Manusmriti says that where women are worshipped, Gods make their abode. The Vedic wisdom has been that to regard woman as deserving of anything except the respect that we accord to our mother is a recipe for doom. It also says that a society that a commoditizes woman is bound to breed terrorism, violence, hatred, tragedies, fear and death. Well, there are many such pearls of wisdom from the ancient Indian thought. And Ancient Indian society was supposed to be a rich and prosperous society. While establishing a cause and effect relationship between respecting woman and societal prosperity may not be easy to do given the problem of defining prosperity, one thing is certain that women at large are not treated with respect in the modern Indian society. And the society that cannot ensure safety and security to its women, some one half of its population, can certainly be said to be uncivilized and barbaric. In fact it is not a society at all. It is a jungle. Yes, it is. Consider the following. Even as the national capital in particular, and the nation at large was enraged over the brutal sexual assault on the hapless paramedic lady in the moving bus, incidents of similar nature were reported in the electronic and print media from many parts of the country. And women appeared to be as vulnerable as ever as bands of hooligans made merry shamelessly. What is wrong with the Indian society? Has it become a perverted society? Group assault on a woman’s modesty is nothing but an act of sadism, a perversion. Needless to say that such incidents are on the rise.
As a pall of gloom descended on the nation over the tragic death of the Delhi gang rape victim in the hospital at Singapore, the question paramount in the minds of people was, will this death and the resultant anger go in vain? Well time only will tell. But let us all take a New Year resolution that we must strive to restore civility in the Indian society. The onus lies largely on the overwhelmingly young population whose anger was largely visible during the entire period of protestation. They must keep guard against the perverts who may be present among them. Societal vigilantism is a very effective antidote against the psychopathic tendencies of the people with criminal intent. But this is only a part of the strategy to make our society civil. There are other aspects too. A very important one is the law. Law in India has for long been treated as an ass. The law enforcing agencies must prove that they mean business. Not that it will make the society absolutely safe for the women. Certainly not. It may not have the desired impact on the criminal minds, which, as believed by one school of psychology, is due to a deviant gene. But not all such criminal acts are committed by the criminal minds. On many occasions, many people indulge in such felonies out of adventure to prove to their peers, due to the belief that they can get away with it. Fear of law will certainly deter such also rans from indulging in misadventures. And their number is significant. Law is respected largely out of fear. There is one golden lesson from the Ramayana. It is the episode in which Lord Rama prays to the Ocean God to allow him and his army to cross over to Lanka. But when the Lord finds that his prayer to the Ocean God for three days has gone in vain, he asks his brother Lakshman to get him his bow and arrow saying that the foolish Ocean God is not yielding to request as often times it is the fear that breeds request. If law is feared only then it will be respected. Creating a civil society thus needs a conscious effort on the part of all of us. The sooner the better.
shashwatchintan 