Social impact of ladies' special trains!

Mamata Banerjee, the newly appointed railway minister of the country is now busy in inaugurating ladies’ special trains. Popular as ‘didi’ in Bengal, Ms Banerjee is a very popular political figure, specially for her low profile and fearless attitude and now she is getting more popular among the ladies, for her gift, the ‘ladies’ special trains. The number of working woman is on a continuous rise in the country leading to an additional requirement of transport facility and so Ms Banerjee’s decision to introduce ladies’ special trains is a welcome move. Women traveling on the rail route are overjoyed with this gift as traveling has become easier for them now.

To me, the decision of the railway minister has not only come as a gift for the ladies but has also boosted up their confidence. It has come as a strong message from the women to the male-dominated society. For them, riding on these new trains is like enjoying a special social status they were deprived off for long. Traveling on the rail route is now more comfortable for them as they don’t need to manage space amidst the male passengers inside the compartments. Worries are now less for parents who are dependant on the earnings of their daughters.

But is it just a gift for the women of the country from the lady railway minister or is it a clever political move? Is this a bid to make life easier for the ladies or a calculated move to get closer to them? The reason why such doubt has arised in the minds of people is the glaring favour of the railway minister for her own state. Just compare the number of ladies special trains that Ms Banerjee has allotted for Bengal with that of the other states. West Bengal is not the only state with a large number of working women. The number is quite huge in other states too. If the concern of the railway minister was for the women of the ‘country’ all the largely populated states should have got at least one such train. But that isn’t happening and is not likely to happen in the future too.

That’s not fare. When you are offering a gift to the women of the country you should make it available for all. But the way things are going, it does not seem Ms Banerjee is concerned at all about other states and that’s whether her noble decision is getting a political colour. By favoring her own state she is forcing people of other states to consider themselves deprived. With her glaring favour for West Bengal, ‘didi’ is actually creating a division in the society, which is not acceptable. Definitely with her showrr of gifts for the women of Bengal, she is ensuring more votes in the 2011 Assembly Election in the state but at the same time she is making damage to her reputation as a honest politician among the countrymen.