Dissecting The Rape Syndrome
I read this somewhere today – “Accidents don’t just happen,
they are caused”. It isn’t rocket science to realize that the line is of much importance when one sits
down to analyze the responsibility or rather fault after each accident. It need
not be told; accidents are not strictly the ones that you see on roads but all
kind of unfortunate eventualities, which also includes horrendous instances like
rape. Feminist here are requested to read through till end before outraging,
way they do the moment they hear the word ‘Woman’ and start asking for my
blood. Least I say; I care damn even if one does since a thing called rape
requires a holistic and mature thought process, free of any prejudice, if at all
we are serious about curtailing such horrific occurrences, if not stopping it
altogether.
For starters, let’s stop our episodic outrage every time something
awful happens, without understanding a bit about the issue. As a mature nation
we can’t just outrage for the heck of it since many others are doing. And let’s
not blame the police for every damn thing that happens in our cities. For God’s
sake they are as human as we outraging lot are and they are also bound by the
same standard human fortitude as rest of us. Expecting them to be superhumans and to be present at each of
the crime scene without fail is little too much to ask; not from our police
alone but from each one of them of any country. Be it a robbery in our
neighborhood or an odd murder or even for that matter rape, it is one among us
who is the perpetrator. It is not a terror plot that we expect our intelligence
along with our police force should have all the prior information so that they must be there
at the nick of time when the crime happens. Expecting effective policing in a
particular stretch or at a particular period of time is fine but to ridicule
the force for each of the incident is not only immature but also uncalled for.
World across, a successful safety and security mechanism
involves a lot of public support and cooperation. Every time we fly out we show
our identity card whenever asked; we get our bags and ourselves frisked again
and again without asking any question; we refrain from carrying objectionable
material or readily agree to drop them in the trash box if we accidentally found
to carry one. What you call this? This is involvement and cooperation for you.
So the safety on our airports is brought about by a mutual cooperation from the
public and our security agencies. Ditto is the case in our platforms of late.
Plain clothed police personnel randomly check our bags, ask us for our ID or
even scan our cell phones as well. We do obey without much fuss. Don’t we? That
is cooperation for you. So the question arises, why we don’t do the same when
it comes to our roads or our cities? Why we are so stubborn here and ask our
security agencies to do all the hard work while we want to remain as oblivious
as a toddler would? Even for our own safety? Just because we are paying our
taxes we expect authorities to protect us even when we plan to drive our car
and ram it against a moving goods train? That is not only childish but immature
as well.
Let’s get down to the latest hot potato for which half of
India seems to be outraging. Media as usual are at it with their panelists,
constituting mostly the self-proclaimed feminists to debate and do a fault
finding. But could you guess who is the real culprit or at least concluded to
be after all such debates? No, not the rapist or the rape victim or that poor
fellow who was accompanying the woman only to get beaten black and blue in the hands of
the goons; it surprisingly is Delhi police. Laughable, No? If given a chance,
the people who are outraging might also demand for death penalty for all Delhi
police chaps alongside the rapists. How absurd is this? What the panelist or the
Tweeter intellectuals expect Delhi police to do? Have one Havildar employed
behind each girl to escort her wherever she goes, expect the loo? Getting
carried away because of an event is one thing but losing your sense of
articulation and demand absurdity in exchange is quite another thing.
Every police force issue security advisory from time to time
depending on the prevailing situation. Do we take offence for it or try to
abide as much as possible? An organization can serve you better only if you
solicit good cooperation, provided the organization is not BCCI. Expecting the
organization to do every bit of it while we become as careless as one can get
won’t result in anything. Burglary is an offence and our police forces are
there to ensure safety to our properties. It’s their duty, if you want to hear
this line. Does this stops us from locking our doors before we move out? Why don’t
we leave that to our police force to take care since it is their God damn duty?
