BETTER HUMAN BEINGS??????

While thousands of well meaning people like us continue to vociferously voice our protests and sense of outrage at the rather sorry state of affairs that has befallen the women of this country, sadly, the spurt of crimes against women continues unabated........


Three more such instances of crimes against women have been reported across various twenty four hour English News Channels between last night and this afternoon, the first of which involves a twenty year old BPO employee being mercilessly stabbed to death by her stalker and childhood friend in a prominent East Delhi market, the second being reported in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district where the local police and government doctors have contrived to conveniently let off the prime or main accused in the gory gang rape and murder of a eight year old........

And the third occurring in our very own Hyderabad where a twenty three year old woman was found dead in her male friends' house early this morning, the local police are on the lookout for the elusive male friend as he is the only one who can shed further light on this matter and are yet to rule out the possibility of there being a sexual connotation to this seemingly senseless crime.........

These repeated instances of crime against women not only sicken, horrify and dismay me no end, but leave me pondering over the fact whether we can initiate the now defunct practice of community police that was an integral part of my growing up years in New Delhi.........

I still remember those heady days fondly where I used to traverse the length and breadth of G block in Kalkaji for close to six hours every night for the best part of three weeks and more in an effort to ensure the safety and security of my Sikh brethren from the wiles of the marauding anti Sikh mobs who had vowed to finish off every Sikh residing in Delhi in the aftermath of then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination........

One wonders why that feeling of community and brotherhood is conspicuous by it's absence in these troubled and turbulent times when it is most required; to talk about myself, I live in a block of flats overwhelmingly inhabited by Telugus or people hailing from this region and am branded as a madman, rabble rouser and troublesome element whenever I broach the topic of ushering in a sense of discipline and community feeling that puts the country and society before self for the very reason that I am an "outsider" and hence deserve to be ostracised and isolated.........

How can an Indian be an "outsider" in one's own country, this feeling of isolation and growing alienation is what is driving residents from the north east, Kashmir valley, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and such other states into the clutches of maoists, naxalites separatists and terrorists and also contributing to this growing menace of crimes against women in no small measure as thirteen and fourteen year old girls are first sexually assaulted by area commanders before being drafted as loyal foot soldiers of the womens' Dalams or units...........

We may have giant strides in the economic sphere and may certainly be leading more affluent and prosperous lives vis a vis our parents and older generations, but have we even become even half the human beings that they are, how can we loose out on this feeling of community, brotherhood and country in a period just over a quarter of a century????, have we been blinded by the lure of the lucre and mammon to this extent that we have chosen to bypass our humanistic tendencies and conveniently put them on the back burner in order to amass tonnes of wealth at the cost of others..........

Friends, our government has conveniently barricaded itself from our very voices, needs, hopes, aspirations and expectations from them and more or less asked us to fend fro ourselves as they are obsessed with the idea of plundering the country and amassing gargantuan personal fortunes at the cost of the lives of the teeming millions who inhabit this vast country; so come forward, say to hell with this government, be the change in a seemingly hopeless and indifferent system that has insulated itself from the very citizens who created it in the first place............

Your country, neighbourhood and society, sisters, mothers and female friends need you, step forward, take pride in being an exemplary human being and a manifestation of all that the good lord really wanted us to be when he created us as his shadow and imprint on this planet, let's awaken the human being in us and reach out to all those who need us as this is the very least that we can do for the betterment of the country, society and ourselves...............

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION?????

Frankly, what are we celebrating on this last day of 2012, while girding our loins to welcome 2013 with a resounding cheer, the fact that we have failed miserably in the quest to make our nation a safe haven for our womenfolk or the fact that our elected representatives have made a mockery of our due and valid concerns and laugh their heads off at our seemingly mindless antics of conducting candle light vigils and raising a hoarse hue and cry about justice that does not seem to have reached the ears of the people who really seem to matter........


