Lawyer and M. P. Manish Tewari |
Ludhiana/Jalandhar/Amritsar, July 01, 2021 (News Team): Prabha Khaitan Foundation today hosted ‘Ek Mulakat’ with Manish Tewari, Lawyer and Member of Parliament from Anandpur Sahib. The intriguing session was held in conversation with Archana Dalmia, Politician, Columnist and Ehsaas Woman of Delhi.
“A lawyer by Profession, Manish Tewari practiced out of the supreme court and is currently the MP from Anandpur Sahib. He has been very vocal about current and topical issues such as energy security, national and international security, nuclear disarmament, terrorism, and more recently about economic revival. His books Decoding a Decade, Tidings of Troubled Times, and Fables of Fractured Times make for captivating reading. During the discussion Mr. Tewari presented a very intriguing concept of the internet playing the role of a parallel civilization and was brutally honest about his political views as well,” said Ms Praneet Bubber - Ehasas woman Prabha Khaitan Foundation.
Here are a few Insightful Excerpts from the Conversation, in the words of Manish Tewari ;
“If you are a lawyer, you need to be very brutal about the facts. In the court of law, you have to be honest else you do your clients and your profession a great disservice.”
Asked about his views about Censorship of content and how with the OTT platforms bringing uncensored content into our homes, there is an upsurge of crimes, specially against women, he said, “I do not think that censorship of content is the solution. Even if you were to walk the extra mile on censorship, firewalling the internet completely to make it into an intranet, by employing a million people who troll the internet looking for politically and socially sensitive content, but still you will never be able to mitigate it, let alone eradicate it. So, therefore, respect for women is a part of a larger consciousness which we as a country need to internalise and imbibe and that’s something which is an ethic that needs to start from the day you are born or at least from the day you start going to school.”
“The internet represents the largest uncovered space on Planet Earth. It is a virtual civilisation which lies at the intersection of the physical brick and wall civilisation which evolved over the millennium, and a virtual civilisation which is currently evolving. As we go forth, we may even have countries which exist even in the virtual space. Therefore, sovereignty as a concept would become completely passe. We would have currencies ; We already have this ongoing debate about crypto currency which the countries do not know how to deal with. That is a completely different dimension of a virtual civilisation that one does not truly come to grips with, much less understand it.”
On women safety and “How can we as a society make India safer for our daughters, he said, “I stand by that view. Honestly, our cities are not safe for our children, and as I say that goes back to the whole mind-set issue. Single women walking alone at night on the streets is really in danger. And this should not be the case. It’s not as if that western cities are completely immune from this menace, but yes there are certain societies which have been able to create conditions whereby safety of women may be a issue but it is not the kind of problem we have in India, even now.” “Till the time you do not have a bottom’s up social change, in terms of attitudes, law alone, or very punitive law, cannot deal with this problem,” he said.
My message to young women who are ready to fly is, “To hold bearance.” “We should just let them fly.”
One of the fittest MP’s today, when asked about his Mantra for fitness, he said, “The trick is in being regular. One thing I did try and maintain no matter which part of the world I was in, was to find 1 hour to spend on myself. And, I think you owe it to the machine that you work out of 16-17 hours a day.”
Ek Mulakat is a meeting of minds. It is an exclusive initiative for guests other than literary background, which allows patrons to rendezvous with legends and stalwarts from various walks of life. It is a window into the life of an artiste, achiever, cultural aficionado or thinker.