New Lamps for Old?: Gender Paradoxes of Political Decentralisation in Kerala by J. Devika & Binitha V. Thampi

Author:J. Devika & Binitha V. Thampi [Devika, J. & Thampi, Binitha V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zubaan
Published: 2015-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

Tight-rope-walking between Gentility and Subservience

As evident in very many interviews, the exercise of ‘gentle power’ in situations such as this involve careful strategic moves, such as not ringing the bell for the peon, and instead picking up the files, walking to the concerned clerk’s desk, sitting down beside the clerk, and getting the matter settled. The thin dividing line between subservience and gentility was sometimes blurred—the challenge was to keep it sharp and clear, which was admitted to be a difficult one. The dilemma was stated clearly by a woman leader from central Kerala, who was in local governance for the third time:

There will be a hundred and one things to handle at the same time. You’re expected to answer a hundred questions. In the middle, you have to take all this forward in a very diplomatic way, without offending anyone. But you also have to be able to firmly discipline the rowdier ones. You have to fight with your words. You have to be extra-calm, look really superior in your knowledge and composed if your words have to be accepted!

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