Jaya (Bachchan) vs Dhankhar Showdown in Rajya Sabha
The treatment of Jaya Bachchan, an actor turned politician since 2012, and a 5th time elected MP from Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha at the hands of Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, 14th vice president of India was appalling.
Very recently, I watched the Bachchan vs Dhankhar showdown during a Rajya Sabha debate. The treatment of Jaya Bachchan, an actor turned politician since 2012, and a 5th time elected MP from Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha at the hands of Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, 14th vice president of India was appalling.
Jaya Bachchan was elected from the Samajwadi Party (SP). Jaya (Bhaduri) Bachchan is the winner of the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award; Filmfare Award winner for best actor is an accomplished human being in her own rights way before she joined politics. The row started as Jaya ji objected to her being called by her official name which is Jaya Amitabh Bachchan. She also protested to the kind of tone Dhankhar was taking while speaking to her. Dhankhar’s point was her full name in the election certificate appears as such. Jaya ji only objected to “Amitabh” part of her name. That made Dhankhar very agitated, and he lost his cool. Many members of the Upper House cheered him. The situation and the exchanges became very heated. The opposition led by Sonia Gandhi walked out of the session.
It is not easy being Jaya Bachchan as she wears many hats. Beyond politics, she is an accomplished actor in both Bengali and Hindi films, and wife of beloved Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan. Since the Upper House walked out for Jaya ji being vocal, the subsequent projection of her in an atrocious manner by the media and many members of the parliament is downright cruel. The way she is continuously being labeled as filled with rage, anger, unhappy with Amitabh in her home life, etc. is simply unacceptable. Some people in the comment section under the viral YouTube video of the argument went one step further to speculate as to why Amitabh Bachchan is still working at age 84! They think he does not want to be home with “angry” Jaya.
In the video, it seemed that Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar was presiding over a parliamentary session in the dark ages. The irate Dhankhar was yelling at Jaya ji for objecting Amitabh portion of her name when she was called upon to speak. On that inauspicious day, she was the last speaker before the parliament closed session for the day. The treatment of her at the Rajya Sabha session was nothing short of a display of patriarchy in its full force.
Why are so many people against Jaya Bachchan in her role as a parliamentarian? She is known to work extremely hard at her current job, asks tough questions and almost never misses a session. The people critiquing her are Jaya haters who love to go wild in their imagination. They for sure do not like to see Jaya ji with Amitabh Bachchan. It is as simple as that. In their fantasy mode, they see Amitabh with Rekha ji not only as an onscreen couple but also in real life. It is rumored that Rekha still wears sindoor on her hair parting for Amitabh. These individuals refuse to see that the Bachchans have been married since 1973 and now are grandparents of young adults.
All hearsay apart, why not leave Jaya ji alone and let the lady do the work she was elected to do? What annoyed Dhankhar to go after Jaya ji in this ugly manner is something only he can answer. He is regarded as one of the most learned people in India. Did his behavior show any sign of wisdom? Not that I could see. He lost control and acted like a bully or a village school head teacher scolding a little girl for not behaving.
I am extremely disappointed as I always was under the impression that in the Indian Parliament, the members are respectful of one another. Moreover, the presiding one’s role (in this case the vice president of India) is merely ceremonial. He/she is not supposed to get involved between the squabbling members of parliament. His job is to sit in his high chair (that he is so proud of) and observe the members of the parliament conduct their views and exchanges in a civilized manner.
Jaya ji’s demand was pretty reasonable. She was not elected by her party just because she is Amitabh Bachchan’s wife. She herself had established herself first as an actor, and then as a politician regardless of her marital status. Her list of honors and accolades pales in comparison to the publics’ insatiable desire to see Amitabh/Rekha as a real-life couple. Since they do not have the magic wand to wish Jaya away, they take solace by making Jaya ji known as “angry” Jaya.
Jaya Bachchan was born in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in a Bengali Brahmin family. Her given name is Bhaduri. Till date, Jaya Bachchan has acted in 28 films. Her debut Bengali film was Mahanagar at the early age of 15. She became a Bollywood film actor with the release of Guddi. Amitabh Bachchan was nowhere in the picture then. With all her credentials, it appears Bengali Jaya Bhaduri was never fully accepted in Bollywood’s Hindi speaking world. In Mumbai, culturally there is a North Indian vibe. It is an open secret that North Indians do not like Bengalis. Is it because they think Bengalis are one step down in terms of status compared to the non-Bengali speaking Maharashtrians?
Really?
People over there with Northern touch often forget how much Jaya ji has accomplished in her life. She never was or will be a trophy-wife to Amitabh Bachchan. She has always been her own person, combative and spoke her mind over issues that need to change in India for the betterment of the masses. For that she has been labeled, ridiculed, and even made to feel like the “other woman” in her marriage.
How ridiculous is this?
