Liberated and Free India… Is woman a part of it?

Is woman truly liberated? Is she truly free in a free India? The Mangalore pub incident left such haunting questions in my mind. After 60 years of independence, if some perpetrators can assault a girl in full public and media view and still get away do we still hold the right to call ourselves secular, liberal and a democratic country?

Democracy by definition means by the people, for the people and of the people and people includes women! Our constitution acknowledges freedom of speech, freedom of expression, right against exploitation among many more. These constitutional rights ideally should be applicable to the women in this country too; sadly, not many in this country consider it wise to know these details.

Who gave these self-proclaimed moral police the right to monitor and decide what’s good or bad for me – a woman? I have enough well-wishers on whom I can rely, while deciding what is best for me.

They hail the Hindu culture while justifying their acts; saying it does not allow pub culture. So do they mean that Hindu culture allows assaulting, hitting and abusing a woman? They call themselves Sri Rama Sene and don’t know the basics that Sri Ram never upheld disgracing a women let alone hitting her!

What I fail to understand and pity the most is the callous attitude of the government, police and the media. The media was invited to this mayhem and they did a great job by covering the whole thing religiously. After all they were witnessing the primetime news. It was going to be their first cut- breaking news.

But didn’t any of them consider the act audacious enough to inform the police immediately and get the culprits arrested on the crime scene? Well that wouldn’t have kicked up so much of dirt isn’t it? Or maybe getting the culprits arrested is not a part of their job description. Or maybe they realized if the culprits got arrested how would they be able to have special episodes for the next whole week. After all opinion polls, debates, exclusive interviews and stinging editorials wont hold any spark if the matter ended on the same day! TRP’s come only with burning issues – I should have known.

The police sleepwalked through the whole issue. Media was present there, yet police seemed to be the last one to know about it. With this apathy in their information and response system, I wonder how they would ever be able to nab any militants or curb any militant activities. Even now they have managed to arrest 27 out of 30 and have not been able to take any action against the top-brass of this Rama Sene. Politicians are busy mud slinging on each other. They are trying to rake in as much publicity as possible for themselves, how can we ever expect them to have the time to take any action!

Even today it is so easy and simple for a man to hit a woman, eve-tease her in public, rape her by just pulling her off the street, assault her, molest her and then just apologize and get away or use some loop-hole in the judicial system and continue to humiliate her for years to come. Do we have to wait for another revolution or beg these culprits to give us our rights? If any of this is a solution then I would never celebrate the birth of a girl. A life burdened with shackles and dictated by unknown bloodhounds is not much to celebrate about.

Long time no post…

So here goes… Well this is more like a recap on all things that have been happening lately. Every issue could have a post of its own, but I think this is better! Basically there are so many things happening in India and at such fast pace.. Needless to say none to be cheerful about and almost all of them man –made! I guess we just can’t stand peace anymore.

Some of us create a ruckus, some others try to gain mileage out of that ruckus, some more sit and do the usual analysis-paralysis about the issue… If that’s not enough its blown out of proportions by a few others and the net result is that most of us suffer in this debacle that was created by a few. Well too many somebody’s and nobody’s but isn't this the fact of today?

To start with we have the J&K issue i.e the Amarnath land row, then we have the riot like situation in Orissa over killing of VHP leader and conversions. Then we have the Singur Tata Nano plant. We have MNS on other hand threatening to go on a rampage if the shops names are not changed to the regional language i.e Marathi. Then down south we had the bomb-blasts (so-called) and then the farmer’s agitation for want of fertilizers, the Ahmedabad blasts left a fresh scar, and then the random firing from across the border with Pakistan flouting the cease-fire. … I was tired listing the issues, I am surprised how come these people never take a break and think rationally… for heavens sake it’s yours and many others life that you are ruining for want of a new political pot-boiler! And then to top it all the nature played spoilt sport with the Bihar floods.

Isn’t the writing on the wall that apart from natural disaster all others are politically instigated issue to ruin peace in the country? Is it so hard to dream of peace, a happy secure life and a good upbringing for the children so that they could test their wings and follow their heart. Aren’t enough innocent lives lost already? Why go the same path again?