Our elected representatives continue to mock our women some terming them as "highly dented and painted", some questioning the very need to provide them with mobile phones, while some other seemingly enlightened Netas blame women for bringing the heinous crime of rape unto themselves by wandering around on the streets after sunset and dressing in a manner that supposedly arouses the baser instincts in the hearts and minds of menfolk who prowl the streets at that inopportune time.........

One's eyes and heart is filled with unshed tears, profound sorrow and a growing sense of disenchantment and angst against a system that seems to be getting indifferent and callous to the plight of 50% of our population with every passing minute; are we celebrating the fact that seven rapes have been reported across various news channels and news papers between yesterday night and this morning......

Or then are we celebrating the fact that the men in khakhi who are supposed to protect and secure us are becoming increasingly predatory and go on around raping those brave women who venture into police stations to report the calamity that has befallen them, if you still do not understand what I mean then please do read this morning's Hyderabad edition of the Times of India that carries within it the harrowing and heart rending plight of a 24 year old married woman who was incarcerated and repeatedly raped by a constable attached to a police station in Vijaywada before fleeing and narrating her sorry tale to higher ups in the police department who were sufficiently moved to launch a manhunt for the alleged assailant after hearing her sorrowful plight.........

One has really begin to wonder whether there is indeed a silver lining to this dark cloud that seems to be getting darker with every passing minute, the conviction rate in all rape cases brought up before all relevant courts within the country stands at an appalling 16%, rapists are let off on the flimsiest pretexts like being in an inebriated condition while having committed the crime and therefore not in complete control of their senses or then on the pretext that their trial period exceeded the maximum period of their incarceration for the crime committed by them.........

And last but not the least, if the rapist is convicted by a court of law and accorded the death penalty for having committed a heinous crime that falls under the "rarest of rare" category, then their death sentence is commuted to a life sentence by a president who is opposed to the death sentence as a matter of principle and therefore her principles take precedence over the plight of some unfortunate women who have been subjected to this most inhuman of crimes..........

Or then are we celebrating the proud fact that global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has come to the conclusion that 81% OF ALL MARRIED INDIAN MEN RAPE THEIR WIVES EVERY NIGHT, OR THEN THE EVEN MORE GLARING FACT ALMOST 85% OF ALL FEMALE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 10 ARE EITHER RAPED BY A BLOOD RELATIVE OR THEN A PERSON WHO IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR FAMILY......

We indeed have numerous reasons to celebrate, so do let's go around getting ourselves drunk, grope and molest women as our chances of getting convicted are almost one in one and a half crore, as for women do their feeble and increasingly isolated voices really matter; they are nothing more than our chattel and household articles and we exclusively reserve the right to denegrate and misuse them in any manner we deem fit as the Mahabharata and other such religious texts have bestowed this right unto us..........

Tarry for a moment and spare a thought for the grotesque and increasingly ugly plight of our womenfolk, spare a though for the very fact that the dismal plight that befell Nirbhaya, Amanat, Damini or whatever else you prefer to call the brave heart who succumbed to her grievous injuries after a titanic thirteen day struggle could just have easily befallen your sister or female relatives; so let's stop fooling ourselves, conveniently brushing inconvenient facts under the carpet, look at ourselves long and hard in the mirror and rededicate ourselves to the noble cause of making 2013 the year of zero rapes as this would indeed be the most telling homage to the brave heart who rekindled our sleeping consciences and made us question our motives in the first place................

LIGHT A CANDLE!!!!!!!!!

Let us all light a candle in our hearts and minds in memory of the brave heart Nirbhaya, Amanat or Damini or whatever else you prefer to call her as she departed from this living hell earlier this morning leaving us all with tears in our eyes, a prayer on our lips and heads bowed in shame pondering over the thought that can we indeed do more to ensure the safety and security of our womenfolk.........


I did not know the 23 year old young lady who lost her valiant struggle for life in a Singapore hospital earlier today but still feel that I have indeed lost my younger sister, a younger sister who has fallen prey to the clutches and barbaric tendencies of a group of six demons who looked upon her as just another body to be preyed upon and destroyed in their unceasing quest for male domination and a age old reprehensible tendency of wanting to put women in their seemingly rightful place........

