It is rape...definately

Here is what one colleague said to me...

The recent gang rape in Delhi has inspired me to look into and discuss the problem of disrespect for women in this country. Unfortunately this rape is not just a one-off indecent, instead it is just the tip of the iceberg for a country with deeper and more intertwined moral issues. The issue is simply deeper than “rape”. Sadly the mistreatment of women is a by product of a society ill in their social conscience. The city of Delhi and India is in dire need of help. When 75% of rapes that occur are happening to children, rapes taking place in broad daylight, gang-rapes by army soldiers of university students, raping of victims while in hospital beds (eyes being gorged out too) it is obvious to any western born person at least that India is ill in it's head. The statistics state every 8 hours a rape is reported and what about the ones that aren't? Just after the death of this poor girl a case comes to light of a 17 year old gang-rape victim's suicide in Punjab (The police tried to convince her to MARRY one of the rapists!!). Indian's (including one's abroad too and many of their western born offspring) are ill in the head due to traditions, nearly 90-95% (The men) are sick perverts even the old aged ones. The problems are deep-rooted in society.

 

I will try to discuss here the problems and their causes as I have come to note them in my experiences. Personally; unlike many Indians who will claim this case and many other a rape is the fault of westernisation and western culture - I don't believe this is true one bit. We in the west rarely experience such cases - so that simply is proof enough. A rape in Britain by a stranger will rarely go unnoticed, a gang rape? Well that is virtually unheard of, in comparison to thousands of rapes in India of which only rape cases of girls with affluent families cause a stir (the rest go ignored).

 

These things don't just occur one day in a country; the conditions and environment have to be suitable for the perpetrators to even contemplate and less so carry out such atrocities. Conditions laid out in social norms, media and education (whether at home or school).

 

Whether Bollywood and Punjabi Music (which is more pornographic, sexist and lewd than anything shown on daytime TV in the west) is to blame for India's sad state, that is another debate altogether.

 

India is now a society that has been brain-washed and controlled by the government for so long that it's people have been conditioned not to notice the oppression and lack of freedom. In the "world's biggest democracy" there is no democracy and there certainly is no justice. There is absolutely no respect for women in all sectors of society, even though this nation worships "Mata"(Goddess), people put complete faith in "God" (whoever he is) and yet they commit atrocities, rape, corruption and cruelty like we in the west breathe. They then wake up in the morning and do a ritualistic "dhooph" (incense) in front of a few photos or statuettes of Gurus and Devis and everything is A-OK. Wipe your nose on the carpet in front of the Guru at the Gurdwara (Temple) or in the Mandir (Temple) in front of the deity or Masjid (Mosque) and "Jantra mantra!" (abracadabra!) your soul is as clean as a nun's driver's licence. This is how the whole nation functions (with some small pockets of exceptions). Sadly very few an Indian (whether in India or abroad) sees this; whether this is due to their Indian education, being brainwashed by Indian customs or just ignorance is not clear. The sheer corruptness and severely sickened mentalities of India it appears are only really visible to those born and raised abroad. One finds that he can rarely discuss such issues at length with an Indian at all (It's as if they are blind to them).

 

Consequently the Indian army and Police rapes and pillages it's own people but people turn a blind eye because the media doesn't report it, because Bollywood tells it's country everything is dandy! “The army is courageous, the Police is protective and it's all coloured costumes and glamour!” (this being the image that India has worked hard to export to the world too). Or “the country is beautiful!”, "Ye India hai! (This is India) ,“Sab chalta Hai!" (anything goes) or the typical one I keep hearing: "Don't say that! I am proud to be Indian!" Proud to be Indian? or Proud to be Ignorant?

