Victim victimized!

News: A woman was raped in Kolkatta. People's reaction: What a horrific crime!

News: She was a divorcee, had a few drinks in the bar, she took a lift in a car late night. People's reaction: Well she was calling for it then!

This is exactly the kind of society reaction that ensures that rape remains a crime where victim is treated more of a criminal than the criminal. No wonder that almost daily the Indian newspapers report on rape crimes. Given the society we live in I wonder how many go unreported. Few years ago I remember some women remarking on the rape of a North Eastern girl late at night in Delhi, that she was calling for it roaming so late in the night. The same remark was made by none other than Delhi Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dikhsit on the murder of a female journalist late at night.

I am sure if a man would have been assaulted or knifed under similar circumstances, no one would have questioned about his private life or what he was doing their so late in the night. If a physical assault on any man does not warranty a thesis on his private life, then why should it be for a woman? Rape is after all one of the forms of a physical assault and a crime irrespective of the history of the victim.

I agree that the Indian society has come a long way in treating its rape victims. But it still has a long way to go when it comes to judging men and women with same set of moral codes.

Some musings!

The morning news was full of blood,
A few spilled drops formed a few stains...
Stains not visible to the human eye,
To the corner of my soul they prick like a little thorn
Lots of water I use to wash it away,
The next day spills some more!


Papers in India scream 2G and CWG!
In a country beset with problems of 'babuji'
We once had a role model call 'bapuji'
Nowadays we look upto only 'madamji'
The only thing that has not changed over the years,
Is our ability to do 'yes sirji',
To close our eyes and walk nodding our head saying haanji haanji'!


Poor turns to crime for money.
Rich turns to crime for power.
Powerful turns to crime for keeping the power.
Middle class turns to crime just so that he can be middle class.

Its not a State matter anymore!!

Bihar's Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar is being criticised by all and sundry for his ineffective handling of the policemen abduction by Maoist. The abduction of 4 policemen against the demand of releasing the arrested Maoists, has already resulted in killing of one.

Agreed that Nitish Kumar, known as the efficient administrator has failed to manage the crisis. But can't the criticism meted out to him by his rivals wait until the policemen are rescued? Time and again politicians have showed how little respect they have for a national security crisis. No one can forget the image of L.K. Advani and Narendra Modi criticising the establishment at the time when Taj hostage crisis was on. This time is no different. LJP, RJD, Congress can't wait to jump on the bandwagon and fire salvos at Nitish Kumar. Why can't our political hold their horses until the crisis has been dealth with? Is it because if it is resolved successfully they will not have much to point a finger on?

Congress government at the centre says that their full support is with the Bihar state government and they are providing full assistance. Did they just provide assistance when Taj was held hostage by terrorists? When you say assistance, you draw the line yourself. A terrorist organisation abducting a symbol of India's soverignity cannot be treated on case to case basis. Kandahar hijacking, 26/11, Maoist kidnapping policmen, have to be treated on the same platform. I would have expected the Centre to take matters in their hands, take it as a national crisis, send NSG, army, whatever it takes and give a clear message to the Maoists. That they cannot be treated different than other terrorists. For once, I want the Indian goverment to say, it is not a State matter, it is a national concern and we will take things in our hands.

Happy Independence Day!!

It's that time of the year when every Indian, all over the world, stops to think about his/her nation. It makes you crib or praise or go emotional over your country, but it does extract a response from you. We will see a lot of that today, in newspapers, blogs, facebook, twitter and everywhere in the air. Many will talk about the beautiful diversity and culture, democratic society, economic prosperity where as few will point out to the Maoist struggle, the muddle surrounding Commonwealth Games, the Kashmir turmoil, inflation, the sorry state of affairs of farmers and so on. Both valid and both demonstrating that even if your disdain list may be longer, some where you know it is because of that sense of belonging. The sense of belonging that unites the poor farmer of Peepli and an investment banker in New York.

I don't have a crib list today as it is almost a daily activity. I represent the majority of Indians who can go on and on about the sorry state of affairs but don't have the courage to get out of their cosy lives and change things. Patriotism is something we have read about in our history classes, not something we have experienced. Sorry guys but rooting for India in a cricket match or getting agitated when one cribs about India do not count as patriotism. The true madness of the word is only understood by those who fought for Independence and for those who guard our country borders. Today, I am just trying to understand the genesis of one of the biggest problems facing our nation, corruption.

Were Indians always corrupt? What is it that gave birth to this baby which has now become a giant threatening to engulf our country? I am no expert, but I have a feeling it all started in 70s when mindless restrictions where put in place to promote socialism (which sounded more like capitalism for politicians). Because all it did was encourage corruption, establish a net of smugglers and made all politicians and bureaucrats rich and fat. It is no wonder that the era of liberalization has almost ended the smugglers' empire that was so deeply entrenched in the 70s and 80s. Another reason could be that because of the numerous restrictions, the only way one could get rich was making his hand dirty.

