Yes. I am an Indian. An Indian living in India that is.
It goes without saying what a great nation it is and the many many good things that make it so. Essays , odes and books have been written about it. I might pick up the topic of how our originally progressive and open society came to be bound by shackles of unreasonable social norms ( for god's sake the authors of kamasutra and some very passionate love stories were infact Indians.) But that is for another time.
Here today i want to talk about something that troubles me so deeply as to wipe out the lovey dovey feelings i have for my country for the time being.
I am not talking from my fairytale land here. Its real. oh-so-very-real.
Rape.
It happens.
Not just in India.
Like any other crime its a worldwide occurence. And I am not talking about marital rape here. I guess that is not even considered a crime. It's a given. Girl marries boy. Boy provides financial security (never mind having to explain every penny spent ) social security (oh yes . by virtue of being married a female is considered respectable) . although rarely any emotional fulfillment. Inturn girl becomes the housekeeper and ofcourse provides the sex. (not necessarily willingly but dont you see that was the arrangement they signed up for)
Pardon my cynicism. But that is the reality for 80 ...make that 95 percent of the populace. Most of them are so conditioned (read: numbed) by the system that they dont even realise what their life has become.Or may be they know that in acceptable societal ways there is no other option. Even suicide is justiciable (ofcourse if not successful).
But here I was trying to talk about random crimes against women.
My point is how -in what universe- can you justify the ostracisation of the girl (the victim that is) and her family to the point that if unmarried the girl sort of loses the prospect of ever getting married (in a place where marriage is considered the sole purpose of a girls life) while the perpetrator of the crime faces no such dilemma . If acquitted or on completion of sentence if indicted he can go on with his life. he is the man after all ( some man!)
I read an editorial sometime back in a leading newspaper where in a case of mass gang rape in a village , the village eople decided to report only the rapes of married females and not the unmarried ones. You get my point right ?
Just another thought. Can someone please explain the - I beat my wife because I had to- or- I beat my wife because i love her so much and I am entitled to treat her whatever way my love directs me to.
How can a person consider himself a MAN after this?
I have been born into an educated family . So i havent had to deal with such crap but it is very real and its all around us.
So I was curious . Does anyone really claim to have a rational explanation for all this?
It goes without saying what a great nation it is and the many many good things that make it so. Essays , odes and books have been written about it. I might pick up the topic of how our originally progressive and open society came to be bound by shackles of unreasonable social norms ( for god's sake the authors of kamasutra and some very passionate love stories were infact Indians.) But that is for another time.
Here today i want to talk about something that troubles me so deeply as to wipe out the lovey dovey feelings i have for my country for the time being.
I am not talking from my fairytale land here. Its real. oh-so-very-real.
Rape.
It happens.
Not just in India.
Like any other crime its a worldwide occurence. And I am not talking about marital rape here. I guess that is not even considered a crime. It's a given. Girl marries boy. Boy provides financial security (never mind having to explain every penny spent ) social security (oh yes . by virtue of being married a female is considered respectable) . although rarely any emotional fulfillment. Inturn girl becomes the housekeeper and ofcourse provides the sex. (not necessarily willingly but dont you see that was the arrangement they signed up for)
Pardon my cynicism. But that is the reality for 80 ...make that 95 percent of the populace. Most of them are so conditioned (read: numbed) by the system that they dont even realise what their life has become.Or may be they know that in acceptable societal ways there is no other option. Even suicide is justiciable (ofcourse if not successful).
But here I was trying to talk about random crimes against women.
My point is how -in what universe- can you justify the ostracisation of the girl (the victim that is) and her family to the point that if unmarried the girl sort of loses the prospect of ever getting married (in a place where marriage is considered the sole purpose of a girls life) while the perpetrator of the crime faces no such dilemma . If acquitted or on completion of sentence if indicted he can go on with his life. he is the man after all ( some man!)
I read an editorial sometime back in a leading newspaper where in a case of mass gang rape in a village , the village eople decided to report only the rapes of married females and not the unmarried ones. You get my point right ?
Just another thought. Can someone please explain the - I beat my wife because I had to- or- I beat my wife because i love her so much and I am entitled to treat her whatever way my love directs me to.
How can a person consider himself a MAN after this?
I have been born into an educated family . So i havent had to deal with such crap but it is very real and its all around us.
So I was curious . Does anyone really claim to have a rational explanation for all this?
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