A majority of the Jaya haters do not want to give Jaya Bachchan any credit. I often assume Jaya ji must have felt a lone Bengali among the Mumbai snobs despite being a Bachchan. They continue to denounce her every chance they get. The Dhankhar tirade against Jaya Bachchan only added fuel to the fire. A simple objection from Jaya ji regarding her full name turned the episode into a courtroom drama.
Patriarchy
A patriarchal society such as India and other South Asian nations teach women to suppress their annoyance and discourage them from expressing their emotions fully. In 2024, a woman is not supposed to express or display displeasure in public? When a man does it, then it is acceptable. When Jaya ji objected to the use of the word “Amitabh” in her name, it was deemed “unconstitutional” by Jagdeep Dhankhar. It was implied by the enraged Chair that Bachchan was compromising the “decorum” and the sanctity of the Rajya Sabha.
On the contrary, I found Dhankhar to be extremely rude and chauvinistic. He was talking down to Jaya ji by talking over her, gesturing at her to sit down, and supposedly putting her in her “place” in a man’s world. Seeing the ugly exchanges in the parliament made me sick to my stomach.
South Asian women in general have always been stigmatized if they express themselves in front of men. What is a female parliamentarian supposed to do? Stay seated in her row all dolled-up and agree to all that the male members are saying? When Dhankhar was shouting at her, was Jaya ji supposed to internalize everything and not say anything at all? In doing so, she would be giving into the stereotypical attitude that women should just behave by keeping quiet. That is the very stigma Jaya ji was trying to break by being vocal about her preferences when it comes to her name.
India, isn’t it time to break the cultural norm that women are just supposed to be kind and modest, and the shouting should be left to men?
Why do we need a separate set of rules when it comes to women? How long are men going to hold onto the idea that women expressing themselves by challenging men are deemed “unladylike?”
This is the most dangerous aspect of a patriarchal society where men want women to hold onto their tongues and suppress their emotions so that men can feel superior to women. For that simple reason alone men do not like to be challenged by women.
Therefore, the women are supposed to obey and no questions asked? Guess what! These days women do not care whether men approve or do not approve of their actions. We should agree that in this harsh world, it is a matter of survival of the fittest. Jagdeep Dhankhar did not get the memo.
Chairperson Dhankhar reminded me that ideally, he would be right at home in Taliban ruled Afghanistan where he can keep women in a confined space – far removed from the modern world. His tough and macho attitude in dealing with Jaya Bachchan was simply unbecoming in the Rajya Sabha.
Suffice it to say, Jaya ji is a tough cookie as she seemed defiant. As a 5th term parliamentarian, she had faced similar situations before. Though she is an actor, this kind of open and direct insults aimed at her in front of her colleagues must have been hard. She looked dismayed by such rough treatment at the hands of the Chairperson. Bengali women by nature are not afraid to display their dissatisfaction when they are cornered and attacked from all sides. This particular Rajya Sabha session was very unrefined to process.
Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha ji’s fans should accept that Jaya ji is neither “crazy” nor “hysterical.” I do not think she considers herself Rekha ji’s nemesis. It is only in people’s imagination. Many people have dropped her maiden and married last name and simply refer to her as “angry” Jaya.
Why do they think she is angry?
Because she is vocal, stands against male chauvinistic behavior and patriarchy?
People go out of their way to talk about Jaya’s temper because they simply cannot tolerate her as Amitabh’s life partner. In the end, as a parliamentarian she appeared reasonable, calm, and competent. On the other hand, Dhankhar seemed like the “crazy” one.
Just because someone does not want to conform to the idea of how a woman MP should behave when parliament is in session is a question of having your voice heard in a male dominant atmosphere. A woman has every right to defend herself with fury when she is attacked. Internalizing is worse than confronting. All South Asian men should accept that women now do not want to suffer in silence. Defending oneself should not be considered as “unladylike” nor should it be viewed as uncouth. If Jaya Bachchan did not stand up for her right to choose and was not assertive enough, she would not be taken seriously. Now everyone in the media is talking about her.
The exchanges got so bad that the big guy (Dhankhar) sitting in the high chair thought he put Jaya in her place. Many members were clapping YES to the Chairperson and Jaya remained defiant. If this is not male chauvinism in its worst, then I do not know what is! Some female members were clapping in favor as well. I have no opinion about them. It is a shame. The members of the parliament wanted her to be a spectacle as if it was a circus show.
Here is what a male member of my immediate family had to say when I shared the Jaya Bachchan vs Jagdeep Dhankhar YouTube video with him.
“Mr. Dhankhar shows utter disregard for one of the legends of Indian cinema, India. This is unbecoming of a vice president, who is a learned person. Listening to an alternate point of view is the first sign of a man of learning, and wisdom. Clearly Mr. Dhankhar falls short in the latter. We urge him to show respect, and greater restraint to the parliamentarian Jaya (Bhaduri) in future encounters.”
[The writer, Zeenat Khan (University of Rhode Island, USA, Holy Cross College, Dhaka), taught Middle School children with learning disabilities at a parochial school in Washington DC before taking up writing as an interest. She writes from Maryland, USA)
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