John, what do you think of the recent incident in Delhi? A friend of mine in the United States asked me in an email. If such an incident had happened in the US, it wouldn't have surprised me, continued my friend. But how could this happen in India, a land with such deep cultural roots?
This incident has shocked India-- no it has shocked the whole world. The cruelty and inhumanity exhibited by a group of men is beyond imagination. They find a girl they have never known before, rape her one after another, then they insert a metallic rod inside her and pull out her intestines, and finally attempt to murder her by driving their vehicle over her unconscious body. How could any human beings in their normal sense do such a thing? One might not have heard of such cruelty against a human being in history. Even in fiction one might not see such cruelty. All over the world people wondered if humans can become so devilish?
The safety of every female is at stake. If it happened to this young girl today, it could be to your sister or your daughter or to your wife or even to your mother tomorrow. How can any female get into a vehicle of public transportation in this land? How can she even get out of her home? How can she ever trust a man or a group of men she happens to come across? Won't she suspect a hidden devil within every male she meets? The very feeling of safety has gone for ever from her soul. She does not feel safe even within her own home. A man knocking at the door might be a predator. Extreme phobia has spread across the length and breadth of this land.
The women of India rose together in anger. The young women made demonstrations all over the nation demanding safety. India hasn't seen such a massive nationwide uprising in recent years. They called for immediate action against the ones who did this crime. The rulers heard the cry, and they promised immediate action. The criminals have been caught and they are facing merciless punishment. Fast-acting courts have been set up for the trial of the crimes against women.
The government has taken some immediate measures. Soon a lot of men will be jailed or hanged for crimes against women. This will surely scare a lot of people from such criminal activities. Although these measures have been immediate and timely, they are still short-term and emergency measures, not lasting solutions. Now it is time for all people of good will all over the world to engage in some serious thinking to find out some lasting solutions so that women can be safe and feel safe in India as well as in the rest of our world. Our rulers may not be able to help us much with a lasting solution. Our psychologists, social scientists, and philosophers need to conduct extensive researches to find out what causes such criminal behavior. Our educational institutions need to find out and implement ways to bring up a new generation of people who are free from such criminal mind. Our religions and ideologies need to exert their influence upon people to develop a healthy view of life.
It is time for us to ask the basic questions of human existence once again such as what we are, why we exist, and how we are supposed to exist. Usually we don't bother to ask such questions; we are too busy living our lives. But when the very foundations of our existence get shaken with such incidents, we need to rethink our understanding of our life. We need to ask how some of our fellow beings could become so inhuman. Why is such evil hiding within us? What can we do about it? What can we do as individuals and as communities to root out evil? If we don't care to think and seek a solution, then our very existence might be at stake.
May we have the will and the courage to create a safer world for our children!
This incident has shocked India-- no it has shocked the whole world. The cruelty and inhumanity exhibited by a group of men is beyond imagination. They find a girl they have never known before, rape her one after another, then they insert a metallic rod inside her and pull out her intestines, and finally attempt to murder her by driving their vehicle over her unconscious body. How could any human beings in their normal sense do such a thing? One might not have heard of such cruelty against a human being in history. Even in fiction one might not see such cruelty. All over the world people wondered if humans can become so devilish?
The safety of every female is at stake. If it happened to this young girl today, it could be to your sister or your daughter or to your wife or even to your mother tomorrow. How can any female get into a vehicle of public transportation in this land? How can she even get out of her home? How can she ever trust a man or a group of men she happens to come across? Won't she suspect a hidden devil within every male she meets? The very feeling of safety has gone for ever from her soul. She does not feel safe even within her own home. A man knocking at the door might be a predator. Extreme phobia has spread across the length and breadth of this land.
The women of India rose together in anger. The young women made demonstrations all over the nation demanding safety. India hasn't seen such a massive nationwide uprising in recent years. They called for immediate action against the ones who did this crime. The rulers heard the cry, and they promised immediate action. The criminals have been caught and they are facing merciless punishment. Fast-acting courts have been set up for the trial of the crimes against women.
The government has taken some immediate measures. Soon a lot of men will be jailed or hanged for crimes against women. This will surely scare a lot of people from such criminal activities. Although these measures have been immediate and timely, they are still short-term and emergency measures, not lasting solutions. Now it is time for all people of good will all over the world to engage in some serious thinking to find out some lasting solutions so that women can be safe and feel safe in India as well as in the rest of our world. Our rulers may not be able to help us much with a lasting solution. Our psychologists, social scientists, and philosophers need to conduct extensive researches to find out what causes such criminal behavior. Our educational institutions need to find out and implement ways to bring up a new generation of people who are free from such criminal mind. Our religions and ideologies need to exert their influence upon people to develop a healthy view of life.
It is time for us to ask the basic questions of human existence once again such as what we are, why we exist, and how we are supposed to exist. Usually we don't bother to ask such questions; we are too busy living our lives. But when the very foundations of our existence get shaken with such incidents, we need to rethink our understanding of our life. We need to ask how some of our fellow beings could become so inhuman. Why is such evil hiding within us? What can we do about it? What can we do as individuals and as communities to root out evil? If we don't care to think and seek a solution, then our very existence might be at stake.
May we have the will and the courage to create a safer world for our children!
