The year 2012 came to an end on a very sad note with the demise of the brave but unfortunate girl who faced such a monstrous crime of gang rape in a moving bus by some filthy inhuman idiots whom I feel ashamed to call as humans.
While news has been flashing and much has been argued,debated,blogged,tweeted about in the various social media platforms by outraged Indians from all over ever since the heinous crime occured,I had been avoiding doing the same ( as I firmly believe that blogging or tweeting about it will hardly stop such crimes.Most criminals/rapists donot even read blogs anyways! ), until I read this article by SA Aiyar. While the article must have been written quite earnestly with perhaps the best of intentions I cannot help but disagree with it.
The article indicates that bollywood songs are also responsible for rapes in India ( albeit partly ). Yes, I do agree most bollywood song lyrics are absolute thrash and they do encourage to tease,pester or stalk women,I would however not go so far as to say that it leads to rape.I'm a musician myself and those who understand music would agree that,thats too blatant an accusation and songs/lyrics cannot be held responsible at all.
Though I would definately not endorse vulgar songs/dances that film makers cheaply use to sell their movies ( and would like them moderated ) however I would still vehemently oppose the thinking/view that bollywood songs can lead to rape.In that case why rape happens in other countries too? Rape has been happening much before bollywood came into being.There are terrible incidents of fathers raping their infant daughter or father-in-law raping their daughter in law --- these cant be bollywood influences by any means.
I'll explain more in the end with an example of a horrible rape case from a place that is miles away from bollywood.
Bollywood does influence our lifestyle to a great extent,but then all Indians would be raping or pestering everyone if they didnt use their brains to think rationally and only followed bollywood blindly.
We are facing this type situation not because of bollywood but largely due to the upbringing and values that one gets right from home/school i.e since childhood onwards irrespective of what culture or religion we belong.
One Example I'd give here.I know a family who had a little daughter.She had parents who used abusive terms like bh****d and likewise quite openly.The girl grew up listening to all these rather frequently.One day during some arguement the girl abused her father and called him bh****d on his face.The father was furious when he saw his daughter abusing like that.But did he realise where she learnt it from?
So,similarly if we donot get proper upbringing or proper values since childhood we are certain to have such inherent flaws.
And more importantly elders should always give good examples and they in turn shouldve had proper upbringing themselves too.
But unfortunately most people due to various circumstances donot get the best of upbringing and such crimes are bound to prevail from time to time.
As such the only way to control crimes like rape,molestation,
murder etc is by having strictest,fastest and solid functioning laws that ensures stringent of punishments to the perpetrators, criminals and that which act as deterrent for others.
Message should go out loud and clear to all men ( that includes all levels from high profiles ones to the lowest ) that women are not some kinda items to be used or misused.There are many men who behaves like animals.
Like those idiot eveteasers who whistle and say 'Kya maal hai' every time a girl passes or even the sick psycho perverts who you encounter on the street/buses/train while travelling, pushing or trying to grope or touch women at the slightest pretext.
I faced two such incidents myself.One, when I was hardly 12 years old.It was my first travel on a crowded Bombay local train and I was travelling with my parents.We were in a general compartment filled with men.Instead of being considerate and gentle that two females were travelling, the men in the compartment behaved horribly. There were some hands ( 5-6 ) which crept from all around through the crowd trying to touch ( on private places yes! ).I was just a kid then and didnt realise what the hell was going on.I never travelled in general coach of local ever in my life again.
Another incident was when I was travelling alone in a long distance journey.I was in college then around 19yrs.Some army guys had got into our compartment.In the begining I had great respect that they were army guys fighting and protecting our country.But during that journey when they came to know that I was travelling alone ,I faced hell of a situation with them teasing,pestering and misbehaving.
Everyone in that compartment were scared to object their bully behaviour as they carried guns etc with them.People anyways get bit intimidated by army people.
Instead of being polite and courteous ( as expected of army people ) they just got up on the top most berth on my opposite and started throwing peanuts/potato chips at me calling out my name etc.And at night I felt several times someone trying to touch me.That particular incident lowered my respect for army dudes a lot and made me think that some of the rape or other molesting incidents that we hear about army could have some truth in them.However I regard them as few bad apples and donot generalise all.I dont feel comfortable remembering that incident at all or writing about it.I had luck with me that nothing drastic happened but it had got me scared and shaken a lot.
