The front page of the newspapers jolts one into the reality of a rather despicable and crass urban India. Rape dominates ? all manner of rape by all types of men and in all manner of places. From doctors abusing women in their clinics, to men in uniform in national parks, to filthy louts in parking lots. ?Manhunt? is the prevailing expression that the authorities use to ?calm? the public. But, no man is ever hunted down nor brought to book. The Indian city is replete with everyday truths of male brutality. We have ceased to be civilised and have descended so deep into the ?excreta? around us that it will take many a generation to extricate ourselves from this all-pervading filth. It is the filth of the mind, filth of the environment, filth of the norms that govern our lives.
Then there are ministers and MLAs who are being tried for murder, having DNA tests to prove or disprove parentage; pop stars who are allegedly involved in fake immigration papers racket; and a confused press that attacks one chief minister, Amarinder Singh, for fighting corruption relentlessly, calling the consistent probing, excessive. If it is over the top and excessive, why then do the press chase the story and give it the space they do? The sordid lives and deeds of many of our leaders whether in politics, or in the administration, or the judiciary or in business and other professions, have become the benchmark of civil society in India.
It seems to be the worst in the world. These people of privilege have set the standards for corruption, dishonesty, breaking the rule, killing values, as well as putting women down. So, why not rape? It is the logical conclusion that sums up the morality of men ? our fathers, husbands and brothers! Who do they rape? Their mothers, sisters and daughters. What a tribute to mother India. Why don?t the men get up and protest vehemently against rape? Are they not disgusted by what is happening around them? Or, are they waiting for rape to come into their homes before they march the streets?
On the same page there is a report about the minister of Civil Aviation saying that when air hostesses are recruited for Indian Airlines and Air-India, physical appearance must come first, the rest later! Small wonder that the level of service is as abysmal as it is. Small wonder the mindset of the male is where it is at! What about the male cabin crew ? have they to be ?pretty? too? May be we should carry this reasoning into the larger arena. The Prime Minister and the entire cabinet must have not just a pretty face, but a well-groomed, presentable physical appearance. Ha! Scores and scores would fail the test, the vidhan sabhas and houses of Parliament would be near empty! The superficiality of all this is what is frightening. Why is the future of India being crafted in this pedestrian fashion?
The other ?item? of continuing news is the established and ?protected? killer fleet of Blueline buses. Nobody, but nobody, can stop them from hurtling down the roads of Delhi, killing and then absconding. Recently, one such bus killed Admiral Dutta on an empty road, Lodhi Road, in New Delhi at 7 am. He then rammed into the wall of the home of Rajmata of Jaipur! Thereafter, he ?absconded?! These buses are driven by illiterate, drugged and drunk drivers who cannot read a sign and who bribe the authorities to get their licences. They come at you and if you try to avoid them you could well crash into something else. One of us have to become the victim for the authorities to wake up momentarily. Soon enough life carries on as normal.
And, as we get tossed about from one horror to another, the Prime Minister suggests to the UP government that they should ?trust? the VHP! Yes, much like how the central government of Narasimha Rao and the then UP government ?trusted? them when the Babri Masjid came down. Hypothetically, would our leadership give the same kind of advice to fanatic Muslim groups marching to Kashi?