 

In Britain we have one of the best education, healthcare and equality laws in the world, yet we still look at our faults, we complain and ask for change on the littlest of issues, we don't say: "Don't look at our faults! we are British!". We acknowledge them, does that make us less British? Surely to focus on developing one's weaknesses and criticising aspects of the infrastructure that are in dire need of help is in every patriot's interest. But not an Indian's! Oh no! Question their nation and they become enraged and point fingers at what the British did during their rule (Which indecently finished over 50 years ago and India is more corrupt and lawless now than it was then; many

people alive today who lived during the Raj say they preferred it when the British ruled). Indians will assert the greatness of their county which actually has declined morally to very low standards (this gang-rape in 2012 is proof). These conversations about the state of India usually end with the Indian proclaiming "I love my India!" Yet all of their media and various social classes imitate the west and strive to be like western actors and singers, preferring to dress, dine, behave like westerners and speak in English; have western names and speak in funny fake accents. I love my Britain but I still question some of our policies, I still stand up against corruption (yes we have it here too!) and we still ask for justice and reform when society and judicial systems fail. There are many things wrong with our British society and I admit it! And guess what on that same note I say - I'm proud to be British! I love my Britain! (I bet that's confused a few Indian patriots!)

 

This gang rape in Delhi (bless the poor girl's soul, only she knew the physical and psychological pain she went through) is one of millions that have occurred, the nation has gone up in arms to ask for justice (and rightly so) but we must not forget that these sorts of incidents are and have been abundant in India for years now (another brutal case has already been exposed of an imprisoned minor in village near Delhi). Why are we and have we not asked for justice for the countless race oriented rapes and various other isolated incidents in India? What if the nation should had protested over the millions of rapes that have occurred since 1947? If we had acted sooner upon a call for justice and asked for the administration of severe justices for the rapes of girls in 1984, 90s and beyond perhaps we may not be in this mess now.

 

The ignorance of a majority is the root problem here. It is a product of the nation's degradation and mentality of people to look at the positives only (which I can't seem to locate, but what the hell I'll give them the benefit of the doubt). The fix? education via media and schools, let's move away from the hocus pocus superstitious fables preached in schools and holy places. Let's turn our attention to creating a positive message in the movies and society by not banning every film that tells the truth or killing every poor man who speaks out. To make an effort to watch the truth or to protest to get the truth "unbanned" via social media. The answer is to support the truth when someone announces it, open your eyes; see the injustices, listen to the people who work to stop them! don't say "yaar chhod yeh sab - film laga!" (forget this rubbish - let's watch a film). We have no excuse in this day and age, with Facebook and twitter, maybe we should be less concerned with posting photo's of ourselves in "Happy mood, Relax mood...etc" and spread positive messages via literary social commentary and create awareness; change and social reform.

 

The problem is when someone speaks the truth we brand him/her insane and leave them to be arrested and killed, we choose not to get behind our independent thinkers/people in the media and instead would rather follow the "singer/actors" that tell us what paratha (chapati sandwich) they ate or when they took off for Frankfurt. No one can kill a man in the public eye, but getting and remaining in the public eye in India for doing something good for society is difficult if not impossible. Thus these reformers speak out and rise like waves in the sea only to come crashing down and disappear; why? because the sea (public) doesn't want anyone rising up and challenging the status-quo (even though the status-quo in India at this time is a dilapidated building of insecure jobs, looming poverty, expensive healthcare and minimal justice for the average working class family).

 

The market of corruption is saturated with easy fixes and cheap but temporary solutions to the problem in India; morality is expensive and dangerous, men are worth less than "that new pair of shoes that resemble that famous actor's pair". Maybe the mentality has become "a life here - a life there is minuscule when the population of the country is so big" Who knows? but I do know that nobody seems to care. People prefer to watch lewd and sexist Punjabi and Bollywood songs all day and if a foreigner like me says "Let's watch some news"; they will watch it, for half a minute with a face like a melancholy horse before walking off (usually scratching their backside) and uttering "I'm tired, I'm going to bed". Genuine issues just don't seem to interest the average Indian and the truth definitely is a hard pill for them to swallow (Even now many an Indian will be reading this thinking "how dare he insult my India" and not realising that as well as opinion there are very true observations present in this article too!!). Don't get me wrong! There ARE seekers of justice, reformers, philosophers and heroes in India! But the sad truth is they are all either struggling to gain support from the public or are locked away in prison awaiting death row.

