India Shining? I don’t think so

A regular casual dinner with a few friends transforms into a horrendous night for Keenan Santoas and Rueben Fernandez on the night of 20th of October, 2011

I have not been following this case as closely until just recently - It makes me wonder if all these Facebook movements, candle light vigils and the “battle against the system” are just nonsense? A pretense by which we convince ourselves that we’re part of a drive – a revolution or a movement which just gives a big high to our bigger egos. Well, does that not make the “voice of India” self-centered? Have we never considered fighting the hoodlums in our own society before fighting corruption and terrorism?

The flaw does not however, alone lie with the sad state of affairs in India – where women’s security is concerned. Most of the times, I have fought my own combats with a troublesome feeling that some man would come and get back at me for standing up for myself. Many times, I have been displeased with male friends who overlooked a danger, opting to look away instead. So when people nod dejectedly and comment that looking away was a better alternative, I get a sinking feeling.

When will, we as people, learn and understand that looking away is not the way out? It is that we have misplaced our opinions, our self-esteem and indeed our principles by constantly looking away every time we are confronted with an attack on our personal and combined self-esteem.

I have stayed in a city called Lucknow for most of my life and have myself faced embarrassment, humiliation and disrespect at every nook and corner of that city. It is because most of the cities in India we are full of these killers and we face them everyday. They walk amongst us, talk filthy to us, feel us up, brush against us, touch us and grope us .Every time these issues are reported, we are asked to shut our gobs for threat of speedy and throbbing vengeance.

Thus by doing so, we have misplaced our united voice. We thus choose to bow down our heads and we lock our eyes and ears and we choose to witness such incidents, comment on it, like Facebook page for it and then move on. Oblivious to other people, ignorant to all the prejudice around us – we move on with our lives – It didn’t happen to me after all? Just because two brave men declined to do the same, because they rejected to listen to the cynics, they are dead. What a ghastly way to go .I wonder what would have combating for a society- that perhaps wouldn’t have done the same for them- would have earned them – instant death and injustice as the case shall go on forever and justice will be delayed for half a century?

It’s a fad these days to take a day off work and scream slogans against corruption since your life is not under threat by doing that. But why did not even a single person, out of a crowd of hundreds perhaps, come forward to help Keenan and Reuben? The two men may have been alive if someone in the “viewers” had at least called an ambulance.

To the bystanders or the audience who chose to enjoy the view - don’t worry people; your daughters, mothers, wives and sisters are all secure. You all can come out of your cabinets. You can have movements and candle-light vigils when you feel wronged by rickshaw-walla’s meddle meter. Infact why even come out of your homes? Stay in your protected havens and happily press the ‘Like’ button of the ‘Anti-rickshaw drivers protest’ crusade on FaceBook. Why should you be concerned about some Santos or a Fernandes being killed by some goons in Marol after all?

To Keenan and Reuben- Thank you for choosing not to look away. You both are my Heroes.

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