20.12.2012
Amidst the huge outrage that
has erupted in length and breadth of the nation after a young lady got gang
raped in New Delhi on last Sunday evening, I am not at all surprised to hear from the society about the
possible remedies to prevent these upsetting and brutal acts. This is
not at all the first time that the nation has stood together, from Parliament to Paanwaalah to protest against heinous
crime(s) like this. And of course, this is not the first time that we, the
people of India appear perfectly helpless at doing anything more than that of a
candle march to India Gate and a dharna at Jantar Mantar along with a fairly
large number of catchy pro-victim-and-against-administration slogans with
repeated demands to hang the bastards until death, or to kick their ass and
throw them behind the bars for their lifetime or turn them impotent using
chemical and so on. I don’t see anything new in it. Though I wish I don’t get a
chance to see any brutal act like this happening again, I am sure my wish will
not get fulfilled like many times before.
I am not at all surprised
to see a few members of parliament shedding (crocodile?) tears while condemning
this rape case in the House. They are well-equipped and habituated to shed tears on various
occasions since last six long decades. Their tears would be wiped out by none
other than a fairly large number of their own fellows carrying similar
offensive charges registered against them in different parts of country. They
have full faith in Aristotle, who once said that ‘a carpenter needs training.
But even a street drunky can go and sit in parliament.’ So, some of them are
doing their best, I must say with all the respect to the core of my
constitution and the governing system. These parliamentarians are doing undoubtedly
their best. To force them to do anything in favour of common man (which is why
this species called common man is on the verge of extinction), will be more
unfair than to catch the rapists and hang them under open sky.
I am not at all surprised
to see honored and distinguished guests capturing the prime time of news hours
on different TV channels and fighting to prove their views right after every
upsetting accident like this. Even they are doing their best. Once you forget
that there are again fairly countable number of newsrooms in Delhi where a female
worker might not be feeling safe at odd hours of night, I feel thankful to these
newsrooms which have kept a large number of issues alive by now. Good stuff,
enough masaala until something more spicy erupts out.
I am not at all surprised
to look at the way the Delhi Police (and the police of most of the cities
across country) works and deals with the problems like this. They have been
trained for safety and security of the law-makers and law-breakers, altogether.
They have been trained perfectly to keep law abiders away from them. They have
been well trained to advice the female beings not to get out of house once the
sun sets. Even they are doing their best with the way they have been trained to
do so.
And I am not at all
surprised to overhear two girls in Delhi Metro talking about the importance of their
presence in protest at India Gate. They reflect the understanding of being a
sensible citizen. But what makes me more and more worried is that while one of
them appears pretty sure to take part in protest, the other is very much
suspicious of molesters being present even in crowd protesting there!! A
molester might be present in the crowd that is protesting against molestation
and rape!!
And this is the real
question. It is the question that we miss time and again. Human being is a
social animal. It learns everything from its own society. So, if I ask myself
that does my society teach me, in anyway, to turn a rapist? My answer is NO, NO
and NO. But the bigger pain is that if I ask myself that, is my society doing
anything on grass root level to prevent a possible rape, again my answer is a
big NO! We have forgotten to build a healthy society. Accept it or not, the
fact is that increasing number of nuclear families and reducing number of joint
families is a vivid example of how we have destroyed our pressure groups in
society. That pressure group in and out of family, which forces a kid to become more civilized and mannered throughout the life.
I am very much pleased to
see universities with the name ‘World Class’ mushrooming across the country.
Painful is to see that we are not at all prone to invest in quality education.
We are not at all bothered to become, or build world class citizens. We do
everything to enhance the standard of life, but do nothing to enhance the
quality of life. We are perhaps the least bothered societies available on the
earth now a days, which teaches to enhance quality of life. Eventually and
apparently, we have lost the fear of anyone and everyone. Fear has lost. Fear of
parents, fear of teachers, fear of law and order, fear of get punished after
smallest crime, fear of being booked if not punished the guilty, fear of being
throned out of the job if caught helping the culprit and so on and so on.
I was thinking exactly the
same thing when renowned social worker Anna Hazare and his team was out in streets with
thousands and thousands of self-declared Annas to protest against corruption in
the system. Why to curse a system when it is made of nothing other than all of
us? Are we honest at exactly wherever we are! We need not fight against any
crime or corruption once we learn to be honest exactly where we are sitting!
This is where I do feel
that it is we all, who is a rapist in one way or the other. I don’t see any
difference between the one who has raped an innocent girl, and the one who has
raped a system! All those who are part of larger system, have not been honest enough to strengthen it. And until and unless we have equal punishment for both, I
repeat, for anyone who rapes either a person or a system in one way or the other, accidents like
this are destined to take place.
Oh yes, I am not surprised
at all to see on a social networking website that a rising female actress has
associated this crime with Bihar. She has found connections with Bihar for all the
accused! Wonderful. Poorly educated poor mentality.
