How Rabri Devi redefined ‘sanskari bahu’ after getting trolled

If you are a girl of marriageable age in Patna and are irresistibly attracted to the two young minister sons of the state’s former chief ministers—Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, then there are two important things that you shall not indulge in: going to a nearby mall or watching a movie in a cinema hall!

It doesn’t matter whether you recently watched Bahubali 2—in a cinema hall or, worse, a cinema hall inside a mall—the best thing would be not to flaunt it. More importantly, if you want to watch the Tom Cruise-starrer Mummy or have been waiting with baited breath for Salman Khan’s Tubelight to be released—you may want to think otherwise, for you run the risk of being disqualified from becoming the ‘sanskari bahu’ (well-cultured daughter-in-law) of the Yadavs.

On the contrary, if you want to be completely out of contention in becoming the prospective bride of Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, or his brother and Bihar’s Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, then this perhaps is just what you should be doing!

All this is not really a joke and these were the conditions reportedly put up by their mother Rabri Devi. According to a report in The Times of India, speaking on the occasion of her husband’s 70th birthday celebrations, Rabri Devi was quoted as saying: “Cinema hall aur mall jane wali ladki nahi chahiye. Ghar chalaane wali, bade buzurg ka aadar karne wali, jaise ki hum hain, waisi ladki chahiye (I want a girl who will take care of the house, respect elders like me and not those who go to malls and cinema halls).”

And, it goes without saying that Rabri Devi—who, in a surprise political manoeuvre by her husband, was made the chief minister in 1997—was heavily trolled on social media, especially on the ‘patriarchal mindset’ and so on.

In the wake of Rabri being trolled for her thoughts, the Yadav family stepped in to do some damage control. Lalu Yadav defended his wife by trying to define ‘sanskari bahus’. Sanskari bahus, he explained, meant “strong-willed, loving and caring lady”.

Rabri’s minister son Tejashwi too tweeted in her defence saying that sanskari bahu had a broader context:

In a Facebook post, Rabri Devi blamed the media for “twisting her comments” and said that “her wish was that every woman should establish a strong identity in a male-dominated society.”

Well, that statement would perhaps be put to test when Rabri finally gets her two sons married, with a lot depending on when her prospective daughters-in-law last watched a movie and shopped in a mall, or both!