Delhi Incident: Aftermath

The dark forces of the beautiful Delhi have marked their presence once again, and this time victim was a 23 years old girl. This time she was not alone, but traveling with her a friend. After every such incident we raise our concerns over media, in parliament, on social networks, over blogs, in homes, offices and small tea stalls around every corner of the city. But, after few months it will be a forgotten story, why?? Because we are so ‘great’, ‘resilient’, know how to ‘move on’ and many other adjectives could be given to support this, but the fact it that it is nothing more than ‘ignorance’. We talk about this for some time, slowly start be feel better that it didn’t happened to someone we know and then get busy with our daily life.

It was really hard for even a person like me, who thinks that surrounding usually don’t affect me, to just read about this incident. So, imagine what that girl must have gone though. I still get shiver while reading doctor’s statement, and her friend’s recount of the incident. It is really hard to believe that such animalistic behavior still exists in humans (if we bother to call those people human). These people were not merciless terrorists; they were normal citizen of this country, who can be found around the block in every city, and village.

I am saying all these things because I am hearing the demands of people, political parties, student unions etc. to ensure death or other extreme measures for anyone who commits this type of crime. But, is it really the solution? This time, accused could get a tough sentence as they do not belong to ‘privileged class’ of politicians, businessmen etc. But, will people stop committing such heinous crimes? What will happen to girls like Ankita, Ruchika etc. who are victimized (in a similar way) by so called ‘privileged class’?

You cannot make people to behave in certain way by just threatening them with a tough sentence, it can bar them for sometime but instincts can’t be killed by force. It could be a good means, but it will not last for long time, especially in this country, where people are notoriously known for coming up with “work arounds”. Is government, politicians, court really serious when they say that they will hang all accused, especially given the fact that many accused are around them (politicians, businessmen, military(?) etc).

Then what could be more effective solution to this problem, if not force then what? I think that the best way to control this problem is the proper counseling at grass root level to develop understanding and respect towards opposite sex, especially in Indian social setup. This counseling cannot be done at any consoling center in specific. A complete effort will be needed, including that at home, playground, collages, schools, and in social circles. One cannot expect a person to respect other sex if he has seen his mother, sister beaten by father and other family members right from the childhood. Apart from this, there has been a growing frustration and insecurity among people which lead to these type of incidents directly or indirectly. Frustration from their current state (financial, job, family etc.) and insecurity about their future, some commits suicide, some commits crimes and some turns towards alcohol-drugs etc. The current case is outcome of effect of alcohol (as per one of the convict), so it is important to go into the root of the problem before start to look for a solution, ‘quick fixes’ won’t work every time and probably they won’t work this time.

In the end, I just pray for the victim and hope that her life will be saved by doctors, and more importantly may god and society give her courage to live a life with positive outlook for the future.