 

Maybe in a country so fake (where all the police, the clergy of every religion, the saints, the street wanderers, shopkeepers, government employees, basically everyone selling something) is a con artist; the general public laugh at the idea that there can be someone who genuinely cares about the country's well-being. I've seen many an Indian mock people who have stood up to injustices (they laugh at people who have lost their families to the cause). Maybe it's because they think it's all fake too? Maybe Indians feel that there is no such thing as a genuine person? After all when they visit holy shrines and holy people; even though they go because they believe in a superstitious way that it will bring them luck, they are still reluctant to hand over a rupee or two (Even Indians know this religious ritualistic rubbish is just a charade - you see it on the faces while handing these holy men money; but they do it anyway!)

 

When I say “Indian” I am by no means typifying every Indian but instead am trying to expand upon the customary thinking of a majority. Oppressed are the lower class in this country who incidentally have no voice. People ask my political opinion on India and my response is : I do not support the fanatic religious separatist nut cases (who are just power hungry selfish men in bed with the government anyway) and nor do I support the corrupt government, it's politicians or any of it's agencies. My voice is for the women of India and the common man, the honest down-trodden labourer. These people unfortunately will probably never benefit from any sort of social reform anyway. I ask thus that we support a cause to ensure them change and justice. When religious crackpots and governmental fascists clash, who dies? Who is raped? Who is tortured? It is the innocent middle of the road people (mainly young women and children) who will never find their photos on walls of the “martyrs hall of fame” or any government office. I ask why is there no one asking simply for justice for women and innocent people? Where is this “Indian” organisation that asks for a non-religious, non-caste related justice instead of separate states and justice for just their own kind? The reality is that people of all religions (if they have no money or power) are oppressed. There are Hindus killing Hindus, Sikhs killing Sikhs, Muslims killing Muslims. What do the murders have in common? They work for the government. So where is the Bhagat Singh ideology of “Justice for all!”. Religion (a very dangerous drug I might add) it seems has gotten to the heads of people too much to care about another cause. With so many people protesting for their own little causes all around India is it not obvious that everyone is distressed? Where is the unity to defeat an evil that is bigger than each small minority of protesters?

 

Now; the British did commit atrocities under their Raj and they did stop people from uttering the truth, but like I said that was over 50 years ago (the world was a very different place back then); under a foreign government - what is India's excuse now? Why are we again in need of some sort of revolution in under a centenary of Indian rule? So soon? This is because as a public in 1947 the wrong people were installed to lead the country - seemingly it all went downhill from there (The absolute beginnings).

 

Unfortunately for us the real leaders, revolutionaries and patriots of the country died to liberate it. Leaving it in the hands of the half naked Randy Gandhi (who drank his own urine and slept with his own grand daughters! And now appears on the Indian Rupee! Yuck!) and his womanising, drunk compatriots (cue Nehru and Jinnah!). It seems that these traits have been passed down rather fittingly by these three musketeers to every politician and Policeman of India today. Sadly this is the only legacy these so-called “leaders” of infant India left their people so it's no wonder the countries are a mess. Fortunately for us the ideas of the country's “real” martyrs survived and can be read and studied even today (Bhagat Singh's notebook is a classic read).

 

The sad truth of the matter is that rape has been the Indian man's self-given "right" for centuries. It has absolutely nothing to do with religion, class, caste or creed. This is simply an excuse; girls of all religions have suffered at the hands of men; so let us please dispel this myth right now. In all riots, disturbances and partitions in India only women have really suffered the brunt of the violence.

