Talking of democracy, were you surprised by the rejection of Hilary Clinton in favour of Barack Obama?
I was; I would have thought the race barrier would have been stronger than the gender barrier. Obama offers a lot of hope, but I wonder what will happen when the elections come. If Obama wins, I will really be surprised but be happy that America has changed. Yes, women have ruled democracies in South Asia, but we shouldn’t forget those women have been part of a hierarchical society. And caste plays a significant part. In a country like India, the feeling is: a Brahmin woman is better than a lower caste male. We don’t mind a woman ruling us as long as she is of a higher caste. The biggest thing would be if Mayawati becomes the Prime Minister.
