Tuesday, December 25, 2012

The outrage and the country.

The latest thing to have caught the mood of the nation after the corruption protests is the heinous crime on the 16th of December. The lawlessness of this country was once again displayed for the world to see.The fact that it took one week for the prime minister of this country to speak up on the issue while the president of the united states made a public statement on the very day of connecticut shootings requires another post.For now it is about this incident.The crime was dastardly ,make no mistake about that but what intrigued me was the outrage that followed it.

What beats me in the outrage is that people react only when a such a crime is committed in the tier 1 city and that too in a "decent" area.Does any one know Thangjam Nanao Singh?.Not many.No one cares for the brutal cases that occur in the hinterlands of this country or in city slums.No vigils are held for them ,no one raises a voice for them.In short, no one gives a damn.

Moreover the knee-jerk reaction is what surprises me the most..Does any one remember the  Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes case?Not many.The outrage,the facebook groups squared up to zilch.This has become a sort of a cycle.,an incident in a metro, outrage, rally,provocative emotional images and graphics(at times with background score) on news channels, candlelight vigils,facebook likes groups,change the dp......new t20 match of India....sehwag scores a ton....whatever happened to the incident.

This is seriously sad. 

I don't have a problem with death penalty or castration or whatever you wanna do with the culprits but the problem in this country are not laws but their implementation ,the required amount of police personnel,their training to deal with such incidents,the patriarchal mindset of the society .

The offender does not feel free because of lack of laws but because he knows that the girl will herself not speak up,even if she does the social and parental pressure will push her down,if she does manage to reach the police station the insensitive police would not cooperate and if the culprit is influential,might simply refuse to make an fir. Supposing she beats all odds ,the pathetic judicial system makes sure the remaining glimmer of justice is quashed.

Call me a cynic but this " 'like'-this-to-bring-a-change","click-here-for-revolution","change-dp-to-to-change-the-nation" kind  of armchair slacktivism makes me squirm.A similar kind of "activism" was shown during the corruption protests when many went to the jantar mantar to get a pic with Indian flag to make a dp because it was the new "in-thing".Teaching your maid's kid a new word every day can bring more change than this.A false sense of altruism is all one gets most of the times.This comic by Garbage Bin shows the hypocrisy.

Not that there is no hope for this country ,the repeated protests and anger in this country do indicate there is a silver lining for this country after all.But this system needs massive changes.This rape incident and the lokpal issue point to  the larger need of police,judicial,electoral and  administrative reforms.There have been countless committees for them but it is only when people get on the streets for them when the politicians would bother with them. Till then the politicians are happy making more committiees and the people are happy creating a new page to like.

2 comments:

  1. great effort....!!!! continue blogging...
    just came across an article of similar issue and was shocked to know that law-makers are actually law-breakers.
    40 candidates with charges of rape and crimes were given tickets to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009. 260 candidates with similar charges were given tickets to contest assembly elections in the last 5 years.
    Next time whenever u encounter Meira kumar,Sheila dixit or somebody like that dont forget to ask what they are collectively doing to make HOUSE IN ORDER?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yup the record of law makers in this country is pathetic.

      Delete