Dear Sister, You Are On Your Own

Manmohan Singh is our PM. Not once but twice. With less than 30% of votes. Anyone who thinks that we have a functional democracy needs to get their head examined. Our netas are nothing short of clones of bad Hindi movie villains. Our bureaucrats who are supposed to keep our system running smoothly get railroaded or become part of the corrupt system. Our media, who are supposed to be the voice of reason and create non-constitutional system of checks and balances, are equally culpable in the decay of the system. They practice guerilla journalism answering to either money or leftist political causes. Case in point is the entire NDTV crew headed by the likes of Dutt and Razdan. Our defence forces have been rendered impotent. Poor Jawans! Between the corrupt and pusillanimous netas and equally corrupt and self aggrandizing babus, what chance do they have? Of course the lesser we say about our police force the better. Think about it. When we are in problem, the thought of police bothers us more than the problem itself. What prayer does the man or the woman on the street have?

It almost feels like the country is running on a prayer. Prayer and our perseverance. At the end of the day, we can deal with a lot of problems. What we cannot deal with is the threat to our lives. Civilization has declawed us. All we have is our wit and common sense to save us. When a person with obvious signs of wealth walks unprotected through a dangerous area it one could say that the person is asking for trouble. Cruel as it may be but that is God’s honest truth. In a country like ours we are responsible for our own safety.

This brings me to the subject of rape. As a father, I can say that it is one of the most terrifying thoughts a man can have. You can protect your kids only up to a certain age. After that they will step out and be at the mercy of wolves, armed with only their wits. That goes multiple folds for the girls. We as parents can do only so much for them. However after a while it becomes responsibility of the girls to protect themselves.

In our country a male child is a preferred one. They get special treatment. That always leads to a warped sense of entitlement. They are told that the girls are supposed to be either this way or that way but the message invariable is that you are better than the girls. I am a man. Men are pigs all over the world but they are more so in countries where they are the preferred sex (by parents). This makes EVERY Indian man a potential predator. That is my message to Indian girls. If you decide to go to an abandoned building with only one person, aren’t you putting yourself in the harm’s way? If you are out partying till late, aren’t you asking for trouble?

You could say that I am essentially holding women responsible for getting raped! To some extent I may be guilty of paraphrasing Mamata Bannerjee and the Khap panchayat geniuses. However, my statement does not come from utter ignorance but a cold and cruel awareness of mine and the system’s extreme impotence. I know that the system should protect them and that Indian men should have more control over themselves and that clothes and their smile or a friendly gesture etc. should not be construed as an invitation for rape. That is the way it should be. That is the right thing. However, I know better. I know that it is wrong but I would rather our women be safe.

My earnest appeal to our sisters is that please be aware of your surroundings. I am sure that you would prefer to be wrong (on the way things should be) and safe than the other way around. There are places where women are safe. Mumbai used to be that way but not anymore. Amdavaad is really safe for girls. Delhi on the other hand is a gone case. Girls need to aware of all this. Of course this does nothing for our helpless sisters in the rural areas or sisters who are rag-pickers but we need to save as many as we can.

Sisters, we cannot save you. The system cannot save you. You are totally on your own. Let your awareness and your instincts be your protector.

It sure is a sorry statement about our country and our civilization.