Vinod Mehta, founder-editor of Outlook India starts off on a promising note about the not-so-recent “renunciation act” of Maino Sonia. He strives to maintain a semblance of neutrality in the article but the mask slips off quickly when he writes

In extremely conservative and regressive Hindu enclaves, widows did shave off their head and wore only white when their husbands passed away - a practice, I am happy to report, is now almost extinct.

While I have nothing against his finding this a regressive practice, I’m a little miffed about this stance on similar Islamic practices. Now to readers who may question why I should mandatorily bring in Islam in this context, my reply is this: I had blogged earlier about the Deafening Silence from the Secular Press about M.F. Hussein’s withdrawal of his film because one of its songs hurt the religious sentiments of Islam. This establishes the context for my statement above.

If shaving off widowed women’s heads is a regressive practice, how shall we discern the practice of Purdah, which is still vibrantly alive? What would Mehta write if say, Najma Heptullah or a similar Muslim lady-leader proclaim: I shall not wear the Purdah if Sonia becomes the Prime Minister?

The remainder of the article is devoted to singing more glorifying paeans of Maino Sonia in true Outlook Style.