Nirbhaya or Without Fear

Over the years the rape and abuse cases in India (irrespective of geography ) have increased and what would be the reason

1. Commodification and overt sexualisation- Women have become a product to be sold and utilised. The alarming trend is today the commodification has lowered its age limit. Post Covid and influx of social media is now showing very young woman sexualising themselves. Unfortunately, revenue generated is normalising and even glorifying sexual perversion. A few days ago a girl as yound as 12-13 was selling an ointment which would remove dark spots under armpit. I am not taking sides, but we should have a serious thought on where we are heading.

2. Our mythology and religious texts which define our society has set a clear hegemony in terms of caste and gender. The reading of our religious texts haven't evolved but has gone backwards over the year. Glorifying the caste dynamics or even supressing women has impacted our thought processin a very evil way

Confining women to motherhood or and then gloorifying and sanctifying repression should not work in a modern society. So deep insode a man , a woman who moves out of these confines have to be disciplined and abuse becomes normalised

Even now the public 'feelings' or reactions to a rape are largely dependent on the social status of the accused and 'aukat' of the prepetrator

Encroaching Gods

Years ago many of us thought science, education and development would pose a serious threat to religion. We saw empty churches and priests begging for food, but it was not to be. The religion in turn has proved a serious threat to humanism and civilization.

Today we see an erosion of humanism and rationalism from our thought process. Instead various religious dogmas creep into every space of our lives. We have various religious speakers blaring through in our living rooms, palatial places of worship filled to the brim, huge religious festivals which ensures a few people are sent to heaven in stampede. The satire is not to be lost when we realize that the increased religious fervor has not made the world a better place at all.

 

An even disturbing trend is seen when the governance and state machinery is encroached by religion. Not so long ago the chief minister of a state made a huge donation to the tune of crores to one of the richest temples in the country. Now here, we didn't see much protests or intellectual discussions. How illogical it is to think of wasting tax payers' money for some non existent mythical beings? And to consider this happening in a part of the country where the marginalized are presented with noose of a rope rather than a few thousands of rupees to repay their debt.

 

Religion and castes are important agenda for the political parties today. Today we have children growing up in India with a  narrow mindset and view towards different faith and characters. If you don't believe me check the Facebook friends of your kids and make a rough calculation on number of friends who doesn't belong to his 'class'. Or 'belief'.

 

A few weeks ago, my friend insisted on witnessing a a religious procession. The belief is witnessing the procession grant your wishes. I agreed to witness the spectacle. People were lined up on the sides of the road. Police were deployed for the smooth flow. As the procession approached I was stunned to see throngs of small children accompanying ahead. They were very small and not used to walking long distances. I wondered if the parents would have allowed these children for a peaceful march concerning issues on society.

 

More recently I have been to a pilgrimage centre, happening to be a small church in Kerala. There a holy image is displayed once a year when throngs of people risk stampede to witness the spectacle. I saw people rummaging wastes to collect containers to carry back holy oil.

 

Nonetheless , very recently the capital city celebrated its annual festival of Pongala .Even basic amenities were closed as women lined up in the streets under hot sun to offer Pongala. In a city faced with draught, tonnes of litres of water was wasted. Small and tired children were happily dehydrated to earn the pleasure of the Goddess. The state machinery itself spent crores of rupees for the spectacle.

 

I happen to hear a Panditji speaking the glory of the Goddess. Strangely irrespective of religion the basic  idea of benevolent God is same today. Still, the Pongala Goddess is angered over only one thing- CRITICISM.

 

I am cutting this boring, stupid post short. I want the few of you, who read this to analyse how much of your thought process and decisions you make are based on religion.

JUDGED - 1

It was a peaceful Sunday and my siesta was rudely interrupted by a phone call. An old friend, who went way back to school, had lost his father. He was with me right from school to college and the news was a little emotional. I rushed off to his home, which was a agraharam  right in front of the temple. Crowds were gathered already. The space was already small and everyone was nearly standing on the toes  of the other. Priests with bare torsos  and the traditional strings moved around nonchalantly. Soon the mantras started and we moved outside where there was a little fresh air.

I joined my old college mates. We started chatting about the life we ended up living and soon  the conversation veered off to the latest trend topic- the young actress who was molested recently in her own vehicle by her former driver. The incident had happened two days ago. Although the news did not catch much traction initially, it picked up steam soon with the media and stars expressing their ‘huge shock’. And here we were, in the middle of a cremation, talking about the molestation. There were wild guesses and suggestions of the people behind the incident. People made suggestions about the contents of the video and how soon it is going to be released. Probably the actress would have never experienced such a huge hype even over any of her movies. I went back home, lost in thought over how a melodramatic scene shifted to much racy topic.

