Category Archives: india
Can India Transform its Brutal Tragedy Into Clear Progress?
Not long after I had left India, I was one of millions around the world who read the tragic news about the death of the gang rape victim from Delhi.
I am not generally an empathetic person in that it is only with some difficulty that I can place myself in someone else’s shoes to feel their pain and suffering. But in this case, the brutality of the crime that was described in the media made that pain seem up close and personal, even for me.
The only good thing I saw come of this tragic episode is that it shocked the nation and got its people up in arms about the callous way that my home country treats its female citizens. As an original citizen of India, it makes me feel shame and disgrace about the country’s treatment of over 50% of its humankind.
It’s past time that this emerging nation, this India that wants to rise and shine in the world so badly, enters a new era of progress.
Therefore, one can only hope that this girl did not suffer and die in vain – that the uprising by activists and people of India can turn this situation around.
It’s past time for the country to rise up and –
- To treat its womankind with dignity
- To stop belittling rape complaints and to stop all violence against women
- To stop blaming the women for their dress or language or style
- To encourage women to speak up about assaults and crimes without fearing for their lives, reputations or livelihoods.
- To punish the perpetrators, not the victims
- To afford stronger punishments for rapists and stronger protection for women
- To ensure that the police force is not allowed to get away from hiding the facts or punishing the real criminals
One young facebook friend of mine expressed his distaste for India’s treatment of women with this status message –
“If India wants to curtail future cases of rape, its citizens must first respect women at least as much as their cow population: holy figures that are free to roam the streets at their own will.”
Sharp criticism, but so true!
People of India, people of the world – don’t ever forget this gang rape victim!
Instead, speak-up, act-up, and help transform this shocking tragedy into a real change for the women of India.
Did you know that just this year, India was determined to be the WORST PLACE to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery? And that New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among any Indian city with a rape reported every 18 hours on average? Did. You. Know?
Societal imbalances of this proportion will never help any nation to rise or shine, notwithstanding any economic progress it accomplishes.
The Prime Minister has spoken about this crime. Finally! He said in a statement – “The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes.”
And he added – “I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agenda to help us all reach the end that we all desire – making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in.”
Citizens of India – I hope you do not let him get away with mere words.
Don’t let the media frenzy, the protests and the anger welling up among people die down.
Don’t let this be another forgotten statistic, another forgotten “movement” a month down the line.
Don’t let go of your anger and horror.
Don’t let up on questioning the authorities.
Don’t give up demanding more rights for mankind and womankind from the policy makers.
Until significant changes are accomplished.
With the world as its witness, this country needs concrete and compelling actions to correct these gross acts of wrongdoing. Only then can it move forward and hope to shine and rise.
Nothing less will do!
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“The best thermometer to the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women.”
-Swami Vivekananda.
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Journey From Home to Home
As journeys go, this one was pretty uneventful.
Saying goodbye to the nest I had created for myself was tough. Tougher still were my farewells to my very best Mumbai buddies – so many good times we had together!
My neighbor on the first flight out of Mumbai was an elderly Indian gentleman who lived in the deep South like I did. This had been a quickie visit to India for him for a family wedding, a trip he had made after a five year interval. He was astonished at the changes he saw in India, everywhere he went.
When I told him that I had been based in Mumbai for a couple of years, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know how you did that! No way I could live there!”. He had just spent the day in Mumbai. One day and he had reached this conclusion!
Meanwhile, I’m thinking to myself, buddy, what do you know? I wouldn’t trade this experience I’ve had for anything!
I began telling him about the Mumbai of my experience. My, but I was getting so defensive! What was happening to me? I had known and lived surrounded by all the dirt and smell that was typical of Mumbai. I should have been echoing his thoughts but instead I was up in arms, the emotions of my departure getting the better of me and dominating my feelings now.
My home in the U.S. had not gone anywhere – it was waiting to welcome me back. This particular time was the longest interval I had stayed away during my two year sojourn in India. Approaching six months…come to think of it, in all these years (decades!) of living in the U.S., this was the longest stretch of time that I had been away. Ever. I just realized that and it made me long to get back, more than ever.
So, what was it like getting back home? For one, there was really no adjustment period at all. The warmth of my real home enfolded me like a blanket. In spite of the chilly winter cold. Here I was, in no time at all, back to shopping for groceries, back to all the house work and muddling my way through the kitchen. Back to a chauffeur-less car, driving in the comfort of my own car on the clean, pothole-devoid roads of my home town. Getting back home. To new beginnings.
So, it was that easy then.
Meanwhile, I received an email from my assistant at the office in Mumbai.
Every day, without fail, as soon as I reached my office and before I had time to even turn on my computer, a cup of fresh green tea would magically appear, brought to me by one of the pantry staff. She wrote in the email that this past week on Monday morning, the same person carried a cup of green tea, as was the usual custom for two years, to my office. It wasn’t until he reached my office door that he remembered that I was not there anymore. 😦
Thank you all! I won’t ever forget the wonderful ways that you were there for me through these past months. You helped me truly feel welcomed and ensured that I was in a home away from home.
This is why I was so up in arms when that gentleman made derogatory remarks about living in Mumbai. Poor fella, he had no clue because he hadn’t experienced the people that I had. And ultimately, you know that that’s what made the goodbyes so hard.
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Photo credit (home sweet home): Nhlarry at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, from Wikimedia Commons
The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 