 

Men fight and gain medals and flags but women have always lost every battle. Any excuse for revenge, teaching your enemy a lesson or quite frankly just about anything else has resulted in the rape of women. Take just two examples in recent years: the rape of an entire village of Muslim girls in the 90s by the Indian army and then the mass gang rapes of Delhi (November 1984) of Sikh girls. Then as we delve deeper we find that the nations of India and Pakistan laid down their foundations in 1947 with the mass rape, mutilation, selling of young girls, The branding using hot iron on the bodies of girls and sending trains full of dismembered breasts to the other nation (It's all there in history if you care to look). This type of thing still occurs daily in India (with many women preferring not to report it out of coercion of Indian customs). This Delhi rape has reared the ugly head of brutal abuse against women again but it is by no means the only case of it's kind. This is a nation where the rape victim is viewed as the person being at fault, the poor girls abused are talked about as “loosing their honour”. This is the problem with India, they make the victim feel like a used and worthless object leading to more psychological torment after the rape by society's labels. Any poor girl thus is forced to not even reveal that anything has occurred let alone report it or ask for justice. Ironically the men that abuse women go undetected living normal lives and if discovered nobody labels them or says “these men have been dishonoured”. A result this is of women being viewed as objects, used or unused - which if abused or raped are labelled unfit for marriage. Simply put -why India do you choose to stigmatise rape victims and not rapists? This custom disgusts me and I feel it is the source and only cause of unreported sexual abuse in India.

 

A rape or molestation of any kind of any women/girl/child is a harrowing psychological and physical experience that we cannot even begin to imagine. EVERY case is as important as the next; just because we don't make a fuss over one rape as opposed to another doesn't make it less worse. I read somewhere once that in India every 2 minutes a girl is raped; and quite frankly I believe this statistic. What I am saying is that in a country with such a high rate of mistreatment of women there is obviously something wrong with the social psychology of the country. The clues are all there even in the media; look at how it caters only for men with Bollywood films containing “item songs” (the “item” being a scantily dressed women). The only genre in Indian media is Sex (for men). Compare that now to the west with countless types of films and music each catering for every and anybody. Indian media has been intent upon teaching it's young men that women are “items” (they invented this term) and to girls; they teach that “this is all OK”. Of course this has some sort of adverse affect upon society, let's face it women have nothing to watch on TV but this rubbish created by the perverts of the music industry. Maybe this industry is more appealing and outweighs cultural and moral ethics; who knows?

 

My point is that the respect for women and life in general (especially a female one) has never existed in the mindsets of these people since at least 1947. Neither on that note has the correct punishment existed (not to mention that rich and powerful people walk free – never even to be charged). That is why the situation has become so severe. I think now that the “humane” jurisdictional boat has sailed. These types of people can only be taught by setting a new precedent via just as sever punishments as their crimes (but the government will never do this unless it benefits their corrupt agenda). The government and Police are blind and couldn't care less about human suffering (especially a female life); they certainly cannot be trusted in any cause let alone dish out justice. Like I mentioned before the majority of rapes carried out in India have probably been done so by Police anyway which is the most disgusting and sexist group of thus in India along with politicians and the army; so any social or legal reform is NOT in the interest of the authorities.

 

My personal opinion upon the sentence for the guilty and disgusting men involved in this very very brutal rape (very sickening and twisted what these men did again all there if you care to read) and any other man who ruins a young girls life in this sort of sickened country? Simple, not a death sentence; that is too easy. I say they should be castrated (slowly without anaesthetic), severely tortured physically and mentally in just as sick ways, then to have their hands cut off too. Leaving them to survive this and live the rest of their lives in suffering and misery just as they do to innocent girls. These people are too ill in the head to simply be hanged now; examples need to be set. Or give the culprits to the people to deal with because the government cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Depending on how rich these men are will determine how they are punished by the government – if punished at all! We don't even know if they are actually innocent and just picked off the street so the government can be seen to be doing it's job! We can and will never know!

 

"The mindset of the people" there's a strange term isn't it? or another way of putting it : "intelligence BELONGING to the people"; THE PEOPLE! THE COMMON MAN! "What?" I here you cry, "The common everyday man like me has an intelligence?", Yes! I say! Godammit Yes!! And this mind when combined with thousands of others is more powerful than any God! The mind has the ability to be educated and change first itself and then the face of a nation for betterment.

