That’s a lot of Indian rupees. I wonder if that number is right.

Love the story about the Kidderpore muslim girls though.

Well said zee@6. India seems to be emerging as a strong house for boxing with both men and women competing. When I was reading the boxing article yesterday, I thought this one would make a good movie–sort of like Spellbound.

We can disagree, but I don’t think that teaching women (or even men) to be violent is the solution to sexual harassment or other social problems, including, for example, domestic violence. I’m sure I could “model” (in economic terms) a situation in which more aggression by the traditional victims would help, but this is not the Indian way, is it? Our commitment to and engagement with non-violence has not survived for centuries because it is stupid. Eve-teasing is a big problem back in the old country–but it is only going to be solved, I think, by more development, by more modern ways of thinking and being. The same is true of violence towards “lower-caste” people, or mis-treatment of religious or sexual minorities. But switching gears and becoming thoroughly-going violent people for our cause–that would be bad, too. I wouldn’t recognize that path as being part of our culture.

That is true in professional boxing (tyson et al), but as a competitive sports it is hardly the case, esp in the weight category the women would be fighting in. Check out the boxing matches at olympics: hardly any injury.

But boxing injures the opponent. It is thus not in line with the best of mainstream Indian values over the centuries.

One of the intangible benefits the athletes talk about in the nyt article is more self confidence, esp in the streets. I wonder when people will consider all-pervasive sexual harassment (endearingly called ‘eve-teasing’ in India) in the streets of India as not a mainstream Indian value over centuries ?

Unfortunately, aside from cricketers, most other sports-people are not that well-known.