This is what we call second line of defense, a cooperation that I am advocating
since ages. Where is the second line of defense when we venture out on the
roads, that too at unholy hours? How idiotic it could be when we are so
concerned for the safety of our goods but so careless for our own safety.
Whenever police talks about having a second line of
protection for physical security, we outrage and call ourselves falling into
some Talibani framework. Remember the outrage when a police commissioner
requested the women not to venture too much on the streets post 10 PM? What that
guy was asking for? Just a small bit of cooperation. No? But our feminists were
up in arms before that poor chap could finish the word Women. We may put his
words in any form we like but was that chap entirely wrong? Since when asking someone
to be little careful about one’s personal safety has become such a vicious
thing to do that he should be lampooned and subjected to all sorts of name
calling? And how one being careful about personal safety has become such an
unfashionable thing that our present day women can’t just stand the idea is
beyond me. Whom are we trying to show our overreach standpoint by jeopardizing
our own safety and security? Since when it has become an achievement to roam
around the streets half drunk and half naked? Don’t get me wrong here since I
am all for women liberalization and upsurge but I never consider that to be
able to roam around half naked and fully drunk at mid of the night and behaving
like a complete maniac to say the least. That is not development but clear
signs of an uncivilized persona.
Now that this horrific rape incident happened, people are
queuing up with all their advisories. From random checking of vehicles to
pulling over suspicious looking vehicles; we have them all in the kitty. God
forbidden if our authorities start implementing them, these would be the same
guys who would shout off their asses and term it as police atrocity. I am sure
complains of unnecessary wastage of time, police barbarism and many such
adjectives would start pouring in quicker than the suggestions. These would be
the same clowns who would call it again a path to Tilibanization of the state
since the police under suspicion asked for the specific relationship of a
guy-girl travelling alone at some unconsecrated hour. How many jumped of their
nightgowns when Bangalore police started veiling around city parks because of rampant
molestation complains? In fact, jokers we are who have got no work except to outrage and
blame our security forces even for our unshaved armpits.
Let me not even get started on the debate surrounding
someone’s comment suggesting girls to avoid wearing almost nothing clothes. I
support his views since just because it is responsibility of the state to
provide us healthcare it doesn’t mean we eat absolute shit from the gutter and complain when we die. And worse, we shout if
someone points us eating shit as one of the cause of our death. Horrendous
people with pea size brain can only see avenues to shout for bloody everything.
I
know, there would be morons who in want of any argument would come up with
their standard line – ‘How it would feel if the victim is a near and dear one
of yours’. To set that emotional nonsense straight, let me clear this; it
certainly would feel bad. In fact very, very bad but that is the not the point.
Isn’t it? The point is how we can cooperate with the authorities to help us
make ourselves little safer. And for that to understand you need brains, not
some bullshit feminism or a Tweeter handle. Shouting after everything is over
is like slapping a life ban on Mohammad Azharuddin after his playing career is
over. By the way, as a first step towards fixing this rape menace, could someone
please ban the rape scenes in our Hindi movies at once? Don’t we already have enough
Bachaoo… Bachaoo nonsense?P.S - Quick Question - Would you prefer a Dhoble bashing you up for staying late night in a pub or getting raped brutally in a moving bus? Choice couldn't be simpler than this I guess.
So what exactly is your point, besides a brilliant english and wit and knowledge of almost all current issues ! First understand that nobody wish to get r*ped, and not at 9:15 in a midst of South Delhi and not in Bus passing through police check points ! Issue here is why these r*piest are so confident that nothing will happen to them, they can do anything and get away with it. Can't you see there is something more serious lying here, not just one off incident ? Rapes are happening on toddlers, inside houses on daughters and sisters in this holy country - is that not a warning sign to you for a something grievously dangerous going in the society which claims to be in 21st century and nurture liberal democratic values. Don;t waste your wisdom on such a sh*ty articles and display of your wit, it stinks.
ReplyDeleteWhat this mumbo Jumbo article is about? At one point author wants to put blame on personal choices of people,and then next on Hindi movies and society,in order to absolve Police.
