DEATH will not be enough!!!

The night of 16^th December, 2012 was the night that showed us the grim image of the society we live in. The night one “nameless” girl was brutally tortured by 6 “faceless” devils of our society. I call the girl “nameless” because firstly, I hate the names given to her by the TRP hungry media houses and secondly, because it isn’t about that one girl who died a horrific death, a point all the protestors shouting at the India Gate so easily forgot. I call the 6 devils faceless because it isn’t just about these 6 men, such men continue to exist within our society and such gruesome events continue to happen all across India. If we really believe that by just hanging those 4 devils we will be honouring the memory of that “nameless” girl then may be, we really are naive.

Since that cruel night of 16^th December, there has been a death lust across the country. Youth gathered all across the country to form a protest that could have ashamed the then recently concluded “I am Anna” protests.  At that time, these youths had the power and even showed the will, at times, to change the system. But sadly, they never understood their responsibility. They never could be sure what they really wanted. Few of the banners at India gate actually were asking to torture these men in similar fashion. I remember a famous Bollywood actor who had joined the protest actually talking about using his licensed gun on eve teasers. One thing we all fail to understand is that the source of the problem cannot be part of the solution.

For all those who think that the nameless girl has got her justice, I have one question for you “What happened to the PCR vans attendants who were fighting over jurisdiction while the girl and her friend were in semi nude state on the road?”

For all those who think society’s mindset has changed after that incident, I have one question “Where are those people who never stopped to help the two helpless souls? Are they reformed?”

For all those who think that all the rapists across India have got a lesson through this judgement, I have one question for you “Will there be any decrease in the number of rapes across the country because of this so called ‘landmark’ judgement?”

For all those who think our society, especially our youth, has unified after all this, I have few questions “Why is this unity limited to only one case? Where was this unity when a brutally raped 7 years old girl’s father was being bribed by the police asking him not to file an FIR? Where was this unity when a lady after being brutally raped was hanged by the tree in semi nude state in Guwahati? Why such a selective reaction?”

If you are satisfied by this judgement and you think incidents like these will not be repeated then may be posting facebook statuses is exactly what you should be doing. And if you are not, then it’s time to find the root of the issue and start fixing it. Our country may have never faced such a huge value deficit in our society. The incident of 16^th December isn’t the fault of only those 6 men; the truth is we failed as a society. Our values are lost and these incidents will keep on happening until and unless these values are reinstated from root level.

I am a teacher in a low income private school, and I have seen and experienced the root cause of this value deficit in my own community. Our classrooms are nothing but rote learning centers. A country which was so proud of its values once has completely spoiled its base. The truth of today’s classroom is that a 4^th grade kid is “teasing” girls to show off in front of his friends, an 8^th grade kid openly “pushes” girls and is proud of it, a gang of 10^th grade “kids” gathers on the road in front of their school to pass lewd comments on any “item” that comes their way. This is the reality that all these blood thirsty people have ignored. This is the reality that needs to be dealt. Hanging those criminals can’t stop anything now, what’s done is done. But handling these valueless kids can stop almost everything that’s wrong with our society.

I am a teacher and i am writing this article because i am appalled by the lack of values in our system. My imminent focus is a value based class. I take it as my responsibility to go around in the community and see the kind of values my kids are learning. If a teacher cannot instil the right values in his/her kids, then may be, he/she should be doing something else. If you are a teacher, it is your responsibility too.

But if you think it’s only the responsibility of the teachers to instil values in the kids then keep waiting for another 16^th December to happen. It is our responsibility to demand for a value based system. Our system should be a preventive one instead of being a system that caters to the mob mentality. By not doing this, we are failing our kids, our future generations.

Lastly, it’s good to put facebook statuses if you can follow your words with actions. If you think that you cannot contribute then keep reassuring yourself that you actually care when really you don’t.