So, it was a usual day for me. Woke up early, freshened up, had my breakfast and sat down with my modern history textbook to read the struggle for freedom. A fear, but more than that a feeling that can possibly be not described in words has been haunting me since the last night. My mind at unease, unable to concentrate, I pickup my phone and login to facebook & lo! here's the reason for the disquiteness.
My wall is filled with 2 majors feeds - Kathua & Unnao gang rapes. The incidents that had been a cause of my temporary state of insomnia last night. Lying on my bed, reading the story of the gory and horrendous rape and the cover up, an uncomfortable thought engulfs my mind. I am a brother, a son, a maternal uncle of a 6 yr old girl child, a good friend of a few ladies, possibly a father to a daughter in future, an aam aadmi (a common man) and ultimately a human being. And this thought of something similar happening to any of my acquaintances causes shivers to run down my body. A feeling that these words can partly describe. What's even worse? Think about the mental trauma the girls' families are going through. In one of the cases, a daughter, the victim, lost her father and in the other a father lost his daughter (the victim). Without the access to the corridors of power, they are just sculptures of mud without a soul - aam aadmis just like I am, just like you are and just like every other common citizen who still dreams of a Ram Rajya.
But alas! fools we are, because we don't have the access to corridors of power and hence even after being the victims, we are made the culprits so that people in power can create an apparent "Ram Rajya" for themselves and create a rhetoric for us fools to believe that their "Ram Rajya" is our "Ram Rajya".
I ask you a question! To what level can these so called "representatives" stoop down? (Note that I am intentionally not calling them politicians because the fault is ours that we chose them and they represent us, our mentality, our thoughts. Yes, I voted for them, you voted for them, we all did.) Well, I have no words to describe. You can gauge it, just as I did, with the fact that these "representatives" have been shielding the culprit and not in just one but both the cases. I ask you another question! How far can these "representatives" go? If at all God had created boundaries for them because laws are for aam aadmis not for those in corridors of power. Crossing all the limits, they gave the Kathua incident, a communal tinge. And alas, we fools, we aam aadmis were made a prey to the rhetoric again so much so that a few amongst us supported the rapists amidst slogans of "Jai Shri Ram". I am a proud Hindu and a proud Indian and I am well aware that neither my religion nor my country teaches me to shield criminals in the name of God.
I am saddened to the core. My soul is crying from within. I want to do something about it but I can't. I am powerless because I am a foolish aam aadmi.
Amidst all the communal tension and atrocities on women and the way it is being handled, I have started losing faith in Governance and the Government and ultimately in humanity. But yes! the only thing in which I have developed strong faith is - in petty politics. Yes! It can do wonders. Needless to give examples. I have been blabbering for quite sometime.
The last time I could restore my faith in humanity was during the 2012 Nirbhaya protests. I am waiting for something similar to happen to muster up my belief in humanity, believe that we still are rational emotional beings and not just puppets in the hands of political parties. A wave has been generated, this time not on the streets of Delhi, but on social media. And it seems to be apparently bigger than the 2012 one. I hope that this will force the govt to conduct a fair enquiry and punish the guilty while also setting a strong precedent for people with sick mindset who use their power illegally to shield their ills.
As I pickup my book to read the struggle for independence, I am reminded of the India our freedom fighters dreamt of, a Ram Rajya for which they sacrificed their lives. I am sure none of them wanted and none of us would want our country to remain this way - a country where women's dignity is at stake. We have gained freedom after a long strife. Let's not waste it. Let's save the world's largest secular democracy from dying. I have faith in my fellow countrymen, in the laws and in judiciary. Sooner or later they will make us regain faith in us humans as emotional beings.
My wall is filled with 2 majors feeds - Kathua & Unnao gang rapes. The incidents that had been a cause of my temporary state of insomnia last night. Lying on my bed, reading the story of the gory and horrendous rape and the cover up, an uncomfortable thought engulfs my mind. I am a brother, a son, a maternal uncle of a 6 yr old girl child, a good friend of a few ladies, possibly a father to a daughter in future, an aam aadmi (a common man) and ultimately a human being. And this thought of something similar happening to any of my acquaintances causes shivers to run down my body. A feeling that these words can partly describe. What's even worse? Think about the mental trauma the girls' families are going through. In one of the cases, a daughter, the victim, lost her father and in the other a father lost his daughter (the victim). Without the access to the corridors of power, they are just sculptures of mud without a soul - aam aadmis just like I am, just like you are and just like every other common citizen who still dreams of a Ram Rajya.
