The word ‘Manushi’
has many layers of meaning. It was coined for
use as the name of this Journal by Madhu Kishwar
from the Sanskrit word ‘manush’
or ‘manushya’, which means
‘human being’ as distinct from ‘purush’,
which means ‘man’. The word ‘manushya’
is common to most Indian languages. The human
race is referred to as ‘manushya jati’.
‘Manushyata’, another derivative,
means humanity. The word Manushi at its
simplest was coined to mean the humane as well
as the feminine principle in humanity. The emphasis
is on humanity, not manhood, because we feel “manhood”
has too often been expressed through violence,
warfare aggression and domination. Manushi
is also close to the word manasi, which
means ‘of the mind or intellect.’
In Bengali, when spelt as ‘Manoshi’,
it means ‘dear to heart.’
Challenges
of Governance and
Globalization in India
(Oxford University Press)
MADHU PURNIMA KISHWAR
Deepening
Democracy brings together essays on enduring
issues such as human rights, governance,
and the impact of globalization on the Indian
citizen. The covers a range of issues from
a glimpse of the License-Permit-
Raid Raj as
it affects the livelihood of the selfemployed
poor, to a critique of India’s farm and
economic policies. It further discusses the new
divides being created by the country’s language
policy to the causes and possible remedies for
ethnic conflicts in India (Read
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•
Women Bhakta Poets:
Contains
accounts of the life and poetry of some
of the most outstanding women in Indian
history from the 6th to the 17th
century — Mirabai, Andal, Avvaiyar,
Muktabai, Janabai, Bahinabai, Lal
Ded, Toral,
Loyal. Many of these poems had never neen translated
into english before (Read
More…)