Ever noticed the difference between underworld stories of 70s and 90s? Stories of 70s represented the Don as the messiah of poor. The guy who fought the rulers to provide for the poor. Take the case of characters played by Amitabh Bachachan in Deewar (and numerous other movies, he almost made a career out of such anti hero roles), Vinod Khanna in Dayavaan and very recently, Ajay Devagan in Once upon a time in Mumbai which is set in 70s. They were depicted as Dons with heart of gold, helping the poor and fighting the administration. And take the example of recent gangster movies like Satya, Company, though they demonstrate the humane side of someone from underworld, they don’t glorify their intentions nor represent them as gold hearted lions.

So while we enjoy the dividends of the decisions taken by our leaders pre 1947, we also pay the price of their decisions post 1947. 50 years down the line, our children could write a similar blog and talk about how little we did and how much more we could have done in giving India independence from corruption. We have the right tools. An independent judiciary (with all its pros and cons), a Right to Information Act, a free media, an empowering democracy, economic prosperity. Now, it depends on us what we want our future generation to write about us when India celebrates the century of this historic day.

Brouhaha over Burkha ban

I have never visited any of the Islamic nations but have read enough to understand that many of them require women to dress in a defined manner and the punishment for not obeying those rules are quite severe. When women from different nations visit these states, they obey the rules and dress appropriately. So when a Muslim women in Belgium is required not to cover her face, isn’t it the same case in reversal. If the world respects the rationale behind dress code adopted by Islamic nations, then shouldn’t Muslims visiting/residing in other countries respect the rules of that country too?

The whole debate of Belgium banning burkhas is so out of context. Why take it to the levels of religious freedom when it is only about security measures. The ban is not about wearing burkhas, it’s more of a ban on hiding your face. The hardliners and the liberals have both given it a wrong dimension. Both are treating it as an issue of religious freedom and complicating the issue, a manipluation that every leader resorts to, to establish his/her leadership.

If one finds security measures in USA draconian, there is a simple solution. Don’t visit USA. I heard a podcast where Fareed Zakaria (Newsweek chief editor) interviews Shah Rukh Khan on his controversial security check at the US airport. SRK’s reply summed it all. He said that I respect the laws of the country I am visiting but it’s in my hands wether I visit that country. So now when I have to go holidaying, I prefer taking my kids to Europe. Banning burkhas is in the hands of Belgium government but visiting Belgium is in your hands.

How Naxals and Mayawati teach us to respect human kind

We (urban India like me) often wonder the kind of support that Mayawati enjoys in Uttar Pradesh. We often deride the way she or for that matter any politician manipulates the caste system in India. Dalits, the backward community to which Mayawati belongs has for long suffered at the hands of upper class sections of the society. It is not un-natural that see her as a symbol of the upliftment of their community. That Gandhi and Ambedkar did the same thing in a much modest and humble way is another topic of debate. But all I am saying here is seeing the kind of oppression that Dalits have faced in India for ages; it's not surprising to see that they support the kind of aggression and unabashed immodesty that she displays.

But things are changing and hopefully with time, the caste effect on nation's politics will die down. The recent news about, a Bihar court sentencing 16 people held guilty for a carnage Jehanabad in 1997, where 58 Dalits were killed by Ranbir Sena, a landlord gang of sorts, brings forward 2 things. One that, 50 years post the independence, a Jehanabad still happens in world's largest democracy. And this is not an isolated case. We are routine to cases of Dalits being attacked for entering a temple, drinking water from a common village well, marrying some one from upper caste, and so on. But the second and more significant is that finally justice is being delivered, such cases are coming into limelight and the guilty are being punished.

Slowly but surely, the rural landscape of India is changing, not only geographically and economically but also socially. Thanks to an active media, such cases are no longer brushed under the carpet by officials. The current Naxal problems of India and the appreciation showered by Mayawati's supporters to her aggression, should teach us a thing or two, about treating all human kind with respect and dignity. Because if we don’t, when it's their turn to rule you, they will surely give it back. And then we may find it too hot to handle.

Who is responsible for Dr Siras' death?

It's sad, shocking and the people responsible for it deserve a harsh punishment so that others learn the outcome of playing with someone's private life. I am talking about the alleged suicide of professor Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, the Aligarh Muslim University professor who was suspended from the University, after being filmed having consensual sex with a rickshaw-puller at his home in the University Campus. He was found dead in his apartment and police suspects suicide.

Though he was reinstated back in University after he appealed in court against his suspension, surely the scars never healed. How humiliating it must be for the man, to be subjected to that kind of mental cruelty? Indian being a democracy, any citizen is free to practise whatever he wants as long as it is not a criminal activity. Ones sexual preference is their private matter and all those who made public his private moments should be held guilty of breaking an important law of India's Constitution.

As a society, when will we learn to look at the skeletons in our cupboard and stop accusing anyone who dares to go against the general social norms?Those who filmed the Professor need to be punished severely for not respecting an individual's privacy and then should be the ones hiding their faces with society shunning them. If this was a suicide, all of us who made fun of the poor man when he was caught in camera need to hang our heads in shame for driving a human being to this.