Men's rights movement in India
[10][11] In 2009, the head of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Renuka Chowdhury, agreed to meet men's rights activists to listen to their concerns about biased legislation.
[12] In September 2012, Ministry of Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath proposed a bill that would make it mandatory for husbands to pay a salary to their wives.
[16][17] In late 2012, Satyamev Jayate, an Indian TV show hosted by actor Aamir Khan, was criticized by men's rights activists.
According to Anil Kumar, co-founder of SIFF, Khan had portrayed men negatively on the show and had projected only one side of the domestic violence issue.
Phanisai Bhardwaj, a Lok Satta Party candidate in Karnataka assembly polls, was found out to be a member of Centre for Men's Rights, against the Section 498a of IPC and reservations in jobs or education, after he made a post on Facebook in April 2013.
Jayprakash Narayan, founder of Lok Satta Party, called Bhardwaj's position on women "unacceptable, and he was subsequently asked to withdraw his nomination.
[24] In May 2014, Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) launched a mobile app called SIF One to reach out to men in distress.
The four questions that were posed are whether the party would introduce a bill to protect men against domestic violence, whether biological fathers should be given partial custody in a shared parenting arrangement in divorces, whether consensual sex with the false promise of marriage should be considered rape and if a man should be considered a rapist for breaking up with his girlfriend, and whether the party would introduce men studies courses in universities similar to other gender studies courses.
The film, which features real-life stories of men suffering from abuse due to anti-dowry laws, including those that have committed suicide.
[40][41][42] Until July 2014, the Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code allowed the police to arrest the persons mentioned in the complaint without a warrant or without any investigation.
Organisations like All India Mother-in-Law Protection Forum (AIMPF) and Mothers And Sisters of Husbands Against Abuse of Law (MASHAAL) have been formed to represent such women.
The cases often take a year to clear up, as a result the men lose their jobs abroad due to frequent travels to attend the court or being unable to leave India.
[68] Ranjana Kumari of the Centre for Social Research has criticised the Supreme Court's judgement which said that anti-dowry laws are being misused and stopped arrests based on FIRs.
[71] In 2014, the National Commission for Women proposed some changes to the law which included widening the definition of the term dowry and increasing the penalty for false cases.
The Minister for Women, Maneka Gandhi, told the Lok Sabha in December, "The NCW had recommended certain amendments in Dowry Prohibition Act.
[75] Ranjana Kumari of the Centre for Social Research has also expressed disagreement over demands to amend the anti-dowry law, pointing out that dowry deaths are still occurring in India.
Although four or five out of ten divorce cases in India allege mental agony, Ram Prakash Chugh said that if a man brought similar charges to a court, he will be unlikely to get a favourable ruling.
[95] Kumar V. Jaghirdar, founder and president of the Bangalore-based Children's Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP), said that alimony should be decided on the basis of how many years the couple were married, and argued that the law doesn't allow a husband to refute his wife's claims.
He also argued that it is based on a flawed assumption that the children are always best cared for by their mother, and that it violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, right to equality.
Swarup Sarkar, founder and member of Save Family Foundation, said that the suggestions offered by them to the Law Minister and the parliamentary committee were ignored.
[96][97] Derek O'Brien, member of the All India Trinamool Congress political party, argued that this law empowers women at the expense of men.
[98] Additionally, Amartya Talukdar raised concern that the bill amends marriage laws for Hindus only, who made up 79 percent of India's population in 2011.
[103] In November 2014, the Law Commission of India started a study and released a consultation paper on its website seeking views from the public on proposed guidelines for joint custody and shared parenting.
[107] Indian Social Awareness and Activism Forum (INSAAF), and Confidare Research have drafted a bill which aims to protect men and boys from domestic violence from their spouses, girlfriends and parents.
[111] The Jabalpur, Amarkantak and Hoshangabad region of Madhya Pradesh reports a large number of sadhus who have left their marriages to become holy men or yogis.
As many as 1,774 men from 22 states across India reached out to the Save Indian Family (SIF) foundation in April 2020, alleging domestic violence by their spouse.
[120][121] Kumar V. Jahgirdar, president of Child Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP), has attributed the suicides among married men on family stress.
[124] Rajesh Vakahria, a member of SIFF, has pointed out the bill was originally gender neutral until Ministry of Women and Child Development and some NGOs intervened and changed the name.
According to them, due to a lack of responsibility or sense of purpose, boys are dropping out of schools, men are resorting to drugs and alcohol and dying before reaching middle age.
[126][127] The movement seeks, among other things, to have children take their fathers' names and to end the system of property inheritance that favours female offspring.
