Today, I am not proud to be an Indian
On any other day, I am a proud proud Indian. I can go on and on about all the things that make India incredible. I believe in India, in its
people, in its culture, in its development and some rare times even in its
government. Today is not that day.
Everyday, when I go on to TOI or The Hindu’s webpage, I hope not to read about rape in the headlines. Everyday my hope is shattered. To this day, I cannot think of once, that this has not been the case. And it’s not because the most recent one is making (inter)national headlines, that I suddenly felt like writing about this, however on any other day, a blog with this headline would have made headlines. I have actually noticed a decline on how often I go onto the new websites anymore, because I don’t want the start of my day, reading about rapes, female foeticide/infanticide, murders etc.
Today I am ashamed to be Indian. All of us who live outside of the country, but love it just as much, feel we are the ambassadors of our country. I consider it my job to make India look good, I denounce slumdog millionaire, because I don’t want people to see India in a negative light. Deep down I know what is portrayed is true, and therefore my feeble attempts to cover it, by always talking about the positive things in and about India. Today, I have nothing to say.
It’s disgusting how desensitized we have become to such news. And the worst part is, for every 3-4 rapes that make the headlines, there are countless others that go unaccounted for. Its scares me to even fathom what women in India have to go through. I feel happy that I took the decision to leave India when I did, and feel stronger than ever to never want to go back. Because I’m not ready to live in a society like this. I want to be able to ship all my family and friends out of India, so I can protect them from these gruesome acts.
Capital punishment is not the answer. The answer is to publicly humiliate these men first by cutting off their genitals followed by stoning them till the beg for death. And no this does not even come close to being harsh, for what they have done. And while we are at it, do it to a few more -- so the others get fair warning. And this sounds harsh and its only so because I'm angry. But in hindsight, maybe its not a very bad option either. It is barbaric. In a society that can’t stop talking about how 'cultured' they are, how they say Namaste because they are so humble, how the 'mother' is everything and more, we have a fat number of hypocrites. Even though half the Gods we have a female, and the biggest festivals celebrate women, the plight of women in India is comparable to those in countries that are run by terrorists.
I am an extremely positive person, full of hope that someday India will be what we all know it can be, a first world country. But I’m sorry, we are nothing more than a country full of uncouth, uneducated people who get instigated at the drop of a hat, but do nothing about it. Women hold up half the sky, and until we as a country believe this, we are going to remain where we are. And it’s easy to blame the men and the police and the government and the 'system' and the corruption, but I don’t see women doing anything other than protests holding placards anywhere in India. For every rape story that makes the newspapers, half off them claim the involvement of women. Today a dictatorship like annihilation of people doesn't seem half as bad. Unless we equip ourselves, to help us, no one is going to do it.
Today is not a good day to be an Indian. I am struggling to find anything good to say about my country.
Everyday, when I go on to TOI or The Hindu’s webpage, I hope not to read about rape in the headlines. Everyday my hope is shattered. To this day, I cannot think of once, that this has not been the case. And it’s not because the most recent one is making (inter)national headlines, that I suddenly felt like writing about this, however on any other day, a blog with this headline would have made headlines. I have actually noticed a decline on how often I go onto the new websites anymore, because I don’t want the start of my day, reading about rapes, female foeticide/infanticide, murders etc.
Today I am ashamed to be Indian. All of us who live outside of the country, but love it just as much, feel we are the ambassadors of our country. I consider it my job to make India look good, I denounce slumdog millionaire, because I don’t want people to see India in a negative light. Deep down I know what is portrayed is true, and therefore my feeble attempts to cover it, by always talking about the positive things in and about India. Today, I have nothing to say.
It’s disgusting how desensitized we have become to such news. And the worst part is, for every 3-4 rapes that make the headlines, there are countless others that go unaccounted for. Its scares me to even fathom what women in India have to go through. I feel happy that I took the decision to leave India when I did, and feel stronger than ever to never want to go back. Because I’m not ready to live in a society like this. I want to be able to ship all my family and friends out of India, so I can protect them from these gruesome acts.
Capital punishment is not the answer. The answer is to publicly humiliate these men first by cutting off their genitals followed by stoning them till the beg for death. And no this does not even come close to being harsh, for what they have done. And while we are at it, do it to a few more -- so the others get fair warning. And this sounds harsh and its only so because I'm angry. But in hindsight, maybe its not a very bad option either. It is barbaric. In a society that can’t stop talking about how 'cultured' they are, how they say Namaste because they are so humble, how the 'mother' is everything and more, we have a fat number of hypocrites. Even though half the Gods we have a female, and the biggest festivals celebrate women, the plight of women in India is comparable to those in countries that are run by terrorists.
I am an extremely positive person, full of hope that someday India will be what we all know it can be, a first world country. But I’m sorry, we are nothing more than a country full of uncouth, uneducated people who get instigated at the drop of a hat, but do nothing about it. Women hold up half the sky, and until we as a country believe this, we are going to remain where we are. And it’s easy to blame the men and the police and the government and the 'system' and the corruption, but I don’t see women doing anything other than protests holding placards anywhere in India. For every rape story that makes the newspapers, half off them claim the involvement of women. Today a dictatorship like annihilation of people doesn't seem half as bad. Unless we equip ourselves, to help us, no one is going to do it.
Today is not a good day to be an Indian. I am struggling to find anything good to say about my country.
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