“The answer lies within”. No, this is not about the movie
Talaash. It is about the current pathetic state of affairs of our country, of
women in our country, of how men treat women in our country, of impotent laws
for seemingly extra potent men. The list for things that are wrong, terribly
wrong can go on and on. It doesn’t start and end with the shocking Delhi gang
rape case. And the solutions professed by most seem to be all but superficial
to me.
We say we want stricter laws and severe punishment for the
offenders. We extend this demand not just for the culprits of this one tragedy,
we want it to be made a law. My question is this…say some politician grows a
spine and drafts such a bill. Have we elected good enough leaders to make this
bill a law? Let’s say we have, the bill becomes a law. Do we have enough police
force to catch the bastards every time such an atrocity occurs? Let’s say we
have. Are they all honest enough to resist a substantial bribe when they have
cornered the animals? Let’s say they are. Is our judicial system (the symbol of
which, let me remind you, is a blindfolded lady) impervious enough to not let
these rats be ‘baizzat bali’ due to some slimy, tiny loophole?
The point is not just to make a strict law. That is the easy
part. It is the execution that is difficult. I want to draw your attention to a
similar outburst our country faced some time back. The Lokpal episode. What was
the outcome? We protested, the ‘leaders’ drafted a Lokpal. We shut up. The bill
didn’t really have enough teeth to make a difference, but it had enough
substance to make the common man believe that he had made a difference. What a
brilliant convince or confuse tactical move. But the result, nothing.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not discouraging, or
criticizing such demonstrations of protests. I am totally for it. If not
anything, at least it gives us hope that we are not the only ones who feel that
something terribly wrong has transpired here. Freedom of speech is a
constitutional right. But we need to ask ourselves this, are we merely
satisfying our egos by feeling that I have made a difference by going on these
protests and being a part of these revolts? Or are we really making a
difference?
‘Be the change you want to see’. That is all I am trying to
say here. All of us are guilty, just by virtue of being a part of this system. Even
seemingly harmless acts of ours have repercussions. It has eroded the system. And
what we see now are the results of a broken down, ineffective system.
That is why I say, the answer lies within. You cannot force
someone to be human. It has to come from within. All we need to solve this and
many other issues is Humanity.
