It was unusually foggy and quiet here today morning in
Mumbai. I sat on the window sill taking a big bite of an apple. Well, I thought, obviously the late night
parties might have taken the ‘Hangover’ way for most of the folks. And quite more
unusually, my New Year eve was also somber. No, it wasn’t in protest or in the
mourning of one Damini! Frankly I don’t believe that not partying or changing
your wallpapers will be taken as a protest by the criminals or the officials.
What is needed is action, real protests is what I am talking about. Maybe the
candle light marches all over the country are a step, though just primary. The
devil is in us and its time to purge. It’s time we look at the fairer sex,
fairly.
As more and more rape and sexual assault cases keep coming
up from the states of Haryana, Punjab and U.P., an engineering student was
arrested for raping a classmate in Haryana, a woman was immolated after
resisting sexual assault in U.P., and it could go on and on. Horrid how the
minds of common people, like you and me, can even conceive such an idea after
the Delhi incident. Shouldn't we look into ourselves and seek to get hold of
the ideas that give birth to such evil. But no, Common Man says the government
and law enforcement officials should take action. Surely the Common Man is an
honorable man and what he says is right.
Damini, after being raped brutally, was thrown off the bus
and there she lay for another one and half hour, half naked and bleeding.
Onlookers went past ignoring her, trying not to get into legal troubles. There must have been a soul whose heart was
moved! But no, Common Man says the government and law enforcement officials
should take action. Surely the Common Man is an honorable man and what he says
is right.
The air turned thin and icy cold, darkness fell upon the
city of Delhi, the capital of Mighty India, the black waters of Ganga and
Yamuna took to rage and overflowed and for once it seemed that God himself
pitied the state of Damini, or did he pity the cruelty and evil in those wicked
men, or did he pity the whole hypocritical human race? But no, the Common Man
says the government and law enforcement officials should take action. Surely
the Common Man is an honorable man and what he says is right.
For how long will men look down upon women as just a means
of sexual pleasure! For how long will women not be given equality on every
basis, be it education or respect or employment! For how long will we ask for
special quota for women and not understand that is the precise cause for the
downtrodden state of women in India! Asking for special rights and benefits is
suitable only to weaker sections of the society and women are not. Then why
these impractical demands? But no, the Common Man says the government and law
enforcement officials should take action. Surely the Common Man is an honorable
man and what he says is right.
Shantaram Naik, an MP of the Indian National Congress,
occasioned widespread disapproval on another rape case, when he said,
"...an alleged rape of a lady who moves with strangers for days together
even beyond middle of the night is to be treated on a different footing." Mamata Banerji stated that free interaction between men and
women today has led to these crimes. Haryana khap panchayats
oppose death penalty for the rapists citing its possible misuse. How could they
even think that a woman could lie about being sexually harassed? These same
panchayats instead suggest lowering the marriage age of women as a solution. In Mumbai,
police officials cracked down on couples sitting in a garden in Malad late last
night on account of ‘indecent behavior’. The term’s definition has been left to
the interpretation of law enforcers. These aren’t just the political leaders’
views, these are the views of the public, us. We need to broaden our mind and
thoughts. But no, the Common Man says the government and law enforcement
officials should take action. Surely the Common Man is an honorable man and
what he says is right.
The century enters its teens on a rather dull note; maybe
even she is wary of the vulnerable situation young girls are in. The New Year
spirit has been dampened by the tears of the numerous victims’ families and in
fact, the whole nation. But what should not be forgotten is that Damini is just
one victim of these horrible crimes that continue to be committed against our
women. A rape is committed every hour in India but not every case catches
media’s attention. Candle-light marches and protests, and not celebrating New
Year won’t do, neither will banning Honey Singh’s songs help but those will
insult the sufferings of numerous other girls who have undergone similar
experiences. It’s time we broaden our horizons and bridge the gap between the two sexes. Open your eyes from the deep
slumber. It was Eve who bit the Apple and not the Indian Govt., so stop making it the scapegoat. I think the times call for rational thinking and a
confession. Each and every person is guilty for these crimes not just Sheila
Dixit! “It is the confession and not the priest that gives us absolution”. Calls for chemical castration of the
perpetrators are a just demand. Death penalty would only give them what they
deserve, but the crimes shall only be revenged when the weapon used in the
crime shall be destroyed. The media has a role to play in this act and it
better act responsible, for of late, the popular notion that “the only thing
true in media are the advertisements” has been quite correct. Maybe, its the turn of the social media to step up and up the ante.
It’s time this nation addresses some concerns. And it’s time
we open the Pandora’s box and let our conservative, narrow-minded vision be
given a new eyesight of equality, rights, justice and more importantly,
awakening! It’s time we bite our Apples, I just did...