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem of failed law and order resulting in no fear of law.All over the world, where law and order exists number of such or any crimes is far less than India. For example, in Germany and Suadi Arabia two opposite social views about women and gender issues exist, but such rapes are far less than in India because people fear the law in both countries.
But in India why would anybody fear the law when the law makers make mockery of law themselves. If the politicians made law to work in India, 80% of themselves including the enforcement officials would be in jail themselves.
You may want to stop writing in English and switch to your native tongue instead. You will probably be able to articulate better.
ReplyDeleteplease learn to write well.... and take a hint from the comment below and right in hindi itself..
ReplyDeletecouldnt agree with you more!
ReplyDeleteI believe that in a city like Delhi which is full of people coming off from small town and villages, either unemployed or not having steady jobs, it is very easy to commit any type of crime and easily vanish into the obscurity provided by a crowd of 16 million. The rapists in this particular case belong to this class. These are not the rich brats whose fathers can purchase law or use their political connections. These rapists were tempted to commit such a heinous crime because they knew the society which has failed to give them any meaningful existence in life will at least hide them in one of its ghettos.
ReplyDeleteSo who is to be blamed in this case, it is only us as a society, continuing problem of poverty even after 60 years of independence, widening gap between rich and poor and our inefficient political system.
I also agree with the author that while there are such problems in our society, our women should try to use the second preventive mechanism by trying to cover-up and not venturing out late at night.
Although they call it the personal freedom to dress-up the way they want and be able to drink and roam around at any hour of the day or night and a fast developing nation like India should be able to provide such personal freedom to all its citizen but is it really modernity to roam around half-naked when we have so many other problems in our society. Does everybody in our society has the personal freedom to eat 2 times a day. Modernity in real sense is the equality and personal freedom to all, not just the personal freedom of a few to run ahead of the society as a whole creating even wider gap between haves and have-nots.
I agree with what you said. Absolutely correct. Large part of the media and the intellects are just reacting too much. However, the positive point is that atleast now the larger society has noticed the issue regardless of the reasons for its occurrence. Surely, police alone cannot solve the issue as police is part of the society which itself is rotten. The overall social values where greed, materialism and opportunism prevails is the structural framework of all these menaces. Society, in general, focuses on short term goals and solutions that brings fame, power and wealth. Those people who are humane, doesn't care much about wealth are considered mis-fit to the society. As you said in this article, double standards are common norm for majority of people in the society. Unless these issues are addressed there will be only be cosmetic modifications. Once these issues are faced with, each one of us have to do this painful task, simultaneously we can reform the police and law implementation. Actually, that will then be automatically taken care of. The media is the first one to look into itself to do their duty.
ReplyDeleteI don't entirely agree with your view. Partly correct maybe, but not in entirety. Your comparisions don't even begin to make sense. Protecting your house and protection of your integrity are 2 different things. Next you will suggest wearing chastity belts for women so that they can protect their integrity. Get a life, dude.
ReplyDeleteLaw and order is the problem. I, as a brother, am afraid if my sister goes to the police station to report even a theft because I don't know how the police will treat my sister if she is alone over there. And mind you, this is not a 10 in the night, but 2 in the afternoon I am talking about. You can write a lot of crap in here but come to the ground to understand what the people are really shouting about. A few may have lost sense but not the thousands of concerned citizens protesting across the streets in Delhi. Unless the cops are sensitive to the issue and there is a certainty and quickness of punishment to rapists and would-be rapists (like molesters, eve teasers, etc), this country will never respect its women. You may call it Talibanization, but this is the only language these animals understand.
A suggestion. Count the immigrants coming to Delhi and another city called Mumbai. Munbai will lead hands down. Now compare the crime against women in these two cities. It will look like the current Gujarat elections in favor of Delhi. So blaming illitrate immigrants to cover the rotten mentality of the locals is what adding fuel to these criminals. Give it a thought...