The discussion was heard all the way to tea-stalls, bookshops and beer parlours. Most of the male population seemed to be eagerly waiting for the ‘video clip’. The next day at the office, the friendly sweeper lady remarked innocently about the film star on whom shadows of doubt had fallen, ‘He is already married twice. Why did he have to do this’.

The common man who didn’t enjoy the privilege of any personal protection or support from the film stars & who had to risk daily travelling late hours among unknown people started making their own inferences.

To have a driver is a luxury in itself. To appoint a person with criminal credentials is a luxury as well as arrogance. The actress  who represent the arrogant girl of new generation crossed her line in roaming around with a criminal. Bhavana who came into movie as the innocent sister for the big star, who get ditched for lack of good looks suddenly transformed herself into the torch bearer of new generation. The cool image although had its share of success, didn’t go down well with our Sanskari clan. Well it’s still okay for guys to drink and smoke, but it’s totally forbidden for women. They have greater responsibilities like child bearing and child rearing.

Now this, at the outset, sounds as an issue which we can sit back and make judgements upon. But looking at it again don’t our women face the same issues in a different intensity everyday. To some extent, yes a woman can collectively counter the offense by a unknown attacker at a public space. But can the same narrative be used in a  workplace, where her promotions, relations and outfits are out to constant scrutiny and judgement.

Sexual shaming is a powerful tool. It is actually easy to counter every allegation except the ones involving sexuality. It is not confined to women alone and many institutions have used the weapon to confront unruly elements. Now you may recall during every student agitation the first allegation to come out would be the sexual anarchy. The public digests it happily and without reasoning.

Sexual depravation is another factor. The effects of liberalization has moved from economy to social life. If you look at the recent works in mainstream movies, which are used as a benchmark for culture, the common theme loudly proclaimed is if you have enough money, you can enjoy women, drinks and drugs sans any moral limitation. And if you can’t afford  a woman, you have every right to stalk her and assault her. The spurt in recent killings of women, who refused the advances of men, is a grim pointer.

I am winding this up here for now…more to follow

An anarchic human

Today morning I decided to put a full stop to my nightly chat with girls. It's just that I get horny after dinner and I search for girls over whatsapp, facebook, gtalk, viber and ask them every wierd question ranging from mini skirts, shorts, boobs, sex and lesbian friends (strictly in that order). At the end of it I earned another name 'Jerk'. It is not that I don't deserve to be called so. But I prefer not to go 'viral' and freak out anymore ladies.

In the afternoon, after making the life saving decision, I went out to get my daily coffee from a joint nearby. Now the joint, ICH, is quite famous in the city and there are good cances to run into old friends who happen to be there for a long conversation or silent rumination

And today I met my old friend who was into law these days. We chatted over a coffee  about the case he was into. A IT proffessional lady conspired with her lover to bump off the kids and in-laws. Her idea of a rosy life-ever-after was to get divorce from the husband with no strings attached.
I have always had  this fascination for men in black coat. They gulp up pages and pages just to drag the process for eternity. I asked my defense-lawyer-friend if he thought she deserved punishment.
Óf course she killed the kids'

I wondered aloud , what made her take such a risk knowing very well that a small mistake can result in te murder plans falling apart. She would be faced with a society too eager to cast the first stone and a judge too happy to tie the noose

A few days ago,  a couple of hundred miles from here, the cool liberal youths got together to kiss in public. Suddenly out of nowhere a religious group who hated people kissing in public brought an Ox and cow to drive home the fact that kissing in public is 'çattle culture'

What is it really that differentiate a 'human' from a 'çattle'. Is it the rules he conforms to? Who has set the rule? What do you really mean by the term 'society'? Why do we fear anarchy?

I had a friend from college who had this cute figure. More than the figure it was this mysterious current flowing underneath which could whip up some passion. After college we drifted apart and she got married , migrated to the paradise- USA. Last time we talked I came to know that she wa bringing up her baby alone, while her husband was far away busy minting money. I being the usual jerk, kept on probing and realized she was forced into marriage with the belief that life was adjustable.
I was disturbed that the girl, whom I believed to be the strongest ever, was forced into a decision which could ruin the rest of her life . If givena chance I would have asked what tied the 'husband' to her? But then she might call me the jerk.

If I was made to plead the case of the murderer I would ask the judge- Why couldn't we allow her to fuck the person she loved? Why did we make her someone she didn't know ? Why did we ask her to bear children when she didn't want to?

#DelhiGangRape Part2

The good part about the social networking via internet is , people have a forum to come together and ‘talk’ as soon as a rape happens. The ideas can be creative or destructive to the point of being silly. Sadly the notion that technology can be the greatest social leveller has been proved wrong. Either you’ll have to move in the ‘popular people’ camp or you will have to be heard for the wrong reasons. The ‘different’ voices fail to be noticed.

