Mob (in)justice in India

Juts stumbled upon a collection of MMSes that sent chills down spines of (the regular law abiding) Indians in the year gone by. One video is of a little boy not more than 12-13 yrs old stripped and tied to a palm tree and being tortured. The good for nothing eunuchs inflicting this trauma on the little boy show how dick-less they are by further stamping him on the chest. Now, I don’t know what the little boy’s crime was but he definitely didn’t deserve this. Even if he killed someone, the law should have taken its course not the lawlessness more often referred as ‘Mob Justice’. If God exists, I hope the little boy bears the grudge in his mind until he grows up, develops enough muscles to kill those bastards who did this to him. And the poetry about this justice would be if our authorities are unable to pin the crime on him. I would love it…

Then there’s this MMS where a teenage girl accused of witchcraft is stripped naked and paraded around the village. This when village men of every age group walk all around her teasing her, pulling her hair and doing all sorts of things that go against the very culture we Indians harp about all day long. I hope that girl turns into another Phoolan Devi and kills each one of those bastards who made her go through this harrowing incident.

These are mere few of the 100s (1000s I think) of incidents that happen across the country on the diktat of either the local panchayats or hoodlums. I cannot imagine the plight of the victims of such atrocities who more often than not can really not pick up their lives together after something as horrid. Where’s their justice? Whatever their crime, did they deserve the punishment they got? Who decides their punishment? These and many more questions will remain unanswered till the law doesn’t start protecting the helpless. In this country the authorities are only on the sides of the more powerful ones. Simple.

You know I often wonder what these kind of people live for because they are bloody no good to no one and can only cause menace to society. When their menace becomes so traumatic for certain individuals I hope the same individuals are the ones who put an end to their useless good for nothing lives. Yes, yes only God has the right to take away lives but then if God was exercising his rights so well we wouldn’t have had such MMSes rather such incidents in the first place.

P.S: video link is on ndtv.com

Criminals ki Dilli

It may have wider and better roads, cleaner surroundings, better infrastructure and even Mr. Sreedharan’s Delhi Metro but it still is a shameful blot on the country. The crime rate in Delhi is mind-boggling especially considering the number of police personnel in the city. It is our National capital with VIPs, VVIPS, VVVIPs thronging the city yet the anti social elements muster enough guts to do the wrong day in and day out.

The city tops in ‘Crime against women’ as per the 2008 report by National Crime Records Bureau and this should be no surprise if you know women who live in the NCR. They will tell you how it is not safe to travel in public transports at almost any time of the day let alone late night. Delhi Metro maybe a whiff of welcome change to that notion. The recent rape incidents have shocked the nation if not those in the corridors of power in the capital. I had only seen in movies that a woman would get raped in a moving car by a gang of hoodlums until I realized that this happens in Delhi too. Not sure who inspired whom. I think it’s not the people it’s the absence of fear of law in their minds. The same will not dare think of doing anything like that in a middle eastern country.

Mumbai on the other hand is a very safe place for anyone anytime of the day. Of course random incidents take place here and there but by far Mumbai can be classified as a safe place (for women) where as the National Capital cannot be. In fact, I read an interview of an internationally proclaimed DJ who was performing in Mumbai and what I remember till date was his remark on how safe Mumbai was even at ungodly hours.

I hope for the sake of people (especially the women) in Delhi the authorities start instilling enough fear in the anti socials so that they think twice even before whistling at a women. Unless that happens we might have to change the name from NCR to NCR (National Crime Region).

India has gone to the Dogs!!!

A soldier dies and there’s absolutely no coverage in visual media (maybe a times new roman 8 with 20 words in print) but an anti-national (stone pelter, maoist, militant etc.) dies and the media goes into a frenzy. They go to the extent of showing their families wailing and air it prime time. It’s not that the soldiers (Army, BSF, ITBP, CRPF etc.) don’t have families or that their families don’t shed tears.

Barkha Dutt (who I respect and thus warrants space here) wants to give prime time to the anti nationals while happily painting the Indian soldier with one common brush..rapist, killer of innocent people, misuser of AFSPA. Barkha Dutt’s claim to fame is her brave and unprecedented (in India) coverage of the Kargil war but do give it a second thought while we are at it. She wasn’t there serving the nation or doing her normal duty. That was her chance to claim lime light and reach newer heights in her profession and she took it well. The ones she was covering fighting for the country were doing their duty. It wasn’t a shot at fame for those soldiers like it was for Barkha Dutt. The soldiers (women included) were not there because they got 'an opportunity of a lifetime' rather just because the bugle called. Barkha Dutt, through her exploits, earned the highest order of respect (deservedly so) and ears everytime she spoke or interviewed. The stature that she has earned should not be wasted on prejudiced TV shows or news reports and it would be in the best interest of India and journalism itself if she didn’t take sides and showed both sides of the story. Instead of empathizing with loss of life of an anti-national she should do journalism favour and take a more balanced and objective view. A life is a life..whether that of an anti-national or that of a soldier but think about it - the anti-national died working against the sovereignty of the country while the soldier died defending it. So you decide.

I don’t deny some (very very few actually) soldiers have wronged the society (for which they have been duly punished or are being tried) but to paint all of them with the same negative brush is treason of the highest order. And when the ‘responsible journalists’ do that they also show the plight of the ‘affected’ people thereby creating victims out of the culprits (if u go shooting or stone throwing at a soldier you cannot expect flowers in return). As a result the soldiers become the culprits.

On another day, I would recognize the important work that some journalists are doing but today I want to highlight what the majority of the TRP hungry journos are doing. I wish they would get out of their air-conditioned lives and see what a soldier goes through on just a normal day at his/her work. Instead of realizing AND recognizing what heroes our soldiers are they leave no stone unturned in making them the villains and creating heroes out of the anti-nationals.

This country has gone to the Dogs and the politicians and journalists are mainly to blame. Can’t expect better from politicians as most just care about votes, but again, most journos just care about TRPs. Cheap bloody journos!!!

Tarun Vijay has wonderfully put in words the feelings I have regarding this matter..read the poem at the end, brings tears to my eyes.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/whose-man-is-that-soldier-fighting-in-kashmir