No one, not even the government (especially the government - God Bless Zuckerberg) can stop social unification via the internet, only we can; by being absorbed in stupid issues like "Love Shayri" and "click this if you love your religion". If we have been wronged by our predecessors then we as a youth can fix it and instigate change. But it seems the youth of India is too absorbed in more shallow affairs. Maybe we should read the histories and books of the greatest minds of our era and before to sharpen our intellects and lead the country ourselves. . Here comes a news flash! hold up! GOVERNMENTS DON'T RUN COUNTRIES! IT'S PEOPLE DO! whoaah! good isn't it? A Shepard can herd a flock of sheep but not a pack of lions! But! Without knowledge of precedents we have nothing, history always repeats itself. As a people India needs to educate itself because it's schools are sanctioned not to teach the truth; not to mention that many of the teachers teaching in India have no idea how to spell their own name correctly let alone educate the masses on anything of any consequence. The education system of India is vitally flawed; Exists a half-witted Victorian style of "I write on blackboard - Child copies it". Again I fear I may be typifying a nation so I will clarify that this is not always the case. There are pockets of societies such as the south Indian Telugu speaking populous who excel in education within their own country and even take these skills abroad (look at the software industry for example).

 

Unfortunately not all aspects of Indian society share this enthusiasm for betterment, moral living and education; instead focusing on sex, alcohol and drugs. The mentality of mainly the North-Indian youth is to focus upon unskilled labour or emigrate to earn money and thus never progress intellectually. I must commend the Indian educated (mainly Telugu and similar communities) that have proven that Indian education CAN work (without the need for study abroad) and have contributed to the global economy with their skills. Unlike the good educators of Southern India (and a few other areas as an exception) there is no encouragement from the majority of (North) Indian teachers (who I might re-iterate are virtually all uneducated people lucky enough to land a government job) to get the student to ask the most important and absolute question - "Why?" No use of imagination or encouragement to use imaginations is the culprit.

 

With the South at the leading forefront of technology and many other industries there is a North-South divide (The south being more intelligent). India needs to recognise this and perhaps send government employees, teachers and students to the South for a proper education. Incidentally the country is being run from Delhi (North India); I think that speaks for itself.

 

This is why the nation is full of sheep following blind herders. We simply cannot rely on these teachers (educated by soap operas) to create independent thinkers. This type of education perhaps on another note needs to be imported into India? Or we need another route; one of self-education (everything is right there, a click away on the internet, everyone can access it; but it's unto you how you use it). Or maybe on a grass-root level we should look to our holy books and read them like manuals of life (many of them teach the importance of women and respect for humankind). Maybe we should see how these scriptures tell us to respect every soul instead of just uttering and mumbling the verses blindly and believing in a God that no one has ever seen. Take this wealth of knowledge out of the temples and put it into libraries; India philosophically and ethically has been ahead of it's time for thousands of years BUT only in it's literature NOT the people. The words of the Sufi poet Shah Hussein are as true now as they were 450 or so years ago when he penned them :

 

“Knock down the Temple, Knock down the Mosque but do not knock down the Heart of a person because that is where God lives”

 

As westerners of Indian origin we too need to ensure that our minds stay clear of the religious mumbo jumbo that is being exported abroad via relatives and the Indian media; and instead stick to our logic and western way of thinking.

 

In India we need to bring these principles of humanity off the pages of these books (which no one even reads!) and into practice; let us change the normal Indian mentality of: “If it hasn't happened to me then it doesn't concern me” because when something does happen to us we are the first to complain “no one helped me, everyone stood by and watched!”.

 

A reform now for India of any kind (if at all possible) would require years of work; changing of staff and education of staff in all governmental sectors. New laws; maybe even a new government, but the nation's people need to support and encourage change first. In order for India to become a safer country for women in the coming years this current pattern of thinking HAS to change NOW! then maybe just maybe we can prevent the rape of another poor girl somewhere....

