Pain on The Go

We talk of lead India and India shining today but have we ever paid any heed to the ground realities of this country? Many would say yes! I have a story to narrate here and then could we all rethink if we see the root cause of issues such as rape, molestation and others? I witnessed some thing that provoked thoughts in my mind about the status of women and children in our country! I was amazed to see the levels at which child molestation works here! It was around 11 am on a Saturday and I was self-driving alone in my car heading towards my home town in Haryana. On the two way single road to home, I reached a small village which is about 15kms from Kurukshetra (off the GT road). A little girl who should be around 7 years was riding on a bike on the backseat of a man (I guess should be her father). She was in her school uniform. As they rode, I saw another motor bike with three young boys who should be between 19-24 years, one of the guys was making obscene gestures to the girl and waving to catch her attention. The first thought that came to my mind was they could be related to her and may be playing cute stuff but then I realized “No” that was not one of those gestures to the child but that guy could only acknowledge the gender that child was born with! All the three were laughing and making gestures to the little girl! The agony was, I was driving right behind and was a spectator to this scene, helpless! Then this came to an end when the bike the girl was riding on, took a turn to a by-lane. The five minute drive was horrible for me! By this time the guys had seen me driving behind them in aggression against what I had just witnessed. Now, it was me that they had to race with or try to use as a mockery for their pleasure. I had to literally outsmart them in driving and get them to a point where they had no choice but to get off the road to save their lives. I had the fear- what if they followed me and tried to stop the car? The thoughts that they may have friends around this area gave me jitters. In my aggression and revenge towards their disgusting act I had taken that plunge without fearing the consequences! Thankfully I could reach home safe! When I reached home, I thought to self, will those guys ever realize what my aggression towards them meant? What was I trying to protest against? The glands in my eyes became active on thinking a painful “No”! I feel sorry for our campaigns like Lead India where we expect the youth of our country to act and decide for the country without realizing what the youth in the rural India stand for! What psyche do they carry and operate on?! Is it really worth being an activist when we are not able to bring about that respect for each other? Is it not important that we respect ourselves and our fellows first and then look for support for our country? A “Jaago Re” campaign by Tata would just be a promotional stuff for many. Is it not important for us to work towards this? Is it not important for every mother to teach their children what “respect” means? How many mothers spend time in actually educating their children and teach them the real meaning of respect? We teach rules, manners, rituals but never such subtle things! I believe, the day we are sensitized to this need, everything else will follow the suit! Let’s join hands to bring this difference today! Let us work towards building a home where each one respects the others’ presence and honors their existence!