Moral decadence of the Modern society
What shocks me the most about the Mangalore pub incident is not the brutality with which helpless girls were thrashed; not the fact that 40 men (Imagine!!) barged into a pub at 4 p.m. on a Saturday (It wasn’t even dark yet!! And anyways which partygoer, unless an addicted alcoholic, drinks in the afternoon?) and began beating the young guys and girls inside; not the fact that most of these girls were teenagers and an incident of such violence would, perhaps, leave an indelible mark on their psyche; not that the onlookers managed to do what they do best – be the dumb spectators; not the knowledge that some of these hoodlums may go scot-free after a few days in the jail; not that these 40 men used the name of Lord Ram to justify their moral policing. What bothered me the most, shocked me into shedding my nonchalant attitude and jolted me out of the confines of my comfortable existence was the stance of some people (gathered from the comments that I came across on online portals etc.) - educated, well-off people who are part of the civilized world, people whom we probably talk to, work with and meet everyday - who condoned the dastardly act with the argument that pubbing and the Western influence is corrupting the fabric of our country’s culture and the parents of young girls would probably be relieved that somebody did something about it.
If anybody has read/heard/seen anything so obtuse, so utterly ridiculous, so egregious and so glaringly disrespectful of women such as condoning an act of violence with that argument in recent times, please let me know.
Ok I had to write the last sentence to give vent to my anger, even though that was not the intended purpose of this post. As long as there are people in the country - people who believe that violence is an effective mechanism to bring about a change in the society, people who are so limited in their thought process so as to have only one solution to every problem, people who, even after nearly sixty years of independence, feel no qualms about physically assaulting women in daylight, and most significantly, people who condone such acts - there is no way our country would make holistic progress. Then again, I could go on forever and ever, about what should be done and what ought to be done about the zillion problems affecting our country right now – be it external (read ‘Pakistan’ created and sponsored) or internal. What each of us really needs to focus on is – Can we (as Individuals) really do something about it? Or would we wait until the stage when taking action is not a choice, but an imperative to survival? Can we prosper in our professional and personal lives and be truly happy, while having the knowledge that in a street not very far from our house, a church is being vandalized, innocent people are being beaten or women are being assaulted, and we are doing nothing to stop it.
As usual, poignantly written and one that I'd wholeheartedly agree with...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I just heard of the incident yesterday. But I was not shocked. Rather, in your words: I too, dismissed it as somebody else's problem.
ReplyDeleteI think our problem is twofold:
1. We are overwhelmed with the pace of change in our society, and try to label anything that makes us uncomfortable as Western bad influence. I am sure none of those comments came from those who have visited a pub. To make them understand that it is their modern version of a village chowk or chai shop is a problem.
2. We are completely non-motivated until things hit us directly. Even more grossly, most of us are unmoved when they hit us too! We just try to find a way out of it, because we want to live our so called comfortable lives.
There are two culprits in the above incident:
a. those who did it...
b. those of us who are still letting it go...
It is really horrible, and its looks more like that its just another excuse by those guys to misbehave with girls(sic!). I mean just look at what they did, how they misbehaved. And like you said, we all know that they will all get away scot free after a few days and everyone will forget it altogether - thats the sad part about state of affairs in India! :-(
ReplyDeleteAs i type this, i am watching NDTV which is running a story on the govt in Rajasthan deciding to clamp down on pubs and malls(!!!).
Can you beleive that? Malls?? The minister is saying that boys and girls are walking hand in hand in malls, and that needs to stop.
One shudders to think where are we headed next?
To quote Martin Luther King in the same vein "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, what can we possibly do? We are so helpless and can just vent about it. Yes you do have a right to vote but who do you actually vote for? None of the political parties seem to care... The police is so corrupt and while they are responsible to ensure freedom for everyone, they don't care either... Even the media sells a story as long as it is hot cake and after a few days, the don't seem to care either... This feeling of helplessenss is so hurting.
In a way, almost cruelly, these vile incidents would perhaps prove to be the catalyst to stir this nation's youth from its state of slumber. Perhaps, we need the spanking to spruce up and get our acts together. I'm not sure that we are helpless, because we are "just one amongst millions" for god help the oppressors if those millions unite. I however remain convinced that we are helpless for we continue to be "just one amongst millions who don't care". Maybe, just maybe, the coming days will see us awakening to a better tomorrow...
ReplyDeletesandy, there is one more culprit - the media.
ReplyDeleteAccording to many newspapers, these holigans informed the media well in advance and they were waiting there with cameras set up. Not one bothered to inform the police as that would affect their news story. Sad! Really sad!!
I recently listened to Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech 'I have a dream' which was delivered in 1963. It was inspirational and I'd like to listen to it again.
ReplyDeleteSure, we find our country in all sorts of predicaments right now, but mankind has overcome greater obstacles in the past. The landscape of our country's freedom struggle is dotted with instances of courage, perseverance and victory.
Yes, the feeling of helplessness is all-pervasive. But I concur in my belief with Soumya that we can and will overcome the hurdles between our country and its greatness. We just need to believe. And have a dream.
Well as the saying goes, it's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right.
ReplyDeleteVery well said, i think if there is one thing that drives people like us, it is HOPE.
ReplyDeleteHope is the essence of life! As one of my mentors told me a long time ago, no matter how bad your day goes, the sun always rises again the next day!
No body and no political party is actually worried about our culture, our people or for that matter even our country. All that they care about is 'how to fill up their pockets'.... and of course vote banks..
ReplyDeleteWhat we saw at the Mangalore Pub last week was nothing but a cheap and dirty publicty stunt. And it is sad but true that Ram Sena has managed to achieve their goal. All that they wanted was publicity. Now they have it!! They have the whole country and countrymen(and women) debating on the validity of their actions. An organization that no one knew about till yesterday has overnight become the talk of the town. I shall not be surprised if someday Mutalik becomes our Prime Minister.... Ye hein India meri Jaan.