Riiiiight, Dr Singh, I’m sure modernization and westernizaation is to blame for a bunch of village goons abducting and raping a village woman who had left the company of her husband. Surely such a thing could never have happened in the tranquil idyllic gaon until westernization showed up. These goons must be incredibly westernized; I’ll bet they watch Friends and read Harry Potter too.

What a lot of bollocks! Any “respect” for women in these patriarchal traditional societies is almost purely conditional – conditional that she always be under male protection and control at all times.

The real cause behind these cases is the atmosphere of sex craziness, drinks, woman’s lib, lasciviousness and libido that is being created and propagated as a sign of modernity and socio-cultural advancement. This has led to – and ushered in – an atmosphere of sensual enjoyments. They have become now the main, if not the only, source of recreation, entertainment and favourite pursuit of the moderns – their hobby.

Get westernised, become modernised, and the respect for women shall be gone. Then they would become articles of sheer use for you and instruments of recreation and enjoyment for the unscrupulous.

School and college have become its hotbeds, and now the commoners are picking up the infection from them and the movies. Much more is going to happen in the near future and is in the pipe line. These are only the trailers!

Indeed, whatever may happen, after all, haven’t we got to become advanced, modern and westernised? And for that, all the old and out of tune concepts of our morality, love, respect, a feeling of rendering help to them, shown regard and veneration and that they have to be protected, have to be cast off like an old, torn and worn-out rag.

Dr. Ranjeet Singh.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030067&ch=10/20/2007%208:55:00%20PM

NDTV.com: Child left to rot in chains in Kerala

“In what can be described as the height of cruelty, a three year old was rescued on Friday after being found chained at a house in Kerala’s Idukki district.

The torture had been going on for many months with the boy being chained for 10 to 12 hours a day. A relative spotted the boy and subsequently alerted locals.

The child who has injury marks all over his body is now at a rescue centre.

”It was really shocking news to me personally and to this institution. We say often that we have achieved 100 per cent literacy. Situation like this is happening even in Kerala. I am worried. What is the condition in other states? I’m pained,” said Krishnan, General Secretary, Kerala State Council for Child Welfare.”

Does our legal system have any tools to sufficiently punish these fiends? Is there a way to make these so called mother and stepfather aware of the gravity of the crime they perpetrated against a budding child? Are the people of ‘God’s own country’ turning themselves into devils?

I think the key issue here is not whether the press has covered this or not. The key issue is the failure of India’s law and order machinery. This incident was merely one more symptom of its failure.

A country should not need the press to raise each major crime in the media in order for the crime to be investigated. India needs good governance. I’d suggest those who are genuinely concerned for India think about doing something about this themselves by coming together to offer a political alternative and offer credible solutions to reform the governance machinery. Things that will really work; not cosmetic transfers and postings of officers.

The point being that there is only limited value in looking at each specific incident of corruption, rape, or murder in India. A bigger picture and systematic analysis should lead at least some concerned citizens to stop talking on blogs and to start doing something. (Not that there is no value in talking about these issues on blogs or in the media. I commend Tehalka and Shantanu for raising this very unfortunate issue).

Who wants to do something about it?

Regards

Sanjeev