STOP--- RIGHT NOW !!

The BBC documentary on Nirbhaya is heartrending, hard-hitting and blood curdling in its depiction and presentation of facts like never before. We, who pride ourselves to be amongst the educated and enlightened lot were jolted out of our complacency and reverie with a thump.That human values have reached their nadir is apparent when the most horrific of all horrifying crimes is defended with a straight face showing no signs of distress, remorse or an iota of guilt. This defiant attitude of the convicts is greatly disturbing, revealing a deeper malaise in the lower class of the society whose aspirations are not being matched by the opportunities available. Lack of education and abysmal social surroundings coupled with weak family ties are producing youth with criminal intents and misplaced justification for their acts. The potential rapists (ones lurking around like predators, waiting to pounce whenever they get a chance) outnumber the actual ones who get caught. 

 The massive hue and cry against BBC is uncalled for. India's honour is not besmirched by a documentary made by a foreigner. If anything it has only facilitated in shifting the discussion from drawing rooms and virtual world brouhaha to having an internal dialogue with self. It sets you pondering and wondering over the gender biases which have seeped deep into Indian psyche over centuries. Before chastising a foreign media for its supposed sensationalism of a sensitive matter, let's not forget that India's best movie on the father of the nation was made by a Britisher and has been worn like a badge of honour by India for over 4 decades. If we fall short of compiling and projecting succinctly the things we pride upon or feel ashamed of...it is our collective failure. This ostrich like tendency of burying our heads in sand and wishing to ignore perturbing issues is another public lacuna which needs to be addressed asap. The moot point is not who told it first or how it was told but what to do so that there are no such stories to be told ever. A utopian society is a wishful thinking but let's examine our collective consciousness and work towards grafting enough deterrants either in legal system or in the social milieu so that rather than their exploitation, women are welcomed at birth, saluted in lifetime and revered after death. 

DEDICATED TO ALL THE DAUGHTERS, SISTERS, WIVES AND MOTHERS ON THIS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY