Streaks of ViolenceToday City hospital scene presented a true reflection of the state of violence within each one of us, a grim reminder of the state of moral bankruptcy where we have landed ourselves in. While I waited for the specialist for his advice with my sister, a doctor herself, there was commotion from somewhere within the treatment rooms. A shrill rather loud feminine voice could be overheard over the din, the tone and tenor was complaining. One felt, that maybe it was the usual case of the hospital staff insisting on clearance of dues before discharge of patients, or a shortfall of ready cash was interrupting the treatment. I confess, this was a prejudice as we often hear of such incidents and naturally I presumed that to be the case. But soon, two men came over to the lobby and in front of the receptionist got into an argument over some issue, which also bordered on them getting a little physical. We felt the issue pertained to payments and perhaps both of them were insisting on clearing the dues. Since all these events were on the periphery, one was barely taking notice and these inferences were not arrived at after any serious deliberations. But the events suddenly took a serious turn for the worse, the men with their ladies in tow suddenly emerged from within and one of them in a characteristic nonchalant style threw the choicest expletive at the other; establishing a rather vulgar intimacy of relationship with the other’s mother. This proved to be the trigger where the other suddenly uttered the most dreaded words for a Moslem wife, “Talak”, suddenly before the bystanders could react, the two men were at each other’s throats, one of them still had his arm ready for an intravenous injection, and it took quite a few of the security staff to separate the two. The man was naturally dripping blood all over. It later emerged that the two were brothers-in-law.
The incident by itself may be highly insignificant and for a Delhite, it may just be routine which does not even affect him. But it set me thinking, this manifestation of violence at the slightest provocation is a reflection of a deeper malaise which has afflicted the collective psyche of a large cross section of people in Delhi, devoid of human values, social norms and etiquettes, they are instrumental in causing grievous danger to the society at large. The macabre crimes which are reported in graphic details by the print and electronic media only add fuel to fire. I wonder, what is the aim of covering these crimes in such detail, are we conducting a tutorial for commitment of crime, that is what appears to be the case here. In the name of freedom of media and expression, I am sure we cannot ignore my rights of trying to preserve the innocence of a generation which has been handed over on a platter to the folly of blind imitation of Western lifestyle and values. Their ideals and values may be ok for them but can they be applied virtually without any concern for our own values. Yes, some of you may be already up in arms branding me as a saffron parivar wallah, but far from it I am no apologist for them. But I also have my own rights and views which need to be considered and may be mulled over before trashing them.
So let us look at the Mangalore incidents afresh, The actions of Shriram Sene were highly objectionable and condemnable, at the outset . They had no business doing what they did, abominable and each one of the goons deserves to be brought to book for their crime against women in particular. Having said that, do we need to introspect and carry out a reality check, whether it was their actions which were deplorable or the cause itself. Consumption of alcohol in India, by itself has never been a taboo; the vigilantes would immediately cite the “somras” which was the elixir for the “Devtas” as mentioned in the Vedas. Yes that is true and it is also a fact that values, like everything else in this universe are not static but are dynamic, ever evolving! So we cannot seek refuge behind our age old value system either. So what is the point of this whole exercise then, the raison d’être for my taking up cudgels is simply on behalf that silent majority, which does not approve of the pub culture in general and their own daughters visiting them. Can we not have any consideration for their sensibilities, theirs is a generation which has gone through the grind and today when it is time for their share of a quiet fade away, they are being subjected to these forms of agony. Having a party within the confines of four walls of your home and your girlfriend who enjoys an evening while savouring an alcoholic beverage, you are most welcome to enjoy it your way. Nobody has a right to interfere with their brand of moral policing. We however cannot extend this logic further and take it towards mindless proliferation of these pubs or watering holes all over. Gradually as the society transforms, if it does towards that end, then by all means, we could have more of these in years to come. But till then, we should hold our horses, but not in the Shriram Sene or Shiv Sena style.