 



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 ਇਹ ਰੇਪ ਤਾਂ ਇੱਕ ਹੀ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਆਇਆ ਹੈ, ਲੱਖਾਂ ਹੀ ਰੇਪ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ ਇੰਡੀਆ `ਚ ਹਰ ਸਾਲ। ਔਰਤ ਦੀ ਦੁੱਕੀ ਦੀ ਕੀਮਤ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਾਡੇ ਸਮਾਜ `ਚ। ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਇਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ, ਹਰ ਗਰੀਬ, ਉਸ ਦੀ ਘਰਵਾਲ਼ੀ, ਉਸਦੀ ਜਾਇਦਾਦ (ਜੋ ਵੀ ਹੈ ਸਣੇ ਉਸਦੀ ਆਪਣੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਦੇ) ਸਾਰੀ ਦੀ ਸਾਰੀ ਬੇਈਮਾਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਕਬਜ਼ਿਆਂ `ਚ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਸਮੇਂ 13 ਸੂਬਿਆਂ `ਚ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਦੇਸ਼-ਵਾਸੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਹਮਲੇ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ ਤਾਂ ਕਿ ਇੰਟਰਨੈਸ਼ਨਲ ਕੰਪਨੀਆਂ ਆਪਣਾ ਮਾਈਨਿੰਗ ਆਦਿ ਦਾ ਕੰਮ ਕਰ ਸਕਣ ਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ ਜੱਦੀ-ਪੁਸ਼ਤੀ ਜਗ੍ਹਾ ਤੋਂ ਹੋਰ ਥਾਂ ਲਿਜਾ ਕੇ ਵਸਾਇਆ ਜਾਵੇ ਤੇ ਫਿਰ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਆਮ ਸੋਸ਼ਣ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਸਕੇ। ਉਹ ਵਾਪਸ ਹਥਿਆਰ-ਬੰਦ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ਼ ਲੜ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ। ਮਨਮੋਹਣ ਸਿੰਘ ਖੁਦ ਵੀ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਦਮਨ ਦਾ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਕੁਰੱਪਟ ਸਟਰੱਕਚਰ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਸਾਮਰਾਜ ਦੀ ਮੱਦਦ ਨਾਲ਼ ਹੀ ਚੱਲ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਇਸੇ ਲਈ ਉਥੇ ਸਾਡੀ ਆਪਣੀ ਕੋਈ ਕੀਮਤ ਨਹੀਂ। ਇਹ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡਾ ਕਾਰਨ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸਾਡੇ ਵਰਗੇ ਲੋਕੀਂ ਇੰਡੀਆ ਛੱਡ ਕੇ ਬਾਹਰ ਆਏ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ।
    ਹੁਣ ਇਸ ਰੇਪ ਕਾਂਡ `ਚ ਹੀ ਦੇਖ ਲਵੋ, ਪਰੋਟੈੱਸਟ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲ਼ਿਆਂ ਤੇ ਹੀ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਪਾਣੀ ਵਾਲ਼ੀਆਂ ਬੰਦੂਕਾਂ ਨਾਲ਼ ਬਦਸਲੂਕੀ ਵਾਲ਼ਾ ਵਰਤਾਓ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਤੇ ਰਾਇਟ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੀ ਅੰਨ੍ਹਾ-ਧੁੰਦ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ। ਉਸ ਕੁੜੀ ਦੇ ਕੇਸ ਦੀ ਰਜਿਸਟਰੇਸ਼ਨ `ਚ ਜਾਣ-ਬੁੱਝ ਕੇ ਦੇਰ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ। ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦਾ ਢਾਂਚਾ ਹੀ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਅਮੀਰਾਂ ਲਈ ਭਾਰਤ ਦੇਸ਼ ਬਹੁਤ ਵਧੀਆ ਹੈ, ਪਰ ਗਰੀਬਾਂ ਲਈ ਕਿਸੇ ਨਰਕ ਤੋਂ ਘ੍ਟ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ।