…and another incident shook the nation and brought the people together yet again. Can someone stoop this low to please his sexual desires? Is this what we tend to call a civilized society? The world has soaring rape incidents and everyone seems to have a different solution for it. There are on-going arrests, debates, protests, candlelight vigils and political dramas – but I can’t stop wondering if this is what we really need in the long run to have a peaceful society. We have been struggling for such a long time for survival and a happy life – against castes, kings, foreign rules, governments, fellow beings; have we stopped for an instance and thought what we really want or what we really need? These moments have always been strong; they come like tidal waves and recede eventually. The problem, however, still stands tall – We, the people.
I have been hearing about morality and it’s derivatives since a very long time now. Good, Evil, Righteousness and Moral Values – these are the flavor of any discussion; by people who actually believe in their thoughts and by those who tend to use them to get their way. The other day we got into an interesting discussion with the inspection guy. He told us about his group of friends, all with different beliefs and religions and how they tend to get into deep philosophical discussions during group dinners. Eventually, we got talking and he expressed his negative views on homosexuality. I was instantly taken aback! For a man living in the UK, saying that it was morally wrong and he wouldn’t want his kids to see it – is that what we really need to shield our kids from? Is religion above us? The topic coincidentally drifted towards rape and he asked ‘Will the number of rape cases drop if prostitution was to be legalized here?’ and my instant reaction was ‘No’. This could never change unless we, as people, evolve – unless our thinking gets mature. This is specific to Indian society [and maybe to others as well] – we have to accept that it’s nothing external that causes rape. Women don’t get raped because they were drinking or took drugs. Women do not get raped because they weren’t careful enough. Women get raped because someone raped them. Unless we are able to control our lust, keep our thoughts confined; unless we know what is right and what is wrong, even in the moments with that adrenaline rush – nothing is going to change.
The media portrays a very negative picture – rapes, murders, robberies – where as I have always believed that most of us are good people. In fact, there is good in everyone, where so ever it may be hiding. I wouldn’t even vote against a death sentence or barbarism [for that matter] for people so low on morality. However, it’s all short term. What do we plan to achieve by brutality? Are people already not afraid of death sentences or have we grown resistant to the system? Somewhere, deep down, people have kindled a feeling that they could get away with it. There has been sex education in the schools and colleges; however it doesn’t mean the no cases originate from the educated class. A country with a tough lifestyle and low literacy rates, I don’t vote for sex education as being a solution. For a long time, I had thoughts around death warrants – but eventually corruption will catch up. How tough it would be to frame someone and shoot them at the spot, no questions asked? It’s like a classic Death-note scenario – someone would start walking the righteous path towards eliminating all evil and eventually get tangled himself.
The problem with us is that we tend to forget things. We tend to talk for few days, get used to the whole situation and finally move on - making the situation a part of our daily life. We say roads are unsafe, so we avoid walking on them. We never try to conquer our fears; we tend to live with it. We like to blame – blame others for things that should have been done by us, blame others when situations turn bad – the blame keeps shifting until it fades away. How many of us would have asked for justice if the culprit was one of our own? That is what needs a change.
I never said India is not a good place to be. It’s a wonderful country with loving people. We have stood strong during toughest times. I still wouldn’t say anything positive as we tend to get ahead of ourselves, negativity will always bring about positivity. We are at the brink of evolution. This is a fight between the mind-sets, between old values and the wider thoughts. We need to move past religion and we need to shun social consciousness. As said previously – we need cleaner homes first of all in order to have cleaner societies. If people can’t follow simple traffic rules or timetables for instance, how could we be expected to shoulder greater responsibility? It’s time to get your hands dirty, get into the system and bring a change, not stand and shout. Eventually honest authorities and vigilant system is going to change things – An open educated mentality, a better governing body, a responsible power distribution and maybe better us [unrestricted, free and responsible].
The topics will still stand for now – Literacy? Money? Power? Corruption? Mentality? Modernization? Punishment? Democracy? Dictatorship?
As my friend quotes - boycott your celebrations people and not national salutes. Stop doing the convenient and suit-up!
