The Dark Passenger

A 23 year old girl in Delhi got assaulted and brutally raped a few days ago. She is battling for her life. And the nation is battling with itself.

RAPE. A four letter word which comes with a stigma attached to it, has the public, cops, the judiciary and the government dancing to its tunes. No sooner does an event create enough buzz, that it spurs a series of debates, discussions, write-ups and posters all over.

I read an article from a spiritual community, which said that rape had nothing to do with sex. Sex is passionate and involves love while rape is a blend of hate, anger and disrespect for another human being. Hence both are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

I neither completely agree nor disagree with the above point. Rape is definitely a problem. The increasing number of incidents and lack of control on the situation is a bigger problem. But, an even bigger problem is our misconceptions of this social evil and our narrow minded approach to it. We are still conservative while dealing with problems affecting the society. We see the symptoms and mistake it for the disease. Hence we fight the symptoms while the disease prevails.

The concept and definition of rape needs refurbishment. Can an act of sexual violence be classified as rape, only if there has been an intercourse? Even though the stats prove that it is usually the males who are rapists, can we say with absolute certainty that a woman cannot turn into a rapist? Can a male be raped? Are the boys who are victims of sodomy considered as rape victims?

If we look at the problem from different angles, each one of them is sure to open up a fresh set of questions.

My idea of writing this blog is not to find answers to all the questions pertaining to the problem but to analyze the root cause of such deviant behavior. What makes a person a rapist? Some say that it is a psychological disorder and that rapists are insane. Some others are of the opinion that these people are not insane but victims of certain social problems. Another viewpoint is that they are sexually deprived and hence desperate.

None of these schools of thought are completely wrong. It is hard to point out any one reason. But we can be certain that even though the act is sexual by nature, it has very less to do with sex itself.

As I see it, this pseudo-sexual act comprises of two parts. The primary factors or ingredients (as I would call it) and the catalysts. The catalysts are many (social, economic, political etc.), however we may be able to spot high levels of similarity among the primary factors lying at the base of every rape case. My point is that instead of just fighting and suppressing the catalysts, we must target the primary factors even though they maybe extremely difficult to uproot.

One of the most prominent primary factor according to me is the 'need for POWER'. The complication here is that this need is engraved into most of us, not just the ones who commit the crime. Deep within ourselves, there is a need to prove either to ourselves or/and to others that we have POWER and that we are in control. The concept of power too is multidimensional, hence the way in which we satisfy this need would vary from person to person. This need maybe dormant in some while it maybe prominent in some others.

Rapists would fall into the latter category. The catalysts, whatever they may be, would trigger the action. But as I mentioned, the root cause lies in the strong desire to prove that one has power over another. And this necessity to prove usually originates from a deeply set inferiority complex. Hence, anyone who suffers from this complex would mostly try dominating someone who is physically, mentally or emotionally weaker and fool himself or herself into enjoying the feeling of superiority. There are numerous situations around us where we witness or may even be a part of domination or submission. Rape is one such extreme act which allows the perpetrator to channelize his aggression through a sexual medium and derive sadistic pleasure in the misery of the victim.

It would be myopic to believe that the human race lies in pure contrast. We all have shades of grey. Most of us, at a conscious level are oblivious to the dark sides of our own selves. Like the popular TV character Dexter Morgan says..."we all have a Dark Passenger inside". Its hard to predict when will this passenger wake up.

This blog has not come to a conclusion. It has only turned the board around so that the readers can take off those tinted glasses for sometime while analyzing the concept of rape in the light of the current scenario. As I write this, the media is buzzing with fresh cases of rape.

There are too many Dark Passengers waking up. The question is...will we be able to identify and keep a check on them?

Beyond The Point of No Return

'The Point of No Return' is a term used in Air Force which refers to a point in a mission after which a pilot cannot return without completing the mission. This point is usually plotted in the enemy territory. Once a pilot crosses this point, its a 'Do or Die' situation. He has to either kill the enemies and then return or NEVER return.

Today, Mother India and we, her children have crossed THE POINT OF NO RETURN, not by the virtue of choice but by the force of destiny. I guess RabindranathTagore had never imagined this twist of fate..when he wrote "India's Tryst with Destiny.." Yes India's Tryst with Destiny began long ago...we were proud to have broken free from the shackles of British regime without realizing that it was just the beginning of the test. I believe that we are in a worse situation than what we were in, half a decade ago. We have only ourselves to blame for this. We took our freedom for granted and we continue to do that. The Independence Day has shrunk into a mere holiday we look forward to after our tedious days of chasing money. It’s a shame that we, today, stand on that very soil where our freedom fighters hoisted the National Flag after paying a price with their blood and we shiver with the fear of a terrorist attack even as we hoist OUR flag on two significant days.

I always thought that those Sons of Satan were the cowards...but I was wrong...it is WE who are the cowards. They come...they go on rampage...and after their dastardly acts cease temporarily, we boil with anger...within a few days our attention gets diverted back to the Sensex, the CAT and what the IIMs are doing...the gruesome pictures on the front pages are replaced by figures of the packages the IITs and IIMs get or the graphs of Sensex or maybe the 'one and only' sport of India...cricket..in which we try to satisfy our needs for vengeance by defeating our neighbour. Then once again 'they' come and go scot-free and we watch them dumbfounded and after they are done, our blood boils once again till the next sensational news appears on the headlines.

What is the point of screaming that "we will not let them go..we will get out on the streets and tell them enough is enough!” These immature reactions look worse than a caricature. What are we going to do going on the streets when we don’t even know how to use a pistol to shoot down a light bulb?!! It is ridiculous to exhibit pseudo-bravery by trying to face those guys who have ace weapons. And getting them killed is no victory either because they come here prepared to die...in fact they take pride in it by calling it 'sacrifice'.

Once the damage is done..It’s done. It is not killing them but preventing them from doing what they do, that can be considered as an achievement. Let us accept this first and then think practically what can be done.

I have been pondering over this problem for a few days now and I think I have a lead..it’s not an absolute solution but a lead to start thinking on. We don’t need to sacrifice our life or join the army or give up the comfort of a family life to fight against this. Fighting terrorism does not necessarily mean going and standing in front of the terrorists. There is something each one of us can do even while following our own vocation. Engineers and technically trained people should try to involve themselves in R&D of new technology instead of running after investment banking! Not that it is unimportant..but doing what you are good at and trained for rather than focusing on monetary benefits can prove extremely helpful to our country. And yes..these men will definitely require the funds to conduct research...that is when our financial experts can come in. Instead of waiting for the government to generate funds, these activities should be undertaken privately...and I am sure that each one of us will have something to contribute no matter who you are or where you are from. We talk of sacrifice...if sacrifice is what you want to do then sacrifice your selfish desires and change your outlook towards our country!

I hope to see a day when we will hoist our National Flag fearlessly.

Jai Hind!!!