Thursday, February 5, 2009

India - "The Land of Senas"

Crimes against women are steadily rising. There was a recent attack on women in a Mangalore pub on 24th January 2009. The founder of The Sri Rama Sena, who claims to be the "Custodians of Indian Culture", says there is no need to raise a hue and cry about the attack on women.
The women's fault was that they were found in the pub in the company of their women friends. They were five in number against a pack of wild wolves who were forty in number. They literally barged into the pub and began targetting the innocent women, pulling their hair, skirts and jeans, forcibly making them sit on chairs and slapping them no end, when they tried to escape. They were humiliated no end and were called whores and prostitutes.
Let me begin by asking the readers, "Is culture only for the women folk in India? What culture do the menfolk have, when they abuse their wives in public, their old parents who have looked after them right from their infancy only to put them in old-age homes? Where is the culture when men get drunk beyond the point of saturation and drive recklessly only to kill innocent people on the roads, or rape the women as and when they can set their eyes on them? Why is the Center silent about all this?"
The situation is getting worse with each passing day. Intolerance is spreading at a rapid rate in our country. Hoodlums are attacking women violently in the name of religion. They have a warped sense of indian tradition, culture and ethos. Those men who attacked women in Mangalore, think that every woman walking down the street is his private property, their wife to teach them the essence of culture. These very same people hold the public to ransom and assault them as to their whims and fancies. It is tragic that our state and Central governments are ill-equipped and unwilling to crack down swiftly on these hoodlums. All the attacks have not been so far tracked and the perpetrators of violence are not brought to book till date and even if they are, they are left on bail, to continue their "Goondaism".
Recounting the trauma, one of the woman victims claimed that the Sri Ram Sena activists hurled abuses at them, asking them who gave them the right to wear skirts, Jeans? I should ask them, "Who gave them the right to wear pants? Let them come in loin cloth even to the work place, that is our Hindu Shastra, isn't it? These victims of violence felt the whole incident which occurred so fast in just a quarter of an hour, as very traumatising and none of the by-standers came forward to help them or even shield them when they were pushed, or jostled. The only young man who came to protect them was beaten black and blue. If these people talk about culture and calling women prostitutes, then even their wives are first-class prostitutes as per their logic. Isn't it?
Hooliganism is thriving in the name of "Indian Culture" in Mangalore - The land of so-called Shastras and Dharmas with Brahmins preaching to all and sundry when they themselves are totally confused about the rights and wrongs in the shastras. Every one claims he is a vidhwan in the vedas. God Help the gods!! Today there is a ban on women going to the pubs, wearing jeans, skirts, noodle straps etc, etc. Tomorrow, there will be a diktat for the married couples on how they should carry on their private life, by the so - called "Custodians of Culture". Most of the attackers in India are generally history-sheeters and such people should not be given bail. They should be treated as criminal molestors of women. Here, we have a clear case of the law not being applied to prevent crime as quoted by former top cop Kiran Bedi.
What is the state headquarters doing with such imbecile bullies? This is nothing but TALIBANISATION of India. As a woman, I feel it is a violation of our freedom. Nobody is given the right to assault any woman. Indian culture gives equal status to men and women. Who are these people to stop and dictate the women on the grounds of culture? Since when have these hoodlums become"Culture Police"? This is an obnoxious act that is definitely unpardonable. These perpetrators of violence on women are in no way custodians of either culture, religious or social mores. Ours is a diverse democracy and any indian citizen with a fair amount of intelligence and common sense will never tolerate such irrational behaviour.
And now the whole incident has come down to the level of threats and blackmail to the victims of the mentioned violence. The next program of the Sri Rama Sena is to target people on the upcoming Valentine's Day. The Proclamation of the chief of the Sri Rama Sena is that he has decided to arrange marriages between dating couples. For this, he has formed five teams who will roam around the city of Bangalore with a video camera and a turmeric stub in their hands. As and when he finds young couples dating, he will force them to wed on the spot. In that case, this man should be prosecuted for introducing "Polygamy" in our society. Going by the number of young people dating on theValentine's Day, we will have Mass marriages. This is one state in India that was once having a strong image of Peace and Tolerance and is NOW heading in a different direction leading to Hoodlums, molestors and perpetrators of violence on women in the lowest imaginable degree.
The day is not far when tourists will have an additional point in their itinerary, on their visit to India - " Incredible India" - India - "The Land of Senas": Rama Sena, Shiva Sena, Bhima Sena, Hanumantha Sena and last but not the least, "Goonda Sena".
"GOD BLESS DEAR INDIA"