Devil Amongst Us

We have done it again! We seem to be really good at this, shameful but true we seem to excel here, RG Kar Medical College, Badlapur, Unnao, Kathua, Sandeshkhali...the list is endless. Have you ever wondered as to why do these horrifying incidents keep appearing in the news time and again? This can not be just a law and order issue, the rot lies deep within. We have been blaming the party in governance, the police investigations, the tardy judicial process and the general decline in the public morals. Yes all these are valid reasons but the most fundamental aspect which tends to be swept under the carpet is just one basic premise, the lack of samsakaras, bad grooming of our kids. In a healthy decent household, no, not rich or middle class, just any, where the kids are brought up on the right value system, where women although busy in their daily household chores are given their due regard and respect. The kids observe and imbibe that ladies are not required to be placed on a pedestal but just treated as equals, that ladies are persons with their own feelings and emotions which also needs to be respected. Even in hardcore patriarchal societies the women of the family had their say in the family matters and their honour was never compromised. 

The bottom line is we have overlooked this basic aspect of bringing up our kids, we have let them grow up to be rowdies with no respect for the fairer sex whatsoever. When we were in school 'Moral Science' was taught as a subject, where character building of children in that impressionable age was worked on. Somewhere along the way, this subject was dropped, so where and how do we work on the character of the young ones who will soon be a grown up youth expected to steer the family and the country on the path of growth and prosperity. I am afraid the answer is nowhere to be found, no wonder, 'character' as an attribute has done the disappearing trick in our country.

Money makes the mare go, all ills can be covered up, just buy whoever comes in the way, the complete legal process is in shambles. A criminal commits an offence, which criminals would always do, but then the cover up operation commences, where the Medical College authorities who are under the patronage of the local politicians and the biggest travesty is that the law enforcing agencies themselves become active accomplices. Isn't it ironic that we the citizens have to face the brunt? But then we too are to blame as we ourselves have handed over the reins to these goons by not being vigilant, have turned a blind eye to all their misdemeanours till we ourselves were the effected party. Merely parroting “Yatra naryastu poojyate ramante tatra devta” or “Beti bachao beti padhao”doesn’t help. In fact since we obviously don’t revere our women, the angels or devtas have disappeared and only devils seem to be roaming around,

The most ironical part this time around is that the state govt taking up cudgels to protect the culprits, as against the previous occasions such as Nirbhaya case where the govt of the day was in the docks and was on the defensive. The only reason is that the perpetrators this time around were under political patronage and needed to be protected for vested interest. It is obvious that they could not be sacrificed as their masters were linked and spilling of beans by the suspects could have knocked some high and mighty off their pedestals, may be even shaking the very edifice.

Everyone who is in anyway connected to the case must hang his or her head in shame rather than trying to justify this brutality. Has this sexual perversion epidemic  emerged all of a sudden or has this been latent somewhere, hiding away, just waiting in the wings to emerge from the shadows and shock the populace ? I think internet and the smart phones have definitely aggravated the  already perilous situation. 

So what exactly is the solution to this situation? Well, this issue needs to be addressed at multiple levels, firstly we must not let this whataboutery to continue, rape and murder anywhere irrespective of the govt and all political parties need to stand together as they do when it comes to raising their perks and allowances. Secondly, the long overdue police and judicial reforms need to be undertaken pronto. Unfortunately the policing in our country is not governed by the same set of ethos as those of the armed forces, where a failure of command leads to removal and court martial. The police officers serve the masters and not the people and are thus just transferred or suspended only to be reinstated later. If the DGP in this case was sacked as obviously post the crime, the shoddy investigations, the storming and vandalism of the hospital while police was a mute observer points to dereliction of duty. If the police chiefs were forced to face the music I am sure they would unequivocally stop looking at the political masters for directions and act as per the constitutional provisions. 

The silence of the so called liberals is also deafening, why is it that  every crime in a BJP governed state is commented upon by them, but in this case, cat seems to have got their tongues. We are concerned as citizens of this country, we deserve better governance and these criminals and their protectors must be punished in such an exemplary fashion that others don’t dare to cast an evil eye on women.