They call her "India's daughter", they call her a "Brave heart", they call her "Damini" after the movie... they call her these names because she was raped- the Delhi Girl. The men who raped her, they say, were animals. They didnt just board a bus to hell - they were discarded back in hell.
Hell is not only when the devil plays his tricks on you. Hell is frightening when angels walk over your fallen body, with their eyes shut, fingers plugging their ears, singing at the top of their voices, to avoid seeing you, to avoid hearing you wail, avoid asking you if you are fine, because they know you are not, because they are afraid to listen to your story, for, it may burst that perfect shiny pink bubble in which they live.
Sorry, Delhi girl, that you had to go through those critical 90 mins waiting for help to come by. I know that sorry means nothing at this point, but being called India's Daughter does not either. They wouldn't have treated you the way they did had they seen you as anybody's daughter.
To the girls friend, i am sorry you had to go through this. But i am not sorry you survived it. May you find a way to turn your anger and pain into power and rise above the ashes.
For the man who got the girl to the hospital- thank you for exercising the humanitarian part of your being. you are more a man, than many others the couple encountered that on day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
There are two India's we live in. One is the India of the papers- the India Shining- where new peace treaties are signed everyday, new technologies are invented, candle marches and protests are held every time the public is outraged.
And there is another India which i see everyday, where an aunt refuses to make her boys clean the dishes because they "dont need to", where your parents expect you to smile joyfully into the camera like everyone else and just not frown and fuss about it when they sell you off with all their savings in the name of a marriage, because it would hurt their prestige to send you off with anything less. Where a respected adult says that the girl must have been wearing short clothes or that she was out late at night and that's why it happened. When will you stop reasoning with the rapists?
I live in an India where the rapists are called animals, while the common men, the ''aam aadmi' who saw the injured couple and feigned indifference are just not spoken about. The rapists were bad. The common man is us, people who walk the streets we walk by everyday. I am a girl who lives in India knowing that if I were to be in her position today, i would be treated (read ill treated) the same way.
Ignorance is bliss till everyone else is drowning and you are safe at the shore.Today its my life at stake- your life, and there is no shore in sight. A smile is the sign of the imbecile, the ignorant. A frown is the sign of thought.
Please react when you see a girl being looked at or touched at the wrong places in public. You know that rape is not about the clothes- why else would a 5 yr old be raped? Please reach out to children whom you think or know are being abused. you know its not uncommon- then accept it and give them a hand. If you are a boy, I tell you this in their language - "No man accepts money from a girl". You do this, and you earn their gratitude for life, better still, you will feel good about yourself. Trust me on that.
Its time to move beyond pretense. Stop believing that you are fine. You could get attacked tomorrow and people will just watch.Nothing is fine. Its time to bring a change in our mindset. Its time to move beyond demonstrations, to stop forgetting our anger. Its high time we face this inconvenient truth and actually begin to react and react fast.
And you- while you still scream Bharat mata ki jai on the mike sets, or debate about national anthems in movie theaters ; do not open your mouth and ever call me India's daughter. You do not know the meaning of the word- you are not a good parent .
Hell is not only when the devil plays his tricks on you. Hell is frightening when angels walk over your fallen body, with their eyes shut, fingers plugging their ears, singing at the top of their voices, to avoid seeing you, to avoid hearing you wail, avoid asking you if you are fine, because they know you are not, because they are afraid to listen to your story, for, it may burst that perfect shiny pink bubble in which they live.
Sorry, Delhi girl, that you had to go through those critical 90 mins waiting for help to come by. I know that sorry means nothing at this point, but being called India's Daughter does not either. They wouldn't have treated you the way they did had they seen you as anybody's daughter.
To the girls friend, i am sorry you had to go through this. But i am not sorry you survived it. May you find a way to turn your anger and pain into power and rise above the ashes.
For the man who got the girl to the hospital- thank you for exercising the humanitarian part of your being. you are more a man, than many others the couple encountered that on day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
There are two India's we live in. One is the India of the papers- the India Shining- where new peace treaties are signed everyday, new technologies are invented, candle marches and protests are held every time the public is outraged.
And there is another India which i see everyday, where an aunt refuses to make her boys clean the dishes because they "dont need to", where your parents expect you to smile joyfully into the camera like everyone else and just not frown and fuss about it when they sell you off with all their savings in the name of a marriage, because it would hurt their prestige to send you off with anything less. Where a respected adult says that the girl must have been wearing short clothes or that she was out late at night and that's why it happened. When will you stop reasoning with the rapists?
I live in an India where the rapists are called animals, while the common men, the ''aam aadmi' who saw the injured couple and feigned indifference are just not spoken about. The rapists were bad. The common man is us, people who walk the streets we walk by everyday. I am a girl who lives in India knowing that if I were to be in her position today, i would be treated (read ill treated) the same way.
Ignorance is bliss till everyone else is drowning and you are safe at the shore.Today its my life at stake- your life, and there is no shore in sight. A smile is the sign of the imbecile, the ignorant. A frown is the sign of thought.
Please react when you see a girl being looked at or touched at the wrong places in public. You know that rape is not about the clothes- why else would a 5 yr old be raped? Please reach out to children whom you think or know are being abused. you know its not uncommon- then accept it and give them a hand. If you are a boy, I tell you this in their language - "No man accepts money from a girl". You do this, and you earn their gratitude for life, better still, you will feel good about yourself. Trust me on that.
Its time to move beyond pretense. Stop believing that you are fine. You could get attacked tomorrow and people will just watch.Nothing is fine. Its time to bring a change in our mindset. Its time to move beyond demonstrations, to stop forgetting our anger. Its high time we face this inconvenient truth and actually begin to react and react fast.
And you- while you still scream Bharat mata ki jai on the mike sets, or debate about national anthems in movie theaters ; do not open your mouth and ever call me India's daughter. You do not know the meaning of the word- you are not a good parent .
Good one.....it's an irony that I had to hear from my manager during a booze party that girls should walk with their heads down on streets or these disasters would never stop. As you know our emotions get heightened when you are drunk and my response to that kind of crossed the line. Ever since it happened, I was never invited to his parties lol....It's funny to see how these kinds of social issues disturb personal lives =)
ReplyDeleteAnyways, nice one. Given the fact that Indians are the busiest people (all Indian guys flirting with girls, all Indian parents worrying about their kids marriages), may be the only ones who can bring some better change are just you girls. It's time to pull your socks up and learn some martial art in order to save yourselves from those monsters out there.
Your comment is the pehla pehla comment on my pehla pehla blog. Thankyou for that! It gives me the impression that few people other than those whose throats I force my blog down read it!
DeleteAbout the incident with your manager, when someone speaks up, they create a ripple- a ripple doesn't do much. But we need ripples, Because these beckon the big wave. And without ripples, that big wave might just forget to turn up!
You are right about the last part. When nobody is there to get your back, you need to do it by your own. There is no point in waiting for help.
You seem like an avid blogger. Looking forward for more feedback's and advice on blogging from your end.
Thankyou again!!! :)