So much for the six perpetrators who know find themselves saddled with a murder charge around their neck, what about the numerous politicians who encourage such people with their highly sexist and derogatory references to women at any and every given occasion and a police force that is so very sexist, demeaning and derogatory in it's demeanour and body language that women prefer not to take recourse to them for the fear of being further ostracised and victimised; will the politicians and policemen in question ever be brought to book and punished under the relevant/applicable sections of the Indian penal code.........

Every improvement begins at home and every journey of a thousand miles gets under way with a solitary step, I am taking this step by pledging that I will not rest until I feel that I have done my bit towards making my neighbourhood, immediate vicinity and every other place I frequent a far more safer and secure place for our womenfolk.......

This fire used to burn within me unabated when I was younger, and I have taken up cudgels for seemingly ungreatful folks who used and discarded me the minute they achieved their narrow, sectarian end; but I will not let this deter me from my avowed goal and will certainly contribute my mite to this noble cause no matter what......

Yes, our system has let us down again as it it's wont, so let's stop blaming it and casting aspersions on it and become the change that we want to see in the system as a refreshing change; yes all of us can make a difference as guided, cohesive and cogent force; so do go out there and make yourself counted.............

A SAD DAY INDEED!!!!!!!

Today is indeed a black, deeply saddening and heart rending day in the history of this 65 odd year old nation as the brave heart Nirbhaya, Amanat or Damini as you may like to call her has passed away after a thirteen day long valiant struggle with death leaving us all deeply ashamed and questioning our motives and actions as members of a species called human beings.........


A part of us all of us has died today and I truly feel that my sojourn on planet earth has indeed been reduced by a significant margin in her passing, but above all I feel a deep sense of remorse, outrage and anger at myself, our apathetic system, hypocritical society and above all unresponsive government that is more interested in raising barricades and insulating itself from the voices and thoughts of the man on the street rather than addressing their concerns and making this country a safer place for 50% of it's citizenry.........

All of us are equally responsible for the fate that has befallen this brave heart; our families and societal system largely for having failed to inculcate the right value system and ideals into the hearts and minds of our menfolk and encouraging them to rape and pillage their female counterparts rather than desisting from such heinous and barbaric tendencies as rape and sexual subjugation is just yet another manifestation of the supposed male superiority over the commonly perceived weaker sex and hence perfectly acceptable and justifiable..........

The police, government and bureaucracy, for taking us for granted and conveniently brushing crimes against women under the carpet as women per se did not constitute a significant vote bank which could sway the fortunes of candidates in an election and could hence be conveniently side stepped at the altar of expediency........

The men and women in khakhi for enacting the roles of demons and exploiters rather than the roles of protectors and benefactors entrusted to them by both the society and the system as a whole; infact, so callous and indifferent are our policemen and women to the plight of victims of sexual assaults that more than 60% of them do not even venture into police stations to register and record their sordid and sorry sagas as they are well acquainted with the fact that they will be subjected to an interrogation and ordeal that is as heinous and heart rending as the crime that has been perpetrated against them...........

The judiciary and former president of India haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in this regard as the judiciary has only succeeded in sending less than 25% of the perpetrators of such crimes either behind bars or then the gallows as the case may be and that too after a span of three years or more having elapsed after the filing of the First Information Report or FIR in the respective case; the lesser said about our former president Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the better, as she commuted the death sentence given to approximately 32 such rapists to a lesser life sentence for reasons known to her alone.........

Friends, the time for chest beating, finger pointing and fault finding is well past us and the time to act as a cohesive and unified force that sends out the unequivocal message of thus far and no further to the political class is upon us; raise your voices in unison so that they are resoundingly heard in the corridors of power; tell the government that we will not be satisfied by mere words, gestures, plaudits and assurances and that we need to see steps on the ground and concrete action being taken to ensure the safety and sanctity of women in this hallowed land that worships women and raises temples in their honour...........

