Indians after Rape

Yet another gang rape. I am sure this is not the first one after the Delhi nightmare but it got people outraged once again. Not sure why though. Maybe because it happened in Mumbai, a city which took pride in being one of the safest cities for its women or maybe because this time the victim is a young journalist. Whatever be the reason, I am happy this time it is not the nauseating, stomach churning brutality of the tragedy that got people outraged after the Delhi gang rape. I always enjoy observing people’s reactions to a certain event. While in the aftermath of Delhi tragedy, I was more interested in observing the reactions of our leaders, both elected and self appointed (people who were forced to read my blog post because I spammed their Facebook newsfeed, would know what I am talking about), this time around I decided to observe how the aam janta reacts. Aam Indian janta comes in so many different shapes, sizes and mindsets that analyzing their perspectives makes you lose track of your own. However that risk is always worth taking and so I did. It was hard though. Categorizing reactions of people without getting judged was not easy. If I do a gender based analysis, I would be called a sexist. If I do a region based analysis, I would be called a regionalist. And if I do a religion based analysis? No. Hell No. So I chose the safest option, I analyzed how people from different age groups react to the incidents of rapes.

15 – 25 years old : This age group seems to be most outraged and frustrated of all. Outraged because, well they are young and almost everything makes them angry. Frustrated because they think they have a solution (apparently they have a solution to everything from corruption to crime to China), and it’s pretty simple and easy to execute but for some reason our political set up is not implementing it. So how do they take out their frustration? By having a black dot or any other symbol of protest as their Facebook/Twitter display picture, by sharing pictures of rapists getting punished in Saudi Arabia or Lebanon, by writing blogs (just as I am doing) about the sick patriarchy, incapable judiciary, inefficient police, impotent government and everything else they hold responsible for the tragedy. Basically by ranting on internet. However, this age group is honest in its reaction. As unreasonable as its outrage and frustration might be, it is not opportunistic or pretentious. As trivial and lackadaisical its effort might be, it’s honest and genuine.

25-65 years old : This is the age group which in reality has the power to change things. Our billionaires, our idolized sport stars, our corporate leaders, our beloved celebrities, our holy Godmen, our high profile activists and our political leaders, in short the people who actually run this country all fall under this age group. Unfortunately this is the age group in which a man gets selfish and gets occupied with acquiring means to give himself and his family a secured and better life and future. So everything a man does in this age group stinks of opportunism and selfishness. Therefore every reaction coming from this age group is well measured and accurately targeted towards a goal which is not what it should be, that is safety of women. Politicians indulge in blame game. Regional parties blame the influx of migrants, opposition blames the ruling party and ruling party just condemns the occurrence of the event and promises a quick and stern action. The celebrities fearing backlash, make sure their reactions are subtle, full of emotion and concern but lack sternness in their critique of political setup. Corporate is mostly indifferent as they have their own problems to tackle. Activists, backed by corporate which in turn is backed by political parties, do carry out dharnas and pradarshans but they are mostly politically motivated than anything else. And all this facilitated by media for which such tragedies are blessings in disguise as they get lots of material for carrying out debates, discussions and special stories. So we get to see, hear and read a lot about the reactions from this age group via media, but those reactions are neither honest nor genuine.

65 and above : This age group gives its reactions in one line. “Itni raat ko wo ghar se baahar nikli hi kyu”, “Wo us sunsan jagah gayi hi kyu”, “Aise kapde pehenengi toh ye hi hoga”, etc etc etc.