Nirbhaya: Who is the real culprit and what is the solution?

For the recent controversy regarding a British documentary filmmaker's interview with Nirbhaya's convicted rapist, about whom lots of people are up in arms against the airing of the documentary, I have one thing to say:

"CHANGE THE MINDSET! Nothing else will work." 

You heard it right. This one of the biggest issues that churned many thoughts within me and started to ponder over what could possibly the solution to this problem and more than the problem itself, why do people react in a way that doesnt give any concrete solution.

The convict is just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger problem lies in the mindset of the people and the documentary is just an effort to explore that mindset and put it in-front of the public to analyze and give the society and chance to evolve from the medieval mindset. But the public and most of the media seems to be only interested in cure and not prevention. Showing anger is just a temporary event and just a step to please the mob, but the bigger problem needs to be solved by the public itself. Police cannot intrude into the minds of people and repair them. It is the public that needs to think and introspect why such extreme violence is happening and who is responsible for the same.

I keep reading news that goes with the hashtag: "#NirbhayaInsulted". Really? I have a few questions to those who support the above hashtag:

1. When was Nirbhaya actually insulted? When some honest documentary filmmaker tries to explore the mindset of the convict and tries to show it to the nation? Nirbhaya was insulted when she could not use her real name out of fear of being looked down in the society. The fact is that the society which is acting as if it has done some great work by protesting during the whole episode, is in itself guilty of creating such rapists with the various mindsets that kept seeping in from times unknown. Society has time and again looked up to people with a history of crimes that include rapes and corruption(both complement each other), and instead of alienating them from public life, given them votes in exchange of money/"free gifts" like free electricity, free tv, free sarees, free alcohol, etc. This proves that as far as creating proper examples is concerned, no one cares. They only care about how much money they get from the politicians/leaders during elections and forget their basic responsibility of choosing the right person for the job of ruling us!

2. Why are people getting offended with each and every event that seems to be exposing the reality of the society? The mindset of the convict is not just some stray example but a widespread mentality of many people, male and female who have similar views! Is the society afraid that their real image is getting exposed by some western documentary filmmaker?

3. When the parents themselves don't think there is anything objectionable in the content of the interview, why is the media hell bent on blocking the documentary? It looks to be a war between major media houses(namely NDTV vs Times Now,CNN IBN, etc) thats going on where each of them is trying to get as many points as possible and TRPs. The fact that the high court held on to the govt's view and asked the media to block the airing of documentary is another issue altogether.

4. If there is anything to be censored from the documentary, the power lies with the censor board or a body that regulates the broadcasting in India and this can only be done once the complete documentary is watched by the respective authorities.

So what is the main point? People seem to be running behind an imaginary cure(which does not cure at all in reality!) rather than prevention. It is time the society wakes up and tries to look at itself in the mirror and evolve itself into the ideal society that India deserves and not into something that becomes a curse to many Nirbhayas across the nation.

With love.. Anil

An ideal leader..

The other day, I was watching "Air Force One" on some HD english movie channel. What struck me was the way the lead actor(Harrison Ford) plays the President of USA. Though we wonder how would it all happen in reality, the fact is that his was a fictional character that is a dream of many Indians: The one who becomes a role model of millions or even billions across the world in these times of distress, violence and unending journey to find hope and that one spark that is needed to bring about a revolution in the society. When I say "revolution", it need not necessarily mean "change in the setup or a complete overhaul of the system" like how some people think of, or complete hopelessness in the institution of democracy that stood firm in several nations like India, USA, France, UK, etc. despite many attempts to bring it down.

Coming back to the movie, the role played by Harrison Ford was amazing to say the least. Despite watching the movie several times already on TV, the latest airing of this hugely successful movie is something that brings out admiration for the actor as well as disappointment somewhere in the corner of public conscience in my nation.

Do we have a leader who can lift the spirits of the people around them when everything looks down and over today? To some extent, yes, in the form of Narendra Modi, but a lot needs to be done still. This is not about the oratory skills of Modi or his ability to attract huge crowds with his charisma. It is about the consistently positive approach to be taken by a leader at all times: Never get too excited when things are going very well and never show disappointment when chips are down.
It is too early to judge the existing PM of the world's largest and probably the most stable democracy in the world, but if he can maintain the same level of energy, positive approach and inspire others by an example, I dont see any reason why we dont have a leader who not only can be an inspiration to the billions of Indians across the world, but also to other friendly nations who share the same values of India, most notably: "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam"(వసుధైవ కుటుంబకం, "the whole world is a family").
Till then, it is on an optimistic note that I sign off, that better times are ahead for those are willing work and who serve the society!

With love.. Anil