Demand harsher, stricter and more punitive laws that put the fear of the lord in the hearts and minds of both active, passive as well as wannabe rapists, ask for a system that makes both the police and judiciary responsive to our needs and changing social idioms and realities, and last but not the least let the change begin from within our very homes so that the Indian women not only feels safe and sound, but is reassured about the fact that India is indeed the land where she can nurture her dreams, aspirations and contribute equally to it's development and rosy future...........


 

FRIDAY MUSINGS.........

Will some of our placard waving female politicians give up their thoroughly undeserved security apparatus and paraphernalia at long last and deploy these personnel where they are needed the most; in the service of the common man, or then was this just yet another photo opportunity and yet another cruel joke played on an unsuspecting and trusting AAM AADMI???????????


Why does divine wisdom and hind sight always dawn upon our politicians and so called protectors after the event has passed; haven't they ever heard of the dictum about prevention being better than the cure????????

Indeed heartening to see Delhiites shrugging off their indifference and lethargy for once and congregating on the streets to clamour for their constitutional and human rights..........   one really wonders whether the almighty is on the side of all those who need him the most or then on the side of those demented souls who take pride in tormenting and torturing their fellow beings; awaiting your answer to this query post haste, lord almighty...........   Yuvraj Singh selflessly dedicated his man of the match award to the brave heart valiantly battling for her life in a Delhi hospital, will our politicians take a leaf out of his book and dedicate at least 5% of their ill gotten wealth to the victim's family??????   DELHI: the crime and rape capital of the country; MUMBAI: the greed and inequality capital of the country, what next????? BENGALURU: the garbage capital of the country????????   DELHI POLICE: always in cahoots with thieves, rapists and other such exalted elements and solely dedicated to providing them with exemplary service.........   Strange indeed are the ways of the Delhi police they shower their "annadatas" with water cannons and lathis and protect their tormentors and exploiters with all the force at their might.....   With Sheila Dikshit, Sushil Kumar Shinde and others of their ilk being the almighty in all rape cases perpetrated in Saddi Dilli in the recent past..........   The Almighty does indeed work in mysterious ways; he condones the rape of innocent women and also allows the accused to go free in almost 85% of such cases........

CASTRATE ALL RAPISTS..........

India and Indians seem to have woken up at long last if the spontaneous protests that have broken out in support of the twenty three year old gang rape victim valiantly fighting for her life in the capital's Safdarjung Hospital are indeed any yardstick to go by.......


Let's tell the politicians and all their cohorts that we indeed mean business this time around and will not be swayed by mere platitudes, promises, hosannas, rhetoric, and noble intentions that seldom amount to anything concrete......

Chemical castration for first time rapists, permanent or then irreversible castration for repeat offenders and bobbitization if need be is what we are going to settle for, nothing more, nothing less, all rapists should be tried in fast track courts expressly meant for this very purpose and sentences should be pronounced on the guilty within a maximum time frame of ninety days from their date of arrest......

A minimum sentence of ten years and a maximum of life without parole or remission is what we are looking at and demand that the sexual crimes bill that has been put in cold storage is brought out of the deep freeze and passed forthwith during the course of the impending budget session of parliament.........

The death sentence could be a suitable deterrent in the rarest of rare cases like the case that is occupying the hearts and minds of all Indians at present and while one does indeed agree with the dictum that "an eye for an eye will indeed make the whole world go blind", an effort to insert iron rods in the rectums of the six monsters who perpetrated this despicable crime might indeed act as a salve to the wounds inflicted on the twenty three year old brave heart who is the living embodiment of courage and determination.......

Let's all seize this moment, because the same will never ever come around in this lifetime or indeed the next, let's all make concerted efforts towards coercing the political class into doing our bidding as they are meant to do and not enacting laws that serve their narrow sectarian ends of exploiting and depraving us as is their wont........

India and Indians, arise, awake and make your voice heard, the moment to seize the reins of control is well upon us, so let's all unite and show the rest of the world and our politicians that the Indian citizen is indeed a force to be reckoned with.........

VICTORY AT PUNE........

