As usual, there is a huge public outcry about the Delhi rape case. MP Jaya Bachchan speaking out loud about the case, and about the victim, ".. while the media and press will forget this incident in weeks, months, the girl is scarred for life." MP Ram Jethmalani said, "If you want the Capital (of India) to be crime-free, then first take out the biggest criminal out of the Capital: Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar."
This case has opened up a Pandora's box: from the way a woman dresses, to whether or not she should go out with male friends to watch movies at 8PM, to the police system in India that actually promotes crime, to the way men treat women as sex objects to the loose legal fabric in India concerning rape and molestation to Bollywood women gyrating to sleazy songs that actually encourage men to see women as nothing but objects of sex.
This Reuters blog post caught my attention. Why is there a huge outcry about the cultural values of Indian woman? What kind of a country can have the moral right to even question this? The kind of country that makes a heroine out of porn stars (Sunny Leone)? The kind of people who will make super-stars out of people like Katrina Kaif that have zero acting capabilities but huge tits? The kind of people who flock to the theatres to watch movies just because of item songs? Will these people determine how a woman should dress-up and whether or not she must watch movies with a male friend or not? Or will they decide if she should have a boyfriend? Will they decide when to punish her for her "indulgence"?
Not all women are fueled by insecurity to dress less and show more skin to attract more movies, more money and more fame, or even more guys. A woman could dress up to feel beautiful. Is this the way to appreciate a woman's physical beauty? If the entire society has no problem with pre-marital sex, who stands up and says that the girl should not have stepped out to watch movies with a male friend or acquaintance? Why the pretense?
Then there's the curious case of the involvement of police officers in their areas. A police officer, is by default, the image of power to common people like us. In Delhi, this is the "system": Walk in to a police station, place 50 grands on the table and tell the cop that you're going to murder someone. There won't be a FIR against you.
And let's say you the aggrieved party, you'll discover that most cops across Maharashtra (the most law and orderly state in the country) do not know how to draft a FIR. Cops in Mumbai do not know the difference between a FIR and NCR (Non-Cognizable Report). This is based out of my own personal experience from cops and courts and all things dirty.
It seems that Ram Jethmalani indeed has a point. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar are to be blamed. Over the past couple of days, some people in my interaction have come to believe that the Indian society needs to adopt the Deterrent Type of Punishment: In the areas where a rape has occurred, publicly shoot the head inspector. The next person who occupies that office, will be scared. As far as the men (lack of a better word) who rape and think they can get away with it, are concerned, they must be publicly castrated or shot. At India Gate.
I have personally never been able to reason to myself if I support death penalty, or if I would endorse a gory punishment - even to those who deserve it. Perhaps it is the stupid romantic in me. There are some who said that they would want to set themselves on fire right in front of the President of India's residence - just to convey the thought that a life of a basic integrity in this country is so impossible.
Who are the real culprits? We are. We take it lying down.
"Where you live should not decide/ Whether you live/ or Whether you Die...
Three to a Bed/ Sister Ann she says/ Dignity Passes By...."
- U2
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