20th Oct, 2011. India had just nailed the ODI series by a thumping win and we all were looking forward for a 5-0 whitewash. Like every other die-hard Indian Cricket supporters, 7 friends in Amboli restaurant, Mumbai too were busy celebrating the victory. They had just come out of the restaurant, when they heard a drunken man passing lewd comments about the girls in the group. The boys confronted him, protested, slapped him and sent him away. After 15 minutes the drunken man was back with more men who were armed with sickles, knives, stumps and other weapons and attacked the group. 2 of the boys, Keenan and Reuben were badly stabbed, while another boy Avinash was injured. The girls were screaming for help – there were hundreds of by-standers, 2 shops, and one posh restaurant, where they often visited and it was happening on one of the busiest streets of Mumbai, not a secluded place. Yet, not a single hand came to their rescue. While hundreds of eyes witnessed this happen, but all of them preferred to be mute spectators. Both Keenan and Reuben succumbed to their injuries, while the rest were subjected to bear the scar of disbelief and distrust about their own kind. To summarize it, 2 young, precious lives were lost out to brutality, just because they chose to stand up and protest.
Shocked? Disgusted? Shaken? Whatever may be your reaction, let’s not act that surprised!! I mean very often we have read in the newspaper how someone was dying of some illness or due to some accidents in the streets, but nobody came to the rescue……even people preferred to pass by without giving a second glance and finally when our very ‘own’ police arrived, it was all over. For a few days, there would be debates carried on news channels about the apathy of the people in general…..some politicians would inevitably there, to do the honors. Some politicians would be blaming the government, some the opposition party and it will carry on. There would be few angry protest march held, netizens would vent out their anger in the virtual world, smses would be shared about these atrocities and how stupid all the politicians are, so on and so forth. Give it a month or so, or if you are more of a skeptical type, a few weeks perhaps and then everyone will ‘Move on’ with their lives, like the famous ad tag line of a commercial company and all these will become archive and gather dust.
Aye! This is the reality my friends and I daresay even I am not infallible from this vice. Even I at times had chosen to remain mum when words were necessary. Was I afraid to speak my mind? Yes. Was I afraid to get into messy affairs? Yes. Why? Why? As a female, I can tell you this that most of us have faced eve teasing of some sorts once or more than once in our life time and most of the time, we have ignored them, or shamefully remained silent, even while getting disgusted from within.
Why? Why this fear within? Why this apathy within? One of my friends today was telling me that maybe it stems from the Jungian ‘Collective Unconscious’. I don’t know. I really don’t have the answer. I only know one thing, as incidences like these show, you may remain quiet when others are facing the consequences, saying “It’s none of my business.” What will happen when it’s your turn? Will you be able to find helping hands around you, to save you in danger, or like what you too have done - the same kind of treatment would be doled out to you?
Right now I don’t have any answer, or maybe I’ll never get the answer. Today I’m feeling strong emotions, tomorrow when I wake up, I may forget it completely, may be once or twice would be uttering few words of pity for the two lost lives and ‘move on’ with my life. But now in this passionate state I can just express my feelings by the words of German pastor Martin Niemöller, who had said this about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power in Germany, which was shared by a senior in our University.
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communistsand I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me......