I remember the
times four months back when someone my age was brutally gang raped, when she
struggled hard for her life for thirteen odd days, when thousands of men and
women protested day and night on streets against it, when peaceful people
praying for her recovery were lathicharged and water cannoned by the
coldhearted Delhi police and when the anger of people literally came
out against the indifferent government and its officials in a very very long
time.
I cried a lot
then, a lot....for her, for me, for every other girl/woman who unfortunately, yes
unfortunately belongs to this country I live in. However somewhere in the back
of my mind it was convincing to see the awakened masses on roads resisting the
gruesome act, demanding justice for her and protection for their own sisters, daughters
and friends. I was a little hopeful then that may be things would change for the better. Every day I used to sit glued to the TV to keep track of her
health. I wanted her to live and inspire and fight. But, no she died. Every politician and policeman promised that her sacrifice would not be futile,
that they would soon come up with stricter laws, that the culprits would be
severely punished.
Alas, as usual and
as expected, everything went in vain! I see no amendments in Criminal law bill,
I see no stern punishment yet being given to those six savages, I see no
measures being taken to curb the menace. That little hope I had was mercilessly exterminated.What all I see now is increasing number of
rapes in the country, particularly in the capital. WHAT I SEE IS A 5 YEAR OLD RAPED
REPEATEDLY BY HER NEIGHBOR.WHAT I SEE IS HUMANITY BEING ASSAULTED ALL OVER
AGAIN WITH UTTER SHAMELESSNESS! IS THIS THE CULTURE WE'RE ALWAYS PROUD OF?
When the Delhi
gang rape happened, I heard a lot of well-educated and generally sensible
people saying, “She shouldn't have been out after 8, that too with a male
friend, in a place like Delhi", "She should have been sensible to stay
home after dark”. Then came ‘expert’ comments from khaps and other 'eminent'
politicos-"Girls should not wear provocative clothes”,” Age of marriage
should be further reduced to 16","Rape happens not in traditional
Bharat but in westernized India", not to forget the dented-painted remark
and Aasharam Bapu's 'Bhaiya' theory. To all these people and those who say “She
deserved it”, “She invited it all by herself” -WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT THE
FIVE-YEAR-OLD? WAS SHE RESPONSIBLE FOR HER OWN RAPE?A FIVE-YEAR-OLD-KID? Should
she be blamed for playing provocatively, wearing provocative frocks and in general,
existing provocatively on earth instead of getting aborted in the womb?
It boils my blood to know that a bottle
and candles were retrieved from her body, to learn a policeman bribed her
father with 2000 rupees to not file an FIR, to see a policeman telling her
family that they should be thankful that the girl is alive, to see a policeman
slapping a protesting girl. I am filled with immense rage and fury. I want to scream
out loud, very loud, loud enough to break the earth into pieces.HOW INSENSITIVE CAN A MAN BE?
Truly speaking I never had expectations
from politicians. How can one expect them to frame tougher laws with the likes
of Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Kanda and N D Tiwari being the MP themselves.
I never had faith in the police. They are more barbaric than animals. I am
flabbergasted by their insensitivity towards the society. I only had hope in
you, the people. But the callousness of the first two P’s has badly thrashed
the third P. Sadly,no lessons were
learnt from Nirbhaya’s case. I am dried of all hope! I am sacred to the core. And
this time I have absolutely nothing to say except that it is now I realize why my
parents are always over-protective for me. No reforms or mindset change can
happen in this great country of ours. I can trust nobody(exceptions apart) from the
autowallah to the neighbor next door. THANKYOU for giving me a whole new bout of fear (of EVERYTHING) all
over again. Good going my fellow noble countrymen. Just well done!
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
A teary-eyed ,really scared girl in India
PS:BTW Dear Khaps,planning to reduce the age of marriage to 5?Ehhh 5 months would be better,no?