We're complacent, all of us, to some extent or another. Lets just accept that. No matter how good our intentions, periodically, we need reminders like pins on our chairs to make us stand up and do something.
What am I talking about? Look around you. Look at the news on TV, look at the newspaper headlines, look at the internet news feeds, look at your twitter and Facebook timelines. Forget all of that, take a look around you in your immediate neighborhood, in your schools and colleges.Chances are, within the first minute of looking around, you'll find an incident that makes a cold finger run down your spine and your hair stand on end. Scared and outraged enough? What next? We feel mad, angry and a little inspired to do something to stop this, to bring justice to the victims and punishment to the perpetrators. More power to you my friend, but what then? What after two hours, when the boiling blood has simmered and everything mellows down again? We participate in one candle light march, scream three slogans on the road, donate a certain amount to someone carrying a tin box, sign an online petition, put up a status or tweet and write a blog post about it. Pachi shu?
Someone I work with calls this the 'Rang De Basanti Effect'- That just after watching the film you're pumped full of energy, ready to change the world and bring pride to your country. Then you get to the parking of the cinema hall and realise that your vehicle's been towed away. Next thing you know, you're finding the nearest police officer to "quietly settle matters with."
My context for writing this slightly saddened blog post is the ever rising number of rapes in our country and the world. However, that isn't it. This applies to all the wrongdoings that we're presented with, on a daily basis. They happen everyday, to ordinary people. Today it was someone else, tomorrow it could very well be you or me. Isn't this danger enough to make us stop taking things lightly? Above this, do we need brutal reminders like what happened to Jyoti Singh Pandey (Because calling her Nirbhaya isn't really giving her an honour) and that little child in Delhi and the photojournalist in Mumbai to wake our dozing consciousness? These cases received media attention and national sympathy, but there are hundreds of other women, and men, who have been similarly brutalized and have failed to see the light of the day.
What do we then? For them? For us? Where do we stop feeling internally outraged and try and convert that to some sort of meaningful step that can at least be a stepping stone to awareness? Just like the survivors of these crimes are ordinary people, so are those who commit them. So along with finding appropriate punishments, why not find ways to curb such intentions before the damage is done?
Image Courtesy: OBR Strike Dance
can someone fetch me an answer to why the "victim" has to hide her face, be kept anonymous,and has to live(if she survives)with shame of the crime she hasn't committed? while the criminal go around freely? someone ought to be answerable to me and the all the women who seek equal freedom as men
ReplyDeleteI wish I had an answer for you, but all I have is a string of similar questions.
DeleteFarheen, I have been wondering about this question for almost the last five years. I work with the Government in the urban development sector and am interested in all kinds of social and development issues (anything that impedes the human spirit from embracing the unimaginable beauty that life encompasses)and have attended a multitude of conferences, seminars, talks, informal get togethers, worked with ngos, listened to post-event (movies, docus, lectures) chit-chat and how the people wished to network and further the specific cause or story and yet a few days later, we are back to square one (ALL OF US including me). The only answer or semblance of an answer (if i can call it that) that i have found in this small negligible journey of mine is the concept of social momentum (i call it that), all this buzz, all the emotions that circulate, all this thought that transpires etches an imprint of our suffering as a collective, the pooled tears of humanity as we age ungracefully and this includes your article and this response of mine which eventually finds enough inertia to bring in the larger change that we expect to see as a collective choice in our socio-political structure. Hence we should never disregard even the smallest of ripples that may begin in any corner of the world against the most minor of issues because it is this human power of communication, of connectedness, of networking which defines what we become together and tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. As long as this continues and, as you said, continues to gain momentum, there's always hope, right?
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely always hope as long as we continue to hope.. I will and i get this feeling that you will too. All the best and glad to accidentally stumble upon this page, this post, this person and this positivity. Tc Farheen
ReplyDeleteRegards,
SahilS
Absolutely.
DeleteThank you so much for taking the time to read and comment. Hope to hear more from you.
Thanks :)
you're right about that rang de basanti effect,however there is still hope and some people really do work to stop all these incidents.but the root is mentality of our society and it's really very deep.everything can be stopped if we would take certain actions in certain time.but still there is a hope that someday everyone will be unite in real not like signing petitions,comment,blog etc. and then we can really won this.no one is really bad but conditions make them and when they went too much deep,they need to be stopped.
ReplyDeletealthough good read,keep posted.
regards