Delhi - Start Behaving Yourselves

I am proud Indian. Have always been, will always be. For the past few days though, I feel like I have been let-down  The beautiful girl from Delhi who was brutally gang-raped breathed her last yesterday morning in Singapore. Tributes poured in, Candle Marches all over India, plethora of blogs just like this one, but what mattered was “Damini” had lost the battle. The score now stands at India – 0 Rapists – 1 (Would be much more, but will keep it at 1).

I digged out a few numbers and found out that barring the “Western” and “Civilized” societies of USA, UK and Australia, where Date rapes and Under-age sex, which also constitutes to rape, is incredibly high at about 40%, it is India which has the maximum number of rapes. 2011 stats suggest that Delhi by itself is responsible for about 2.3% of the total rapes in India. This is without taking into account the nearby NCR region. The number would then be around 4%. Shocking numbers for a region which is home to one of the nation's premium universities, and is considered to be a hippy and the “place to be” for youngsters.

I came across this yesterday and have read quite a few articles about the safety of women in New Delhi. Reading these accounts, It is scary to imagine the plight of women in that region. Being able to walk the roads without any fear should be the basic right of a human being. Not getting it in a democratic country is extremely sad. There are rapes happening in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, heck even Los Angeles, London and Sydney. But rarely do we see women being scared of venturing into the roads at late hours in these cities. The whole of India has a patriarchal Society, So where does Delhi get this ridiculous mindset from? Why are women treated like Objects?

The problem isn't the Patriarchal Society as such. The problem lies in what people make out of such a society, and what they are taught by the buzurg and their peers. The roots of a patriarchal society is stemmed around Men protecting their women and not Men being superior to women. New Delhi on the other hand seems to be following Aristotle's line of thought. Aristotle's works depict women as “morally, intellectually and physically  inferior to men. He believed a woman's role to be that of reproduction and serving men in the household. This is the attitude that men in Delhi flaunt. They are of the belief that the female sex is morally obligated to get laid by them, and If she doesn't they are morally obligated to "punish" her. I have never been in Delhi and hence may not be the right person to give you an accurate view of what goes on in Delhi. But this video and the gang-rape incident are examples enough to give one an idea of the narrow mindedness that runs in the veins of Delhites.

Though there have been quite a few rapes and molestation incidents, the brutality of this one brought out the fire in many an Indian. Protests, violent and non violent, were staged in Delhi and other parts of India too. The reach of this incident was so widespread that Robin Van Persie's celebration after his goal against West Bromwich Albion was initially presumed to be a dedication to the rape victim. The protests may at max lead to a speedy resolution of this case. But unless there is a change in the fickle-headed minds of “Men” in Delhi, the rapes will go on. Delhi already has the dubious distinction of being the Rape Capital of India. If this goes on, It may well go up the pecking order and get a similar recognition across the globe.

It is often said in Sports that the Captain should lead from the front. Same goes for you Mr.Capital City. Behave yourselves Delhi. The World is Watching you. We don't want India's name to be stained because of you. 

P.S: I am not defending the existence of Patriarchal Society. I truly believe in Gender Equality. I just believe that It is not possible to change the set up as a whole, it will take decades to do that. We just have to make the best of what exists now.