New Delhi: Terming MP Hema Malini's statement about widows of Vrindavan as "insensitive", the NGOs working for them have said that this has "broken the heart" of thousands of widows who had many hopes from the actor-turned-
politician.
Hema, a Member of Parliament from Mathura, had made a controversial remark saying the widows from Bengal and Bihar should not crowd Vrindavan, the holy city in Uttar Pradesh home to thousands of destitute women. She had also said, "Vrindavan widows have a bank balance, good income, nice beds, but they beg out of habit."
Mohini Giri, the chairperson of NGO Guild of Service, which runs Amar Bari ashram in Vrindavan, has said that this statement has "broken the heart" of thousands of widows who had many hopes from Hema.
"This is very insensitive statement. Why only widows are targeted. What is the dignity and status of a widow. We are not going to tolerate this," the veteran social activist said. "Tomorrow someone will say that you are also widow and you are from Andhra so go back to your state. What will I do then? Is this we expect in our country. My widows are crying. They has a lot of hopes from Hema who is not able to understand their condition despite being a woman," she said.
Giri claimed that she wrote three letters to the Bollywood actress but did not get any prompt reply. "She is an MP so she should ensure governance and social security to widows. I have written three letters to her and yesterday got her only reply that talk to my PA. I am now going to stay ahead and see that no widow is touched. We must provide them security, shelter and dignity," she said.
Giri also claimed that these widows, living for decades in Vrindavan, do not want to go back to their place.
"I met and spoke to then West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu 20 years back regarding this issue. He said that he will give them roof and 300 Rs per month. I did a survey on widows and each one of them had said that they don't want to go back to Bengal," she said.
"If she (Hema) thinks that they are disturbing the people of Vrindavan then what is she doing. She has been visiting temples for last 10 years and disturbing common public there," said Giri.
She said that her NGO will initiate a campaign to ensure voting right for each widow of Vrindavan now. "We are empowering them. Rather than giving money, we should make them independent. We will do a big campaign to make each widow a voter and we will also tell them not to get afraid.
Now since whatever Hema has said, they (widows) will be pushed by local administration. They already take their share (hafta) from them and do not even hesitate to beat them by lathis," she said.
Another NGO Maitri which runs a widow ashram for about 500 widows at Radha Kund, Vrindavan has said that one should also consider their social and cultural background before making such statements.
"We need to be sensitive about these women who have lost their dignity as they are widows and to tell them to leave the place they have been living for decades is like robbing them of any dignity left," Sonal Singh Wadhwa, the CEO of Maitri India, a Delhi-based NGO said.
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