The Gwalior fort , sprawling fortress in Madhya Pradesh is song in brown and blue.
Posts Tagged With: India
India: Her women Vs her tigers
[It is said that once you have something to say, you cannot ever hide it within yourself. I think it might be true.This write up has been sitting among other unsaid stories for a long time.
To clarify, I am not a feminist and please do not get me wrong, I am all for the conservation of tigers. Having said that I would like to point out that to me a human life comes before all else.]
On July 9th 2012, a young girl was publicly abused on the streets of Guwahati in North East India by a group of about 20 men. A media personal happened to be there with his camera. He did not attempt to save her or call for help. On the contrary he filmed the scene while the men molested the girl. “She was drunk” was his way of defending his action or rather lack thereof.
The police did get there, eventually. They took the girl away for questioning, leaving the perpetrators behind to relive their act through the footage which was aired time and again by the local news channel the cameraman represented.A few days later the footage was picked by a national television network. The outrage it provoked forced the Guwahati policemen to break out of their inertia and round up possible suspects.Around the same time as the assault on the girl’s life the Supreme court of India passed a law banning tourism to the core tiger reserve area in India over growing concern in the decline in the number of tigers. The latest census by WWF estimated that there are 1411 tigers left in India. “Whatever statistics may say, fact remains that the tiger population in the country has practically diminished” stated the Supreme Court bench.
This was met with praise. Environmentalist applauded the supreme court’s decision.A great victory for the tigers of India.The state ministries were quick to communicate and execute the order.
Thanks to this the tigers of India will be free to roam their natural habitat, prey upon weaker animals, live a carefree life while the forest personnel keep a close watch on them. Indeed a great victory for the Indian tigers.The standard of living for a tiger in India looks promising. But what about India’s women?A group of gender experts rated India as the worst (G20)country to be a woman. Saudi Arabia was ranked higher.
The survey by the National Census board (2011) it was estimated that there were only 842 women for every 1000 men in India. A sharp decline from the 932 estimated in the 2001 Census. Yet no law makers are clamouring to pass laws to arrest this decline. They are not even talking about amending the current laws which largely favours the abuser.
The police did get there, eventually. They took the girl away for questioning, leaving the perpetrators behind to relive their act through the footage which was aired time and again by the local news channel the cameraman represented.A few days later the footage was picked by a national television network. The outrage it provoked forced the Guwahati policemen to break out of their inertia and round up possible suspects.Around the same time as the assault on the girl’s life the Supreme court of India passed a law banning tourism to the core tiger reserve area in India over growing concern in the decline in the number of tigers. The latest census by WWF estimated that there are 1411 tigers left in India. “Whatever statistics may say, fact remains that the tiger population in the country has practically diminished” stated the Supreme Court bench.
This was met with praise. Environmentalist applauded the supreme court’s decision.A great victory for the tigers of India.The state ministries were quick to communicate and execute the order.
Thanks to this the tigers of India will be free to roam their natural habitat, prey upon weaker animals, live a carefree life while the forest personnel keep a close watch on them. Indeed a great victory for the Indian tigers.The standard of living for a tiger in India looks promising. But what about India’s women?A group of gender experts rated India as the worst (G20)country to be a woman. Saudi Arabia was ranked higher.
The survey by the National Census board (2011) it was estimated that there were only 842 women for every 1000 men in India. A sharp decline from the 932 estimated in the 2001 Census. Yet no law makers are clamouring to pass laws to arrest this decline. They are not even talking about amending the current laws which largely favours the abuser.
Women in India are plagued by a multitude of social issues. It starts right from conception. The preference for sons has fueled the exponential growth of illegal abortion clinics that have mushroomed around the country. Those poor souls lucky enough to survive the foeticide then have an array of depravities to choose from; abuse, rape, harassment, murder.
Most of the cases of crimes against women go unreported due to the social stigma that is associated with the crime. Only a fraction of it are reported. Of that fraction a portion of it run as headlines of rape, murder,torture and other insensitive acts almost on a weekly basis.
Why is that the tigers in India get preferential treatment when the women cannot travel by public transportation without fear of being groped, or preyed upon by indecent men? Why is that when forest personnel can keep vigil for the tigers, the policemen of the NCR( National Capital region) issues a statement blatantly stating that they will protect the women up to 8 pm and after that they step out at their own risk?
A general offence against the tigers under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, attracts a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment or a fine of up to to Rs. 25,000 or both. While in the largest democracy in the world, a lone girl had to wait for a couple of days for the wheels of justice to be set in motion ,when it had taken less than an hour to irrevocably damage her life.If charged her perpetrators will serve up to a year in prison or pay a fine, maybe both.In the eyes of the Indian law the crime of the perpetrators is merely ‘insulting or outraging the modesty of a woman”.
The sad part is, the fine they may pay will be less than the Rs. 50,000 ( Approx $890) that has been promised her in compensation for the ‘misfortune’.
Is the comfort of a tiger worth more in the eyes of the law than that of the life of woman?
A one night stand
If there was a contest for the most expensive one night stand, I know of one that will hands down.
The Jehangir Mahal in Orchha was built for the state visit of Mughal emperor Jehangir by Bir Sing Deo. It has a little of over hundred rooms, airy balconies, three stories, ornate elephants, turquoise tiles imported from Turkey and a central courtyard. It took a while to build and in the end the emperor stayed at this palace for a night. The irony of it all is that is despite almost depleting his state exchequer to impress Jehangir Bir Sing soon fell out of favor with the mughals and was crushed by a teenage Aurangzeb.
Without the gods
[A brief insight into the motivation behind this post. I recently started to question the meaning of religion and faith. Is it composed of mere rituals and acts? Or does it actually include something that is intangible? Don't get me wrong. I am a believer . Very much so. Am I religious? That depends on how you define religion.]
If Martin Luther King had been born in India his speech would have been ,” I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they are not judged by their religion…”
People refer to India as Spiritual India. India has given birth to many religions; Hinduism, Jainism ,Buddhism. In the caves of Ellora the temples of all these three religions were built next to each other. Thirty three in all. None of them felt the need to tear down the temples of the others to build their own. There prayers would reach heaven even with the other gods were near by.
But today elections are won, people murdered, trains burnt, temples torn down, all in the name of the gods. I ask you what is so spiritual about communal violence?
Our constitution gives us the freedom of speech and expression. It states that we are secular country.
Why then was there a campaign to deport Taslim Nasreen for speaking out for the rights of the oppressed? Why was Salman Rushide banned from attending the Jaipur Literary Festival. Why were missionaries burnt alive? M.S Hussein was ostracised for his depiction of gods and goddesses. That reminds me didn’t the protesters ever hear of the kamasutra poses of Khajuraho, chiselled out in stone ?
The only time I can think of when Indians were united for a cause that was sparked by religious practices was the Sepoy mutiny of 1857 which is hailed as the first war of Independence. But today religon what was one the essence of spiritual India is it’s curse.
Maybe, just maybe, without the gods India might actually be secular.
Far from the city
Mahatma Gandhi once said India lived in her villages. It’s really not true anymore. With people moving into cities, concrete structures have replaced the tilled land.
In this post I have attempted to put together a few pictures of the disappearing India.
Marie Lisa Jose
