We are no strangers to unconstitutional court-rooms, where
decisions for a society are taken behind closed doors, without the
members of the said society having any actual say in it. For most part, we are
responsible for it because we do not care. So long as our doors are safe, we
believe so is everything and choose to remain blind.
But that changed in 2012, for India. Nirbhaya did not allow Rape
to be filed as a backyard alley incident anymore; her story did not simmer
down. Matters were no longer relegated to lengthy debates. A country, and its
men and women marched the streets and showed a solidarity, a united front in
the face of moral depravity. You may have heard in the recent news of a certain
British filmmaker Leslee Udwin’s film, India’s Daughter. But
you will not watch this documentary. Why you ask? Because the BBC’s broadcast
in India has been “unceremoniously silenced”. If anything rumours are brew that
she is sought by the home ministry who plans to take legal actions. Comments go
as, “The government condemns it. It will not allow any organisation to
leverage such an incident (the gang rape).”
The fore-runners of our country's government seem to have taken to
this film with great displeasure, ‘horror and shock’, so it seems. While, there
is an ongoing debate on who granted the No-Objection certificate /permission
for the film (Mr. Shinde denies involvement), I am more interested in how the
Judiciary seems to be handing out injunctions like the Independence flag.
Today, a Ban is easier to get than drinking water. Which then, leads me to
believe that perhaps, an easier solution to this volatile state of affairs is
to BAN the root cause of all this problem - The Women! #BanWomen. Because,
certainly there is nothing wrong with Culture that raises Men to think that
they are the masters. And obviously there is nothing wrong with the
three-tiered system- Legislative, Judiciary and Executive that encourages this
degressive thought-seed. Please pardon if I hurt a ‘collective
sentiment’; I do not wish to be banned, but I am quite frankly agitated.
And as an excellent exhibit of how un-yielding any amount of
national discourse is, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday had vowed
that the government will not allow the telecast of the film - #IndiasDaughter,
‘under any circumstances’ in the country. “As soon as I got to know about
this, I felt an unhappiness within and I immediately called up the concerned
officials… Even before I got the information, I had said that this documentary
should not be broadcast under any circumstances — be it on web portals, print
media or electronic media,” said Singh on Wednesday. (Indian
Express, March 5th )
Surely, Sir, you don't think this is an imaginary monster, who if
you shut your eyes, will go away? 'Defaming' is not so much the same as showing
your dirty laundry. The commission of the crime, is by nature defacto to the
premise of the film- or do you deny that the incident happened at all.
Narrating an incident, as is, with the patrol of voluntary speech
is not the same as instigating political turmoil by manipulating religious
sentiments. Need I refresh your memory to the more recent demonstration of an
absolutely undemocratic verdict - Banning of Beef in Maharashtra. Again, no
news of minorities (strictly speaking, it’s my personal opinion). Do not
think, that the country is dumb enough not to notice insinuations. The
jury can paint whatever facade on it- Animal protection, safeguarding, et
al. But with wide-spread crimes such as Terrorism, Women's safety issues,
human trafficking, civil wars, inflation, corruption, poverty, education,
economic duress, to so much as upliftment of living standards in
your armed forces, I will not accept the precedence of bovine affairs
before these time-sensitive and imperial concerns. Sorry, call me selfish, but
I am one of those who believes that Human lives are valuable. And yes 'more' valuable,
god may strike me!
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You'd be wise to note that your grounds of securing this
injunction could be a misinformed choice. There are more personal benefits I
can count, and along with me a literate population of Indian women- who you
seem to have conveniently buried under the hatchet. If nothing, this
film could be a tool for gender sensitization, social experiments with
observations in controlled environments, and so much more.
I could be wrong. I could be ignorant of how diplomacy works or
how science works.
Could this documentary be sensitive? Yes. Can this be issued in
layered stages within monitored public domains? Perhaps, yes. But a complete
Ban on the film?! Un-necessary. And if you think it is, you need to reason with
logic as to why. Why this sealing? What monstrosity are you fearing that hasn't
already been committed? In doing so, you have only affirmed an already ongoing
fear- that our country is not only incapable of protecting us, its women, but
is also Ashamed of Us. Is Sanjay Hegde right to say so (and God Bless the
man for his sensitivity). Are you then? Because by not telling our
story, you are mollycoddling this country's people, who desperately need to
hear it straight from the horse's mouth- harsh as it is. The more I see it,
it's worse than rape. You are leaving us bereft of redeemable virtues- which I
feel is the intention at heart of this bold, bold film.
And while you are moving heaven and earth to ensure that this film
doesn't see the light of day, this Man and many like him, continue to
believe, "We have the best culture.
In our culture there is no place for women."- M.L. Sharma, defence
lawyer for the rapists in the Nirbhaya case.
I can't speak for you
sir, but I do believe that a Few Good Men can bring the change. For myself, I
refuse to wallow in the shadows.
We will not be able to
sway your decision to ban the film; having said that,
it will still be watched by the world. But, what A.P. Singh
has said, and what M.L. Sharma has said is defaming my Grandmother, My
Mother, My Sisters, My Friends, My Colleagues, My Country and My Gender and I
demand an injunction on his ‘freedom of expression’.