Many others are not as lucky.I feel horrible how men can behave in this disgusting manner.And it is not only in India but happens elsewhere too ( though percentage in India is higher as India has more population compared to many other nations ).
Meanwhile Read about Junko Furuta - A Japanese girl who was gang raped for 44 days, tortured inhumanly and finally murdered - Full Story here
Was it a bollywood influence too? No! Reading about Junko Furuta will open our eyes that blaming bollywood songs is a very silly thing to do.Such thing can happen anywhere where the laws are loose.
People may show their outrage and do various protests but at the end of the day if govt is not serious to control such crime then I dont see much hope.
However, I hope 2013 brings only good news,justice and peace for everyone.Amen!
Hi Nandini,
ReplyDeleteThis is a deeply depressing situation which calls for swift, effective and concerted actions from each and every member of society, including the women. Hope everything comes back to normal.
Regards
Jay
My Blog | My FB Page
very well observed, Nandini! outer influences like bollywood or liquor work to certain extent only. They may fan flame that already existed. It ultimately rests on what kind of person is in question.
ReplyDelete@Jay @Meenakshi --- Thanks for your valuable thoughts.I sincerely hope the situation improves and people become more humane.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that vulgar songs and film songs in themselves would not do much to further misbehaving with women, they have a sort of catalyst effect in some sort or the other. I know that I can be misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteYou know the advertising that we see in television. Advertisers try to make it's viewers take a decision in a space of 30 seconds, be it toothpaste, floor tiles, cars etc. And on the other side, we see vulgar songs and pornographic material for hours together many a time. Don't you think they could make an impact on immature minds. Of course, the absence of a strict policing and slow judiciary makes things all the more worse.
@JK... Thanks for your views.Yes,you are right in your own way..but I somehow feel the upbringing and values that we get early in life are important to shape up the kind of person we eventually become.
ReplyDeleteThere are many instances when father or uncle also rape their infant kid/relative -- we cant really say that they are immature minds corrupted by bollywood songs can we??
If one gets proper values,no matter how much vulgar song they see, they'd realise that just watching a song on TV hardly gives you the right to go and grope or rape someone.
And yes...we need really strict laws and visible actions against such inhuman culprits for these kinda crimes to reduce if not end totally.
an alarming situation where now stepping out suffocates! Would like you to ba part of the VOICES FOR DAMINI movement on FB to share your posts and views..
ReplyDeleteHi Soumya..thanks a lot for your valuable comments.Sure I'd love to be part of the movement if I can contribute in any way.Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteNandini.. I have to agree with you on this. Its unfortunate most of the women in India has first hand experience in eve teasing, gropping, etc. But the situation is our system is so relaxed, that small incidents are never taken seriously and lead to these kinds atrocities.
ReplyDeleteHi Nandini,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your views and quite agree on the deplorable incidents most females have to face. Definitely we need more awareness and stricter laws in regard to this.
Regarding Bollywood songs, if you mean those so called item songs, I beg to disagree. While they obviously cannot be the sole factor responsible, definitely these songs depict females as items and encourage devaluation of women. In any movie this kind of song has no sync with script or character. It is there only to provide a very basal kind of entertainment for the male audience. The dance movements are embarrassingly provocative and sadly there is no attempt to bar these from juvenile eyes by any cutting by the censors.
I wish the female actors will wake up to the fact that they go beyond female dignity and stop doing them.
Thanks a lot @myweekendfoodexperiments and @Ruchita.
ReplyDeleteYes,I do agree that bollywood songs are getting cheaper and vulger by the day and should be moderated but I dont think they are a reason for rape as mentioned in the IndiaTimes article by S.A.Iyer simply because rapes are happening in other parts of the world as well where there is no bollywood.
We have to go deeper as to Why men behave this way and what upbringing they get.
Please see this link if you have time,its the statistics of rape happening in other countries too so I felt it quite silly to blame bollywood instead of a deeper introspection >> http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap-crime-rapes
does the whistling and stuff happen in real life? I haven't even seen it(probably because I'm not a girl...)
ReplyDeleteI've written similar stuff about music, and guess what I am a musician too. However, the point is, the depiction of item songs creates a mental image among a section of the society that they feel is endorsed by the biggest names in India.
First, shoot down the human right activists who defend these rapists from the death penalty. Would they react in the same manner, if it was their own kith and kin ? Two, no need of this chemical castration tamasha. Make it physical.let them go through the pain that they inflicted on their victims.
ReplyDelete