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Empowering Women, The VHP Way

By Hubert Vaz

The Indian Express
21 May, 2003

This all-girls' summer camp at Juhu, Mumbai is, well,
different. The afternoon sun catches the glint on the swords. The air whooshes as three girls bring their lathis down. In a formation, a batch of 20 stands to attention-each holding up a wicked-looking dagger.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is teaching them how to defend their
religious and social rights.

It's got great attendance. There are 71 girls and women between the ages of 15 and 35. One 18-year-old has travelled all the way from Goa-alone. A camp for boys is being run by the Bajrang Dal at Dombivili.

Last year's controversy over a suicide camp run by a retired Colonel in Ambernath (65 km from Mumbai) and the subsequent training camps is not even a blip on this camp's radar.

Asked how the VHP and Bajrang Dal had swept last year's controversy over such camps so smoothly under the carpet, VHP Mumbai president Ramesh Mehta pauses for thought. There are no political connotations, he explains: "We are only training the youth to be brave and better individuals, there is nothing wrong..."

The Vidyanidhi High School at Juhu Scheme is on vacation. Within the premises the Durgavahini Camp, named after the VHP's women's wing, is in full swing.

For Baby Gopal Naik, a Class XII student from Goa, this is the first time. ''I learnt about this camp from a friend and after undergoing it, I realised my own potential. I've come alone by train from Goa, something I could never do before.'' Quite a few of the participants come over and over again.

Like Manisha Pilankar, an electronics engineer from Sindhudurg: ''I attended this camp three years ago and am now teaching the use of swords to others. The camp has made me brave and confident and I can today train around 200 girls at a time.''

The same goes for Pallavi Joshi, a college student from Raigad: ''I attended the camp a year ago and it has made me so confident that I even won an all-India elocution contest. Earlier, I used to be an introvert and scared of facing people. Today, I can defend myself and others too.''

Kishoritai Kolekar, a coordinator, has been training girls in these
camps for the last five years. When asked why the use of weapons has not been excluded after the uproar a year ago, she said: "There has been no opposition to this camp from any quarter and the girls have been selected from various districts from those with a genuine urge to be trained. Besides, the weapons used, like 'khadga' (swords), 'churika' (daggers) and 'dand' (lathis) are only for self-defence, not for attack.''

The swords and daggers are not sharp and are mere dummies, she admitted, adding that they are used only to prepare the girls to handle emergencies.

Pallavi Balekar, a commerce graduate from Thane, and an expert in wielding a dand, gives her testimony: 'The camp has made me extremely brave and confident. I have no problems interacting with people now and I am confident of defending myself.''