ReplyDeleteYou have not given much thought before writing this comment. Even a former supreme court judge said that Kasab is from a poor family and the society has made him a criminal. Your thoughts are very similar. Also, as usual, you take refuge in the old despicable practice of blaming the women for the crime. Additionally, you blame the rich for being affluent, such logic is laughable. Also wonder why personal freedom should not extend to women roaming about freely at 2.00 AM without fear? I agree wholeheartedly with AA's comments above
ReplyDeleteIs it not strange that the police whom you are not willing to trust, you are asking their force to be increased? You are asking the cops to be sensitive but cannot trust them. There seems to be some confusion here.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely rubbish..Why are you suggesting girls who have to go out of home at night for any reason(work, compulsion or any other reason) or girls who wear short clothes are the ones who get raped. what about 5 yrs old kids or 60 yr old senior citizen who get raped. Instead of abusing feminists you should consider getting help for you chauvinistic mindset. Not once you have said anything against these horrific crimes , instead you are putting blame on victim. you are suggesting " don't get raped", i ask u and those whom u r supporting "DON'T RAPE" .......this is first time i am visiting ur blog and this is the last time i am visiting this rubbish blog.
ReplyDeleteIncrease police force and make the increase meaningful by sensitizing them - a legitimate demand or no?
ReplyDeleteAgree with Sameer.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to your Quick question - Neither. There shouldn't be a situation in a civilised society where only such options are available (Dhoble vs Rapists). Choice is simpler. A better safer society can be achieved without succumbing to tyranny of autocrats like Dhoble.
Yes our police are understaffed, undertrained, underpaid and overworked and I wouldn't blame them in this case. But the solution to that is to have better trained, better equipped policing. Not putting restrictions on weaker sections of the population (woman, old, children). That is a slippery slope. Today you're asking 10pm curfew, later it would be 8pm. If the police are asking women to work around the rapist's schedule, then we've already lost to these vermins (rapists). Yes common sense should prevail and sometimes its prudent to avoid it, but that should be an exception rather than a norm - which is what it has become in places like Delhi.
WRT your comment regarding rape scenes in hindi movies - seriously are you high? Is that even a comparison ?
First of all i don't think the author has put his point across nor has he tried to understand what the problem is. of course we do agree that policemen cannot be everywhere and we have to defend ourselves also but can't the government bring into a legislation which will deter rapists? if and it is just a rhetorical question, if the victim had been the daughter / sister of a politician you would have expected to read in the newspaper the very next day about an encounter where 5 people were killed while trying to escape. and when we pay our taxes is it not appropriate that we ask the government to provide us with security. we do not have proper roads, water, food, transportation, security and the government expects us to pay our taxes and keep mum. don't you think this is asking for a lot. the government is answerable to the common man. when they have been elected by the people why do they require such security when the people who have put them there are bereft of any? of course you may not agree with me but then again lot of people will definitely agree with me.
ReplyDeleteThe girl who got raped was not a nude/semi-nude strip club skank roaming around with 20 men at 2 AM in the night while being completely drunk. She was a girl like one of us. I will give you a brief introduction here. 1) I am an immigrant in Delhi (or that is what you would like to call me). 2) I am a Bihari (and for some weird reason my fellow 'Biharis' choose to come to Delhi to commit acts of rape while crime rate of Bihar in itself lies lower than Delhi). 3) I am a college student, one of the most reputed colleges in India. I don't drink. I don't have a boyfriend. When I am out on road I am more than just fully clothed to avoid either dying in chilly Delhi winter or getting scorched in the Delhi sun. And I don't even look good. I am someone whom you might as well call hideous.
ReplyDeleteWould you like to make any guesses on the number of times I have been molested? And how old I was when such incidents happened?
Would you like to guess why so many girls came out in protest in Delhi? Here is a fact that will make you more cynical than you already are: pick any girl above 16 yrs of age in India, yes pick any, and she has faced a scarring incident of molestation or rape. The only differences lie in the intensity and in the number of times.
