Barely a
week from celebrating Independence Day , what news does one wake up to
?
Gang Rapes
, Murder , Extortion , Govt Scams , Child Molestation , Buildings crumbling
like a pack of cards & children dying to Malnutrition. A week ago, close to
15th August, a majority of us changed your profile pictures on Facebook , BBM
etc with the Indian Flag , soldiers fighting in Kargil , Mahatma Gandhi with
his spinning wheel. Patriotic films being played on television. All of us gung-
ho about the pride to be a citizen of this great country. I did that too.
What does
being an Indian mean to any of us ? We are the guinea pigs of various
politicians vote bank dramas. We are so susceptible and vulnerable to
everything these days. Why should i be proud to be a citizen of this
Country ? Rather what should i be proud about ?
- the poor
state of public services - pot-holed roads injustice -ever increasing
prices of bare necessities, -poverty - crimes - inflation - horrible
value of Indian rupee . The list is never ending.
So on big
days like Independence Day and Republic day , please can someone tell me what
are we celebrating here.
A self
respecting, moral Indian is ashamed every morning reading in the daily
newspaper. I often read newspaper in the evening , avoiding news in the
mornings because who wants to start a day with feeling miserable about living
in this world. Today was an exception. The morning news runs a story of a 22
year old girl gang raped in Mahalakshmi , an affluent neighborhood in South
Bombay. She was raped whilst she was at a run down mill in the area. She was
accompanied by a male friend who was beaten up. The police asks the girl
whether did she acquire proper permissions to take photographs at the abandoned
mill. I ask, why ? If there were not permissions taken then is it
permissible to be gang raped ? What a ridiculous question! And the
newspaper prints it too.
Rape has,
of late, become an acute disease in the Indian society. This is a problem
arising out of a mental disorder, but there is also a larger cultural context
that, to an extent, explains how the Indian male became so brutal.
Our
cultural upbringing conditions male minds to behave in a cruel fashion with
women. Family upbringing, societal conditioning, religious sagas and political
animus, all construct our men and women into being what they are — men as
aggressive and women as submissive. Which is why men here, in India, are
different from men in other countries.
Every time
a gruesome rape gets reported, we all are ashamed and angry. That’s one thing;
but working out ways and means to eradicate such evil is another thing. We
cannot leave it entirely to the police or the judiciary to tackle such heinous
acts. For, rape is also a cultural problem; and it is a more serious problem
because of the extermination of the victim. We need to treat the malaise from
its very roots.
Mumbai
legislation bans night clubs , dance bars ,prostitution, couples canoodling in
public , PDA etc. They dont want the youth to have a life here in the
city. There is restriction to express love openly to the other. And this is
where the suppression leads to heinous acts like these. Radicals are known to
arrest brave-hearts expressing their views on social networking sites.
Our authorities are busy shooing couples from Marine Drive , while gang rapes
are taking place in stone throw distance.
As a
travel professional , how do i give assurance to my clients , who btw are very
worried about these crimes before visiting our country. Our nation's
tourism is suffering, our businesses are suffering.
Jungles
have more order than this city.
Mumbai MOTTO : Crib - Suffer - Bribe - Attack
- Suffocate