While we are discussing this issue, I wonder if I can take the liberty of penning my thoughts on the rather over the top coverage which events related to gay movement get in our media. The premise is, that the aim of this coverage is to bring them out of the closet in the open; while sexual preferences may be a matter of personal choice, is it mandatory to highlight it in such a manner so that the uninitiated out of curiosity venture where in normal course they probably would not. All these so called surveys which are conducted by our progressive intelligentsia are by no means a true reflection of the society, on the contrary these are isolated cases restricted to a certain cross section only and not the middle class or the masses. So once again, there might be some merit in exercising restraint in our mindless pursuit of increasing circulation or TRP ratings through such objectionable means. I think we owe it to this gen X which is brilliant, industrious, having forsaken the yoke of colonial hangovers with an attitude of a world beater, to give them an environment of growth of mind over matter. The mindless pursuit of materialism prevalent in the West has not been a panacea for the ills of their society, so seeking solution there for ours is foolish to say the least.
The incident by itself may be highly insignificant and for a Delhite, it may just be routine which does not even affect him. But it set me thinking, this manifestation of violence at the slightest provocation is a reflection of a deeper malaise which has afflicted the collective psyche of a large cross section of people in Delhi, devoid of human values, social norms and etiquettes, they are instrumental in causing grievous danger to the society at large. The macabre crimes which are reported in graphic details by the print and electronic media only add fuel to fire. I wonder, what is the aim of covering these crimes in such detail, are we conducting a tutorial for commitment of crime, that is what appears to be the case here. In the name of freedom of media and expression, I am sure we cannot ignore my rights of trying to preserve the innocence of a generation which has been handed over on a platter to the folly of blind imitation of Western lifestyle and values. Their ideals and values may be ok for them but can they be applied virtually without any concern for our own values. Yes, some of you may be already up in arms branding me as a saffron parivar wallah, but far from it I am no apologist for them. But I also have my own rights and views which need to be considered and may be mulled over before trashing them.
So let us look at the Mangalore incidents afresh, The actions of Shriram Sene were highly objectionable and condemnable, at the outset . They had no business doing what they did, abominable and each one of the goons deserves to be brought to book for their crime against women in particular. Having said that, do we need to introspect and carry out a reality check, whether it was their actions which were deplorable or the cause itself. Consumption of alcohol in India, by itself has never been a taboo; the vigilantes would immediately cite the “somras” which was the elixir for the “Devtas” as mentioned in the Vedas. Yes that is true and it is also a fact that values, like everything else in this universe are not static but are dynamic, ever evolving! So we cannot seek refuge behind our age old value system either. So what is the point of this whole exercise then, the raison d’être for my taking up cudgels is simply on behalf that silent majority, which does not approve of the pub culture in general and their own daughters visiting them. Can we not have any consideration for their sensibilities, theirs is a generation which has gone through the grind and today when it is time for their share of a quiet fade away, they are being subjected to these forms of agony. Having a party within the confines of four walls of your home and your girlfriend who enjoys an evening while savouring an alcoholic beverage, you are most welcome to enjoy it your way. Nobody has a right to interfere with their brand of moral policing. We however cannot extend this logic further and take it towards mindless proliferation of these pubs or watering holes all over. Gradually as the society transforms, if it does towards that end, then by all means, we could have more of these in years to come. But till then, we should hold our horses, but not in the Shriram Sene or Shiv Sena style.
While we are discussing this issue, I wonder if I can take the liberty of penning my thoughts on the rather over the top coverage which events related to gay movement get in our media. The premise is, that the aim of this coverage is to bring them out of the closet in the open; while sexual preferences may be a matter of personal choice, is it mandatory to highlight it in such a manner so that the uninitiated out of curiosity venture where in normal course they probably would not. All these so called surveys which are conducted by our progressive intelligentsia are by no means a true reflection of the society, on the contrary these are isolated cases restricted to a certain cross section only and not the middle class or the masses. So once again, there might be some merit in exercising restraint in our mindless pursuit of increasing circulation or TRP ratings through such objectionable means. I think we owe it to this gen X which is brilliant, industrious, having forsaken the yoke of colonial hangovers with an attitude of a world beater, to give them an environment of growth of mind over matter. The mindless pursuit of materialism prevalent in the West has not been a panacea for the ills of their society, so seeking solution there for ours is foolish to say the least.
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