It has been almost 10 months since I've moved back to India after completing my Master's degree in journalism from the University of Montana in Missoula, MT, USA. But I am not writing this as a reporter or a journalist. I am writing this as a global citizen living in a democratic country, at least on paper. Blogging after a long, self-imposed hiatus, I was experimenting with my tolerance levels. Every time I read the paper or checked breaking news updates on Twitter and every time one of those stories angered me, I took three deep breaths and said to myself, "No. You can't be mad already. Flare up at the next one."
Ever since I have moved back here, I have experienced many emotions but the strongest, most consistent of them all has to be frustration. As a well-traveled, educated young woman living in India after being away for three good years, I find myself constantly frustrated at what is happening to my country and to the society I live in. Not only has my immune system suffered major blows since being back (thanks, pollution), but my blood pressure has also been a cause for worry. I had anticipated the quarter-life crisis but no 25-year-old girl should have a high BP problem. Even the doctor doesn't seem to fathom the mess in my mind. "What are you so worried about?," he asked. I'll tell you, doc.
I'm worried about this society representing a mockery of the concept of democracy. We elect leaders to represent us in Parliament; leaders who have cases of rape and murder registered against them. We let religion become bigger than humanity. We kill in its name, we ban affordable food in its name, we refute scientific evidence in its name, we are constantly raising the bar for what qualifies as 'stupid'. As a global society, we are becoming shockingly and dangerously intolerant. We ban films that show reality because our government is afraid of what it will do to its image. The people sitting at the top of this political food-chain view everyday events through double-tinted glasses - UPA government-colored shade and NDA government-colored shade.
During the last three days, while I have been sick thanks to another round of infections and the flu, two things have happened that deserve particular attention.
1) The BJP-led (yes, that matters) state of Maharashtra's government got the President to sign and approve of a ban on the possession or sale of beef in the state. This bill had originally been proposed about a decade ago which was the last time that this party was in power in Maharashtra. For the last decade, the UPA government thought it unnecessary to enforce a ban on a meat that most people here can afford. The point that this ill-thought out ban will probably drive up the costs of other meats in the state thus affecting the nutritional intake of those who could only afford beef previously, is secondary. The main point - and the most potent - is that this was a religion-based decision. Practically everyone in the world knows by now that cows are sacred to Hindus. The problem is, India is not an all-Hindu nation and even if it were (playing along here), the decision of what to eat and what not to eat should rest solely upon the person who is going to ingest the food. In 2015, we are a mockery of democracy if the government can tell us not to eat something purely out of religious sentiment. I don't believe the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis has ever been forced to eat meat or to drink alcohol. I believe he has, like most of us, been able to decide what he wants to eat and when.
There is no scientific base to this decision - no cows are endangered, no diseases are spreading rampantly because of poor quality beef being circulated statewide, and no cows have turned into mutant aliens that might affect humans from the inside and turn them into mutant monsters. The ONLY reason for this decision - by the government - is that consuming beef is anti-Hindu. The reason this is so dangerous is because the body upholding religious sentiment over humanity is the government itself. The government is setting an extremely intolerant and regressive precedent. When religious riots break out and the government condemns these extremist acts as 'terrorism', we're all appeased but isn't this a form of religious extremism too?
What kind of a social, national and global precedent does that set? How do these politicians even have the nerve to refer to India as a developed country when clearly, we've got some really basic problems to solve before we can even contest for that title...Violation of civil liberties #1.
There is no scientific base to this decision - no cows are endangered, no diseases are spreading rampantly because of poor quality beef being circulated statewide, and no cows have turned into mutant aliens that might affect humans from the inside and turn them into mutant monsters. The ONLY reason for this decision - by the government - is that consuming beef is anti-Hindu. The reason this is so dangerous is because the body upholding religious sentiment over humanity is the government itself. The government is setting an extremely intolerant and regressive precedent. When religious riots break out and the government condemns these extremist acts as 'terrorism', we're all appeased but isn't this a form of religious extremism too?
What kind of a social, national and global precedent does that set? How do these politicians even have the nerve to refer to India as a developed country when clearly, we've got some really basic problems to solve before we can even contest for that title...Violation of civil liberties #1.
2) On December 16th, 2012, while we were getting ready to celebrate a birthday in the family, news broke that a medical student had been brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in the capital, New Delhi. This incident became the icon of a massive public protest in cities across India. The police ultimately used water cannons and tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters in New Delhi - protesters who had every right to demand a safe home, a safe country and justice against a system that had overwhelmingly failed them. Committees were made, panels were appointed and finally, the law was amended. Long story short, the public outcry forced the government to take notice and act - something governments are extremely reluctant to do. After being flown to Singapore for further treatment, India's collective heart broke when Nirbhaya (fearless, as the rape victim had come to be known), succumbed to her injuries on December 29th, 2012. Jyoti Singh (her real name) came from a modest family. In a society where girls are often looked upon as a expense sheet, her parents sold their ancestral land to pay her college fees so she could fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor.
I won't go into details of what happened the night she was raped because you'll find that out if you search for 'Nirbhaya rape' on Google.
Jyoti's rape and her subsequent passing forced not just India, but the world, to introspect. A BBC Storyville team filmed a documentary aimed at showcasing the rapist's mindset - which, by the way, is a mindset shared by many. Some activists were upset that the film crew gave one of the rapists an international platform because, I assume, they felt he didn't deserve this much attention for such a heinous crime. My question to the Government of India is - How do you expect to understand the psychology of a rapist/criminal if you don't actually know what they were thinking and why they did what they did? That is Problem Solving 101!
