No, it is not that I am not proud of India and its Yoga. Neither am I referring to shame of Lalit Modi’s saga and his wonderful web of connections. What I am referring is how in the name of political compulsions and vote banks, our great ‘democracy’ cannot save even one of the hundreds of helpless minor girls who are simply picked up on the streets, raped in custody and forced to convert and married off. I am ashamed of the media who are busy publishing all kinds of stupid stories from bollywood and talk big on corruption, but do not find space in their columns for the terrified minor girls of West Bengal, across 32,000 villages where they are a minority. They have no time to write about the families running pillar to post, pleading and begging to save their daughters, hoping to be united with them. They do not have space for ethnic cleansing affecting thousands of families who are living in constant fear in almost all districts of West Bengal. Such is the toothlessness of the police rendered by the state administration with its vote bank politics, that it is the police who are filing FIR for violence against the police!!! How are they going to protect the victims!!!
NOTE: Just in last 15 days there were 4 riots (Burdwan, Samudragarh, Panchagram, Baduria), scores of houses burnt, shops looted and women molested (these are the known ones!!). Oh, these four are just riots, how many girls are kidnapped, no one even knows them!! Just take few minutes and visit http://HinduSamhati.net
As one activist pointed to me, just contrast this how Kennedy send not once but twice, federal marshals with army tanks to universities in Southern states of America to ensure a lone black boy or two black girls be able to exercise their right get educated in the university. Such was his concern, after he send the tanks, he asked the attorney general Bobby Kennedy to give hour by hour report of the ability of the young black boy to attend the university. Even Indira Gandhi had sense to visit the victim of police brutality in the remote villages of Bihar, even travelling on elephant to reach the place. When Narendra Bhai visited the terror victims in Bihar, it showed his humanity in direct contrast of crass politicians of India. But leave alone the State Administration which is the root cause, even the Governor of West Bengal has no time to visit the desperate and poor families of kidnapped girls. These girls are being sacrificed in the name of vote banks and political calculations. It is said that when Draupadi modesty was violated and was prepared to curse the Kauravas, Dhritarashtra was terrified, because he understood the gravity of her curse. The combined pain and suffering of hundreds of innocent minor girls will be a curse of this country. Damned is this nation with its big talk. Damned is the democracy that cannot protect helpless minor girls. The rot in this country may be too much to cure and even if there are some bright spots, without any seeming will to address it, it is already a cursed nation.
When I look at the politicians in India you would wonder those who protect their children with all their might has little compassion to spare for the children of their subjects. Sonia Gandhi has enormous security apparatus for her whole family and extracted such security to all her family before allowing BJP to take power. Just recently, Lalu Prasad and Yadav had a grand marriage of their children. Even Amit Shah had marriage of his daughter after Delhi elections. Is not the love and affection of poor families to their children any different from their love? Can they put themselves in the shoes of terrified families and their daughters where their daughters cannot walk in the street and live under threat of being e picked up anytime, raped, converted and married off. These are poor people who live day to day, with meager income. Even if they have will to fight, it is those who are defending that the police arrests!! Vote banks cannot be sacrificed at any cost. But perhaps why only blame politicians, they are reflection of Indians, particularly coreligionists, who go on with their life as if nothing mattered.
If the constitution cannot assure protection to its citizens from its political leaders, what good is it. It is not even worth the paper it is written on. Everyone knows the writing is on the wall with demographic changes, but we are burying our head in the sand things will become all right. Is there a thinking process on how to handle it or at the least learn from other countries. Perhaps this is a lost country that will shine few bright spots before it is consumed in the inferno of religion based fascism.
All it takes one action to bring this minor girl and other such girls back to their families. But that cannot be, vote banks are sacred and the cart cannot be toppled. Who cares if those girls are raped, if the families go begging and their lives destroyed. This is the state that gave Vivekananda, this is the state that gave us Rabindranath Tagore, the state that gave the world Rama Krishna but that is the state that has now gone to dogs.
These are the problems of some wretched people that should not concern us. Even if what affects them today may affect us tomorrow, we can perhaps find another country to live. Let me enjoy and take care of my life.
Regards,
Satya
Satya