But alas! fools we are, because we don't have the access to corridors of power and hence even after being the victims, we are made the culprits so that people in power can create an apparent "Ram Rajya" for themselves and create a rhetoric for us fools to believe that their "Ram Rajya" is our "Ram Rajya".
I ask you a question! To what level can these so called "representatives" stoop down? (Note that I am intentionally not calling them politicians because the fault is ours that we chose them and they represent us, our mentality, our thoughts. Yes, I voted for them, you voted for them, we all did.) Well, I have no words to describe. You can gauge it, just as I did, with the fact that these "representatives" have been shielding the culprit and not in just one but both the cases. I ask you another question! How far can these "representatives" go? If at all God had created boundaries for them because laws are for aam aadmis not for those in corridors of power. Crossing all the limits, they gave the Kathua incident, a communal tinge. And alas, we fools, we aam aadmis were made a prey to the rhetoric again so much so that a few amongst us supported the rapists amidst slogans of "Jai Shri Ram". I am a proud Hindu and a proud Indian and I am well aware that neither my religion nor my country teaches me to shield criminals in the name of God.
I am saddened to the core. My soul is crying from within. I want to do something about it but I can't. I am powerless because I am a foolish aam aadmi.
Amidst all the communal tension and atrocities on women and the way it is being handled, I have started losing faith in Governance and the Government and ultimately in humanity. But yes! the only thing in which I have developed strong faith is - in petty politics. Yes! It can do wonders. Needless to give examples. I have been blabbering for quite sometime.
The last time I could restore my faith in humanity was during the 2012 Nirbhaya protests. I am waiting for something similar to happen to muster up my belief in humanity, believe that we still are rational emotional beings and not just puppets in the hands of political parties. A wave has been generated, this time not on the streets of Delhi, but on social media. And it seems to be apparently bigger than the 2012 one. I hope that this will force the govt to conduct a fair enquiry and punish the guilty while also setting a strong precedent for people with sick mindset who use their power illegally to shield their ills.
As I pickup my book to read the struggle for independence, I am reminded of the India our freedom fighters dreamt of, a Ram Rajya for which they sacrificed their lives. I am sure none of them wanted and none of us would want our country to remain this way - a country where women's dignity is at stake. We have gained freedom after a long strife. Let's not waste it. Let's save the world's largest secular democracy from dying. I have faith in my fellow countrymen, in the laws and in judiciary. Sooner or later they will make us regain faith in us humans as emotional beings.
I believe that punishments for crimes should be more intense specially for people in power (legislatures and executives and judiciary) because when a law maker breaks the law or the one reponsible for implementing the law breaks it, it is a more grave crime. I agree that around 80-90% of rapes are done by close relatives. The government can't do much in preventing this (although it can help give justice). For these situation, we as a society needs to change, the common consciousness of the society needs to be awakened. But, in case of kathua and unnao, both the accused are in power and are representing. The power we have given them to serve us, keep us safe, protect our women. But they have breached us. When the preacher of dharma does not follow it, its a bigger crime. It is just not a crime created by one, but by all the people believing in him. It goes on to say that thise people who have elected them are rapist too. Its Itw for the scociety to decide weather we are also rapists or not??
ReplyDeleteWell said! But ultimately the ones to decide intense punishments for people in power are the people in power themselves. And seeing the situation of the country, I don't think it is going to happen any soon!
DeleteIt's all true. But, the problem is we forget to introspect the real reasons behind such incidents. The reasons lie in the structures and the processes of socialisation. What are the boys taught as kids? The problem and it's solution lies there. How do we respond to a sexist joke shared on family whatsapp groups and amongst friends? The problem and it's solution lies there. What we do within our homes after all the protests and rants, that's where real thought needs to be put into.
ReplyDelete