Dear Lady,
ReplyDeleteIf you had the impression that I'm blaming the girl for the incident then you might just be wrong with your perception. I have four sisters and know what an average girl goes through in India hence no need for me to ask others.
My only point is, let's have a second line of defense. Is that big an ask to achieve. We can blame the Govt always but it is we are the ultimate sufferers.
Realize lady, there is a difference between bravery and suicide. Don't there? Sent from my BlackBerry®
Very good article. Every word of yours is towards prevention of rape/ sexual harrasment of weaker ones. I feel your good intention.We need healthy discussion to arrive at solutions and not name calling and abuses . Whether your suggested solutions are valid or not is to be decided by discussion and logic and not by abusing the messenger. There is no one cause of violence / rape /sexual harrasment and there cannot be one and only one solution.
ReplyDeleteLet me repeat it "you want the people to take precautions and pro-active actions to protect themselves from these kind of acts" and not rely solely and exclusively on government agencies . I agree.
Second part " you want people in general to extend co operation and help to authorities who are assigned the job of providing securities and follow their advice because of their expertise". I agree.
Some people are not going to listen to advice of professional and still want him to be held reponsible for lapses. I agree and follow surgeons advice because it is surgeon's job and responsibility for a successful operation. But it is the super inflated ego which prevents one to accept advice of police ,"whom they consider as low class ". They are cooperative in Airport because others who are following are of their own class. But on Road, these egoist find it below dignity to follow rules , because other followers of rules are low class / common man. ending it now
"Realize lady, there is a difference between bravery and suicide. "
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that as per your logic , it would be considered suicide to do things such as go to the market,take a rickshaw,step out or even be born if you are a woman in this country?
If your suggestion for a second line of defense was something like:
ReplyDelete1. Mandatory self defense training for all women
2. Relaxed gun control norms for women
3. Asking all women to buy weapons and carry them on their person at all times.
4. Asking women to keep all MEN indoors ,because you never know what they are capable of.
I would've absolutely applauded this article.
Instead you ramble on about the same thing that every other bigoted,narrow minded misogynist traditionalist thinks is the solution to the problem - "women should stay indoors,dress well blah blah blah".
Why is that men have the freedom to wear what they want, drink in public, swear and assault people?
It really ,really irks me that people even write rubbish articles like this. You dont have to be a feminist to empathise with what women go through in India,you just have to be human.
The police force is supposed to maintain law and order ,thats what we pay taxes for.
Agree with you on all points except :
ReplyDelete1. brilliant english : his english is pathetic. The dude cant even use a grammar check
2.Knowledge of current issues : This guy is what you call a pseudo-intellectual,thats it.
What a joke.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what the "expert" policemen of our country have to say about rapes?
1. Anyone who is reporting a rape case is doing it for money because "a good girl will never admit to being raped"
2. Every single girl at a bar or a pub is a prostitute.
They dont even know the difference between consensual sex and rape.
You want to listen to their advice,go ahead. Just dont pull down other people who actually want to make a change.
Well put.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sounding homophobic (which Im not) Im going to detail a scenario which explains this point to you.
I understand that you live in Bangalore and that you work in IT
Imagine you are on the way to work.You;re wearing your solly shirt and a nice comfy pair of dockers. Its a hot day,you've unbuttoned your collar and you arent carrying a jacket. You're standing in the bus,when the 6ft tall,,120 kg guy starts feeling you up because he thinks you are super hot.
You create a scene. Everyone around you glares at you and asks you why you are wearing pants,why cant you dress in a dhothi,why are you being westernised.
With great difficulty you manage to get the police there. The police constable looks at you up and down ,staring at your open shirt collar,your butt, your crotch ..all the way down. He abuses you and tells you that men like you are a disgrace to society and that you shouldnt walk around in "western" clothes and tempt other men.
This is what happens to women everywhere in India.