जगे रहो मुन्नाभाई!

I stared in disbelief when I read how Sanjay Dutt believes that a woman should start using her husband’s last name after getting married because it’s our tradition। It’s pretty rich of him to talk about what is and isn’t our tradition, I say।

Whether to use her husband’s last name or not should be a woman’s choice entirely। Personally, I believe it’s cruel to ask her to wipe out the identity that was hers for 20 or odd years before she got married. And on the more practical side, in this day and age when many women have significant investments before their marriage, it isn’t easy to cope with the amount of paperwork necessary to effect the change – not to mention the running from pillar to post.

So Sanjubaba, please wake up and smell the coffee. What you want your latest wife to use as her last name is none of our concern but don’t you dare advise the rest of us what to do with our last names.