currently ongoing Gisele Pelicot rape trial in France, tells us that the phenomenon of violence against women is agnostic to culture, nationality, or geography.

In a mark of solidarity with people who have been working towards alleviating violence against women and children, we interviewed Emmy winning journalist and activist, Ms Ruchira Gupta, who is the founder of Apne Aap, an anti-sex trafficking NGO that has been empowering women and girls to exit systems of prostitution. She is also the author of a work of fiction, I Kick and I Fly. Read the interview here. Read more about her work here.

An excerpt from Iru: The Remarkable Life of Iravati Karve, provides us a sneak peek into the life of one of the most remarkable Indian authors, whose book, Yuganta, is as timeless as it is relevant today. Please read the excerpt here.

26 November is celebrated as (India’s) Constitution Day. On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, which later came into effect on 26 January 1950, celebrated as India’s Republic Day. The Indian Constitution is the longest written Constitution, containing 448 articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules, and 104 amendments, as of November 2024. It was drafted over a period of two years, eleven months, and eighteen days, starting from 09 December 1946 to 26 November 1949. We thought it suitable to delve into various nuances of this mammoth and eternally significant document, and how it has impacted and continues to impact the lives of Indian citizens. Towards this, we bring to you two excerpts.

The first is from Professor Nivedita Menon’s recent book, Secularism as Misdirection: Critical Thought from the Global South. In this excerpt, Professor Menon draws attention to how the Indian Constitution is “emerging as a banner of revolt for some struggles”, which are being revitalised and reclaimed by some of the ongoing popular political movements in their efforts to formulate counter-hegemonic discourses. Please read the excerpt here..

The second is an excerpt from Professor Rohit De’s recent book, A People’s Constitution: The Everyday Life of Law in the Indian Republic. In his book, Professor De examines, through engaging historical analysis, of how the Indian Constitution has shaped, and been shaped by, the lives of ordinary people. In this particular excerpt, we read how the Constituent Assembly addressed the issue of prostitution, and make efforts to foster social equality between men and women.

Lastly, we also have our Interviews Editor, Kabir Deb review Sakyajit Bhattacharya’s English novel (translated from Bengali by Rituparna Mukherjee), The One Legged, followed by an excerpt from Bhaswati Ghosh’s debut collection of exquisite poems, Nostalgia for a Place Never Seen.

We hope you enjoyed reading this issue.

Warmly,

Ankush Banerjee

Reviews Editor

Usawa Literary Review