When we say the ‘rapists’ have to be taught a lesson through the lumbering giant of Indian  criminal laws, then we may have to tread the much uncomfortable waters of defining the act of ‘rape’. Now it may not be as easy as what we see in the films- the middle aged balding guy pouncing on the young girl braving her kicks and bites. It can be forced or voluntary; painful or pleasurable; hetero or homo. Thus the definition of rape might spill into a much wider spectrum. Hence we might not be able to generalize the punishment too.

Unlike murder or robbery, rape is not needed for the sustenance of life. Rape is also not done for any material benefit nor it’s done for any ideological purpose. I believe we can safely say that it’s a very unnatural & deviant act and has to be treated that way. The belief that strict laws can deter a rapist is very childish conclusion of a snobbish community. Laws only act as deterrence to the minimum level. Laws aren’t for moral science lessons. Moral science has to come from somewhere else.

Same is the case when we raise hue and cry over hanging the juvenile. I ask a question in return if you mind jailing a kid for stealing a piece of rubber. When we say law has to be same for all, first try to picture how would it sound when it’s your family at the other end. Law isn’t solution for everything and it can turn a monster when you build a behemoth out of it.

The law should be to punish someone who hinders the positive growth and sustenance of the society by his own free will. But how free are we in making our choices? We are too influenced by the elements around us and most often regret the decisions we make. When I take a page out of the college life, there were a bunch of kids who fought each other for some political ideology. Many skulls were smashed and much blood was shed. But today I wonder, given a choice if they will make those choices again.

Meanwhile someone raked up another issue on the parallel lines. This time it was about  an old ruling by the social crusader Justice Katju. In the case a village woman was raped by an influential guy in the village. He was punished and jailed. Later the woman withdrew her complaint. The reason being the rapist offered to settle the issue in lieu of some money. She told the court, ‘ I’m in need of money’. The rapist was let out. Now who’s the bad guy in the story- The rapist? the woman? Or is it our justice system?

Some decades ago our society was very protective of its women. But today they have to work like men, sit late at office, use the same facilities and compete on the same lines. As a society we have become more competitive and aggressive. The aggression has spilt into every walk of life and even to our sexuality. Today we dress ‘comfortably’ in lieu of attracting the people around you . Earlier when the kids were supposed to dress angelic, they are no longer so. The ‘comfortable’ outfit starts quite early in life. I doubt if the ‘comfort’ isn’t good enough to raise a primal aggression.

So here we have a whole load of people pushed daily to the fringes unable to reach out to the benchmarks they set in life. They don’t have race, creed, class or caste. They may be educated or otherwise. Rape happens when these people reach out to what is been denied to them- sexually, financially or socially.

#DelhiGangRape Part1

By the time i put this down, the embers of the rape would’ve died down. The subject would no longer provoke the sensibilities of the ‘outspoken’ Indian youth. Twitter is turning out to be a forum for the silent cacophony of voices. The loudest noise wins and starts trending. The rest just fades away or gets branded as Trolls.

So when you shout out about the #DelhiGangRape, you will have to

   1)      Put all the blame on SheilaD and SoniaG. They will have to step down as soon as you finish your tweet.

   2)      Castrate all politicians

   3)      When a 1000 people watc, multiply it by 1000 and claim that India is on the verge of revolution.

   4)      Police must be provoked to perform atrocity. In the end when some innocent guy dies, scamper around.

 

All this you can do in the comfort you room.  This phenomenon is called ‘talking’ about rape. 

I go out on regular walk with my friends, preferably on weekends. We talk a lot- mostly bitching about our respective jobs. One evening we picked up the topic of Delhi rape. Seeing that I was not very much touched by the incident he started describing the intricate details of every gory details complete with facial expressions. I was more horrified by the ‘navarasas’ blooming on his face than the violence. Anyways, seeing that I was suitably horrified, he dropped off the subject.

My college sweetheart decided she was going to do a march on the state capital for ‘justice’. She calls me in hoping I would be, as usual, available for her charms. I ask her, ‘Why you doing this?’. ‘Justice. We want them hanged.’ ‘So hanging them going to solve the rape problem?’ ....No answer... The end result I lost my sweetheart and was labelled as a moron.

We have a pretty cute actress, who has been trying to project herself as ‘Champion of Causes’- Rima Kallingal. Now she acted in a Malayalam movie where she was cheated and raped by her boyfriend. So she avenges by castrating him. She posts a photo which says the perpetrators ought to be castrated. Now I’m in a mood to pick up the fight. I tweet something back. To my surprise the Champion responds to the tweet of an ordinary human being. She picks up the challenge and we do the mutual mud throwing late into night. As a response, I’m reported as a potential danger to society and gets a temporary ban out of Twitter.

Now I stop it here. I’ve decided to put rest ...in a new post... Watch out darlings!