Five men and a 17-year-old boy were arrested for Jyoti's rape and murder. Of the five, one died while he was in Tihar Jail in New Delhi - supposedly a case of suicide. The deceased accused's brother is the primary source interviewed in the documentary titled, 'India's Daughter'. This primary source, Mukesh, told the filmmakers that they rapists did what they did because they believed they were teaching Jyoti and her male friend a lesson - teaching them that if you stay out late (8 p.m.), bad things will happen to you. The shocking part is not even Mukesh's statement. The two lawyers hired to defend the accused rapists express views that can stun one into petrified silence. One of them referred to women as 'precious flowers', 'diamonds' or 'food' put out on the street.
"It is up to you how you want to keep that diamond in your hand," defense lawyer M.L.Sharma said. "If you put your diamond out on the street, certainly the dog will take it out. You can't stop it. You are talking (of a man and woman) as friends. Sorry, that doesn't have any place in our society. A woman means, I immediately put the sex in his eyes (sic.)."
"We have the best culture," he said, "in our culture, there is no place for a woman."
"It is up to you how you want to keep that diamond in your hand," defense lawyer M.L.Sharma said. "If you put your diamond out on the street, certainly the dog will take it out. You can't stop it. You are talking (of a man and woman) as friends. Sorry, that doesn't have any place in our society. A woman means, I immediately put the sex in his eyes (sic.)."
"We have the best culture," he said, "in our culture, there is no place for a woman."
Over the last two days, the Indian government has violated yet another civil right. Members of Parliament were shown the documentary yesterday to vote on whether it is fit for public release or not. Despite strong comments in support of its release, the overall majority ruled against releasing the film. For whatever reason, the Government of India is under the false impression that this film would taint its 'image'. I think that's already been achieved.
The government, on March 4th, registered FIRs (First Information Reports) invoking IPC (Indian Penal Code) sections on 'outraging a woman's modesty' and 'insult to provoke breach of peace'. Apparently, the brutal, gruesome rape of a student whose intestines were pulled out of her vagina before she was thrown out of a moving bus onto a highway, wasn't enough to 'outrage' her 'modesty'.
Dear Government of India, do you seriously not realize that her modesty has/had already been outraged? A film that shows what men in India think of women and their role in society should be made mandatory viewing for all girls and women in this country. Brushing this very real problem in our society under the rug is not going to make it magically go away. I genuinely, from the very bottom of my heart, hope that you understand that. And as a woman living in India who has to look over her shoulder in grocery lines, at railway platforms, at traffic signals, bus stops and movie theaters, I strongly resent the sentiment that not talking about something makes the topic non-existent.
Dear Government of India, do you seriously not realize that her modesty has/had already been outraged? A film that shows what men in India think of women and their role in society should be made mandatory viewing for all girls and women in this country. Brushing this very real problem in our society under the rug is not going to make it magically go away. I genuinely, from the very bottom of my heart, hope that you understand that. And as a woman living in India who has to look over her shoulder in grocery lines, at railway platforms, at traffic signals, bus stops and movie theaters, I strongly resent the sentiment that not talking about something makes the topic non-existent.
We have a very real and very serious problem and we need to accept it and deal with it. No carpet is going to be big enough for us to hide all our dirty linen under. It's high time you recognize that, Government of India. As a new government in power at the Center, you could have led by example by allowing a country-wide release and screening of this documentary. Women would have felt you stand with them - in addressing this hideous problem - instead of against them. We would have felt you understand, that we stand in solidarity against a toxic social mindset that urgently needs to change. Instead of showing us you care, you showed us we don't matter. Our modesty would have in no way been outraged by the release of a film that would have made men like you shudder and question your own beliefs.
I'm sorry to have to point out the obvious, Government of India, but your actions are the 'insult to provoke breach of peace'. What you have done won't go down well with those that care about preserving the sanctity of a democracy, the sanctity of a safe home for all. Your actions are the insult you add to injury, and our reactions are (still, even today) a peaceful breach of peace if you will - a state of peace you think exists. There is no peace. No woman in this country is ever at peace. Without this mythical 'peace', what's there to breach? Trust. Dear Government of India, you've breached our trust through your inability to think straight, lead by example, and strive to create a safe haven for all.
So dear doctor, tell me that all this doesn't worry you to your very core. Tell me you don't feel the undercurrents of an impending revolution. Tell me you don't fear the consequences of speaking the truth in a pseudo-democratic country. Tell me that underneath the superficial shell of confidence and progress exuded by our current Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, you are not aware of the many, many problems plaguing our society. Now, tell me doc, what are you so worried about?
In my mind, I see 21st Century freedom fighters in India's youth...well, at least the aware, responsible and involved youth. I see a Bhagat Singh speaking out about violence against women, I see a Rajguru secretly filming a top politician accepting a bribe, I see a Sukhdev in the form of a college student standing in line for hours after painstakingly filling out paperwork so he can exercise his right to vote and bring about change. I see a Rani Lakshmibai in every girl who insists on going to school despite opposition from her own family. Every girl who braves the threat of acid attacks and rape to challenge society's patriarchy, in single mothers who have been cast away because they gave birth to a baby girl and not a baby boy.
The only way to ensure that the people we elect don't forget we're the ones that put them there is to hold and keep them accountable for their decisions. Even if on paper, we are still a democracy and each of us still has rights. Inquilab Zindabad.
#girlsbeforecows - It's only fair.
Update: At the time of publishing this post, the Government of India has sent a legal notice to the BBC.
Update: At the time of publishing this post, the Government of India has sent a legal notice to the BBC.
