As I woke up to a new day, a new beginning on 'The First of January, 2017', my heart and mind was all prepped. A fresh start. The commencement of another round of memorable events in the new year! With my morning cup of freshly brewed tea, I read the day's news. Frenzy took over the tranquil mind!!
Bangalore Molestation: Quoting TOI "the place was unrecognisable. It was like a mini war zone. There were crowds of boys between the ages of 17 and 25 behaving absolutely horrible even though there was a large police presence."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bengaluru-horror-i-was-there-with-my-wife-brigade-road-was-like-a-mini-war-zone-says-a-reader/articleshow/56332697.cms
The news left me horrid! It was intimidating! I was aghast! Well, I believed Bangalore was quite a safe place! My hopes were crushed!
No, this was not my first instance of reading such a news that left me so devastated. What troubled me most was the fact that the incident seemed to be a planned attack by a mob of drunken men on those streets of Bangalore which were expecting and all geared up to celebrate the New Year's Eve! Did I read it wrong?
I cross-checked and I quote; "In the wake of New Year celebrations, a contingent of 16,000-plus policemen will be assisted by 3,000 home guards in the bandobust across the city .There will be special focus on central business district areas like MG Road, Brigade Road and Church Street that draw thousands of revellers."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-wont-do-a-mumbai-this-new-years-eve-will-party-till-2am/articleshow/56248197.cms
Now, what is it that I should believe? If I trust the civics that I read in school, it is the Ministry of Home Affairs that is concerned with all matters pertaining to the maintenance of public peace and order. The constitution assigns responsibility for maintaining law and order to the states and territories, and almost all routine policing—including apprehension of criminals—is carried out by state-level police forces. The constitution also permits the central government to participate in police operations and organisation by authorising the creation of Indian Police Service.
This learning gives me an affirmation as a citizen of this country that 'All will be well' if the zone is well policed.
But my belief was shattered like an empty glass made of glass thrown as a 'fast Yorker' against a wall! Indeed, this was a clear case of failure to protect the citizens of the country. Or then, I raise my eyebrows and wonder if it was intentionally planned to not equip the cops with requisite machinery and force to tackle the evildoer in the rightful manner! Does it have something to do with racism, I wonder again!
With endless incidents reported everyday on the molestation of females in the society, why is the system not in place? A punishment so gross that would send shiver down the spine of these males who are running so high on testosterone that they've grown wild and incapable of behaving as humans; indeed have turned wilder than beasts; is the need of the hour! Don't you ask me Mr. Police Commissioner to ensure case is filed before an action is taken. I know very well how and what the female goes through if she has decided to file the case, for the support the system provides is in the gutter!
To top it all Mr. Minister comments, I quote " A large number of youngsters gathered -- youngsters who are almost like westerners... they try to copy westerners not only in mindset, but even the dressing, so some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen."
http://www.ndtv.com/bangalore-news/cannot-go-unpunished-centre-on-bengaluru-new-years-eve-horror-1644430?site=full
This is exactly the mindset of the ruling lot in this country! What do you have to say to this?
It is a pity, real sorrow! Women today have started feeling so terrified that they don't even feel confident to discuss the problem openly in the society. Rage is there, no doubt but it gets communicated by forwarding mails or WhatsApp messages created by a third party who would have consolidated all the atrocities committed on women and made her a sorry figure leaving her more terror stricken than before!
I am no exception! Reminds me of the time when the feminist movie, 'Pink' was released last year and having read the reviews, I was hoping to watch it with my women friends. I feel strongly now that these are the must watch family movies with all adults, males and females of the family sitting together and sinking in the thought the movie left us with. No wonder molestation is prevalent even in conventional families where the victim is too frightened to raise the voice.
In a continuously evolving society, it's a very gradual change that can be expected at the ground level where the parenting should be rock solid to instil the right values in a child and turn him into a righteous human.
However, a severe chastisement to the wrong doers would, I feel definitely discourage future such incidents leaving the women of our society more confident and honourable!
For now, to all the women folks out there, let's gear up to strengthen our self defence abilities.
