Shiban Khaibri
Many current topics which merit airing views through these columns include easing re-monetization effect as things have fast started stabilizing; the election fervor gripping the election bound states especially in UP where the political tussle stage managed between the father and the son is getting less interesting, now, since everyone knows in UP parlance what “Nautanki” means. It is all enacted as it is a bid, instead of by one combined, by two staggered, or with a double effect to fully ensure Muslim Yadav combine again to peddle the cycle to the Vidhan Sabha. Another topic which must attract the attention of all law abiding citizens is about a “Fatwa” issued by a Kolkata Masjid Imam against the country’s Prime Minister with a “reward” of Rs. 25 lacs and the travesty is that he still roams free in the extra secular sarkaar of Mamata Ji; another most important topic or issue is that of the hounded out Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir valley, their roots of thousands of years – observing Jan 19 as a “Holocaust Day” as 27 years ago, the same day they were ordered by “Aazadi” mongers, many of whom were actively aided, assisted, indoctrinated and armed by Pakistan , with lot of sympathies from most of the local elements , to march out or face consequences. They were coerced to march out and still many were killed selectively in cold murder and massacres; another topic is that of the recent incident in Patna where a boat capsized resulting in 24 deaths ; autonomy of the RBI and many other current topics but a heart piercing video clip of a young woman landed my priority at a vital issue as to why should women be ill treated, sexually harassed, baited and even burnt with gasoline or acid in our country. This particular video , the authenticity of which cannot be doubted shows a young woman being kicked , punched, dragged by hair, repeatedly pinned down and finally burnt alive, her shrieks while getting roasted alive did not make her tormenters , at least a hundred in number any “lenient” excepting adding more petrol on her flames to ensure she got completely burnt to death, the on lookers, most of her tormentors, making video recording of this spine chilling episode.
Was she a terrorist, an assassin, a black magician, a “witch”, a child lifter, a thief or an alleged accused of a particular crime, this instantaneous “punishment” on the road by the people in any civilized country cannot be justified even by devils and satans, not to speak of by people of the country. This young woman is alleged to have “defied” the family tradition to put on the veil as she had allegedly married with a man outside her faith. Before being torched, she is seen receiving hard kicks in her abdomen which dips her writhing in excruciating pain but tries to stand up to plead even bleeding profusely from her mouth and nose. One cannot help welling one’s eyes seeing the tragic end of a young innocent woman in conditions of utter helplessness and sans any protection whatsoever. If such things can still happen and what is recorded is all genuine and not otherwise, why has no one raised any voice against such a ghastly murder of humanity ? Why has this macabre not been taken up by the vibrant media, especially electronic, at least to the extent of one tenth in proportion in respect of coverage, time slot and repetitions, in proportion given to the accused self styled Guru Aasa Ram presently in prison? Equally conspicuous are the Human Rights Groups and Women Rights groups by their silence on the issue.
Revelries on the eve of the ringing in the year 2017 saw in Bengaluru worst kind of ordeal faced by many women at the hands of many spoilt apes of misconceived “Western culture”. Bengaluru proved no better than Delhi when it is the question of the safety, security and above all the freedom of women to move about especially during night hours unscathed. In the name of celebrations, why should anarchy and lawlessness prevail on streets and even busy chowks ? Should the “New Year” see such a welcome accorded to it by groping and molesting women at random? Not only the women but the children accompanying them were terribly shaken to cry and feel scared. The unruly men could manage and dare to commit such criminal and uncivilized behavior when as per reports , there was a posse of more than 1500 policemen on “duty” in the area. It is beyond comprehension as to what was so special and extra ordinary about the event that thousands on motor bikes, cars and on foot converged here for revellery , perhaps only for the reason that they like all, had grown older by a year and lost one more year of their life and that speaks perhaps for their debased behavior with women, most of whom were seen crying and seeking comforts from women cops and their own friends and acquaintances. Were they absolute hooligans in the garb of revelers as they were seen grabbing, pawing, groping, molesting, passing filthy and lewd remarks on women forcing most of them to run for help.
M.G. Road and Brigade Road were spots of mass molestation and in the presence of police force. Are these hooligans ever ready to find occasions and events to prowl and go scot free ? Should the state provide a policeman against each person in every corner, street, restaurant, lanes, by lanes and even in deserted secluded places ?Is it possible as after each such event , at once blame is put on the police alone. “Where was the Police”, is our immediate reaction when according to the City Police Chief adequate police force had been deployed to “control” the New Year celebrations. So much of police force, however, could not prove of any help to the victims of hooligans, most of who were drunk. These drunken goons ostensibly outnumbered the policemen present who, according to reports, chose to selectively attend on the spot, to most “urgent and “grave” incidents. Is it not a shame that women should be caught in such a helpless situation, shocked, scared and ashen faced in the name of misconceived “celebrations” of the ” new ” year., that also in a supposedly nice city, where niceties, etiquette and good manners are expected.
Adding insult to the injury, Karnatka Home Minister G. Parmeshwara responded to the situation by saying ,”these kinds of things do happen” . His comments were blithesome when he “shared” his views with the press by saying,” In events like New Year or Christmas Day , there are women who are harassed or treated badly although we take precautions ………….youngsters are almost like westerners who try to copy the West, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing ….these kind of things happen”. Such insensitive remarks though not as brazen as SP Supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had lamented over provision for deterrent punishment like even awarding death sentence in matters of rape and physical assault by justifying , “Boys are boys and prone to err; are you going to hang them for a rape?” Parmeshwar’s remarks drew a lot of flak as he had tried to shift the blame on the women in matters of dress etc but there were others to support him and ignore the plight and squirms of the victims as Abu Aazmi of Mulayam Singh’s SP sort of justified such attacks as according to him, “this happens when half – clothed women are out on the streets late at night.” These are the views either of a perverted mindset or those of a misogynist behavior.
It is in a sense a hogwash to be so over enthusiastic about the New Year and confine its dawning only to boozing, noising, drugging and other uncivilized acts like the ones under reference. It is also a fact that such incidents cannot be generalized as revelers in great numbers across the country do enjoy very gracefully and without any problems for others. We cannot at the same time demand policing in every movement of ours since everyone is expected to be within the norms and reasonable behavior of no nuisance to others. It is again the deficiency of good parenting, not inculcating good ethical values, which we call “Sanskaars” in their wards right from their childhood and keep the same reviewing regularly to make a better citizen of him or her later.
That , women are entitled to freedom, to fearlessly move about, to celebrate events, to walk on roads at any time just like men, must be an accepted norm and the culture of the society. Those trying to go astray must be punished sternly . Police must be more active and innovative in dealing with such hooligans. Politicians in power must not say , “these things do happen”. We ask them, “What for are you there and why should it happen?”
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