Team India achieved some measure of redemption at long last by comprehensively beating the English Lions in the first of two twenty 20 internationals at the picturesque Subrata Roy Sahara stadium in Pune.......


The Indian victory was almost solely based on the sterling efforts of the "pied piper of Punjab", Yuvraj Singh who shone both with the ball as well as bat and almost singularly put paid to the English aspirations of registering yet another facile victory against a seemingly beleaguered team India.......

Yuvraj first put the brakes on the rampaging English duo, Alex Hales and Luke Wright by bowling the former of the inside edge of his swashbuckling blade and having the latter handily caught at long off by Ajinkya Rahane, but Yuvraj was still not finished and added yet another feather to his already overcrowded cap by removing the English skipper Eoin Morgan for a paltry individual total of 5..........

His best ever twenty 20 bowling figures of 3/19 off four overs largely put paid to the English hopes and aspirations of registering a mammoth total in excess of 175 and kept them to a manageable 157; the rampaging Punjabis' swashbuckling blade almost took team India to a heady victory and his savage assault on the hapless English bowlers was ended by a supremely judged catch by Stuart Meaker on the square leg boundary........

Yuvraj was well supported in his efforts with the bat by Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni all of whom registered individual totals in excess of 20; mention should surely be made of an exhilirating fielding display put up by team India that was not only breath taking to behold, but also saved them a good 15-20 runs on the field........

Well, team India did indeed register a comprehensive victory over the Englishmen for a change but their bowling related head aches continue to persist as all the other bowlers who displayed their wares on the evening with the notable exceptions of Yuvraj Singh and Ashoke Dinda were indeed taken for plenty by the England batsmen..........

Dhoni seemed to have reached the end of his tether within the first eight overs of the game and had already tried seven different bowlers by then before Messrs Singh and Dinda provided him with welcome relief and succour, well all's well that ends well, but team India will certainly have to sort out their bowling related head aches in the very near future if they hope to stop the Pakistanis in their tracks...........

END THIS BLAME GAME!!!!!!!

It is all too easy to say that an eye for an eye will only end up making the whole world blind and that two wrongs do not make a right, but has anybody indeed paid heed to the plight of a hapless family that pledged it's life savings to educate their daughter who is fighting a valiant battle for life in the capital's Safdarjung hospital, thanks to the heinous tendencies of six men who knew no better.........


It is all too easy to blame the system, politicians, inadequate and highly erratic public transportation system, chief and home minister and so and so forth, but what about those mothers and educators who failed to inculcate the right ideals, morals and values in the hearts and minds of these monsters, should they not be take to the task along with the above mentioned notables........

While there is certainly no denying the fact that our system is indeed rotten and well beyond redemption, the root of the rot lies within our family and social structure that perpetrates this age old myth of "male superiority" and propagates the long held belief about the male being the superior sex who has the god given right to lord over the supposedly weaker sex........

Charity begins at home, or so many a wise man who has preceded yours truly has said , well I would like to take this opportunity of amending this age old dictum by saying that education begins at home and not in schools as many of us have conveniently come to believe, end this reprehensible tendency of treating your male offspring and husbands as first amongst equals, accord equal opportunities to your female progeny.....

Educate them, guide them, teach them the difference between a seemingly appropriate and inappropriate affectionate gesture, educate them on the need to raise a hue and cry at the first apprehension of impending danger, empower them by acquainting them with their constitutional rights, guarantees and safeguards provided to them by this remarkable document, provide them with pepper sprays and other such self defence mechanisms and do extol the virtues of self defence techniques as they will stand them in good stead..........

Safety always lies in numbers so inculcate in them the need to stay close to the herd at all times, while, I have always been a staunch proponent of the theory of I, me and myself, I do not doubt the veracity of the safety in numbers theory, feed the numbers of the nearest police station, essential helplines and police control room on your mobile phones speed dial and use them as and when needed..........

And even after all this you fail to uphold your honour and chastity, then publicly lynch the Sheila Dikshits' and Sushil Kumar Shinde's so that they experience the pain and horror of the much abused "Aam Aadmi" first hand.............