The rise and rise of rape in India.

There has been an alarming rise in the incidence of rape of late. This is causing much bewilderment and trepidation in so far as the crime is keeping pace with the measures taken to arrest or lessen its occurrence as well as the widespread publicity generated by the epidemic. 

I discern at least two equally powerful triggers for this intriguing phenomenon.

First among equals is the galloping pace of pro-feminist reforms and the accompanying fanfare they receive in media and word of mouth. This raises the anti-feminist’s heckles. They yearn to strike back. And what better way to do it than to go rape, molest, insult, humiliate “those pesky bitches”? Rape is a crime of power, not passion. In the present instance, it is the rapist’s response to the women’s increasing empowerment.

The second trigger is the nationwide – nay, worldwide – media coverage that each succeeding gang rape in India has been receiving of late. In the rapist’s sick mind, committing this horrendous crime of power in the company of like-thinking comrades seems to be an easy way of getting and basking in his fifteen seconds of fame. Labyrinthine and convoluted though this logic may seem, that’s the way the cookie crumbles in the rapist’s twilight zone, I’m afraid.

If both these triggers are currently at work, what is the way to slow down the occurrence of rape in India? Should the pace of pro-feminist reforms be slowed down? Should the fanfare that is their due be somewhat subdued? My off-the-cuff response is No to the first course of action and Yes to the second. My Yes response may be owing to my antipathy towards the way Indians and Indian media respond to anything: way over the top – so much so that for the potential rapist, rape has virtually become a cult!

Is there a way to nip a potential rapist in the bud? Caution and vigilance on the part of women stepping out of the safety of home and workplace as well as the law and order functionaries seems to be the partial – though not totally satisfactory – solution. Is there a way to identify and tag potential rapists before they crawl out of the crack and go on a rampage? Truth to tell, I don’t know.

What do I know?

Nothing – after I take stock of what I presume is my sizeable reservoir of knowledge. I have gathered over the years scraps of information. I reckon. When it comes to the crunch, though, I know just about enough to get by. This morning, for instance, I read in the papers a juicy bit of gossip about an actress who I think has oodles of talent, much more than her sister who has been in the Hindi films for much longer than her. I thought of the time I had seen her at close quarters, close enough to make an eye contact. It happened to be a preview of one of her early movies. The movie was nothing much to write home about, terribly derivative and much too long. She held her own against another much more experienced actress. What was important for me was the eye contact. It immediately told me here was an actress worth watching. Also, a person who would go her own way no matter what. She proved me right soon enough. Then she was in the midst of an “affair” that seemed to me to be made to order for the media and her fan following. Now it seems she is out of it and in another “relationship” where she is probably following her own inclination and instincts. What has that got to do with the price of potatoes? Nothing. Only I wonder it what I “knew” or “sensed” in the moment I described is “knowledge”. If it is, what use is it? P.S.: Maybe, my understanding of this whole business of “knowing” is all wonky. Maybe, know-nothing is my middle name.

Meow!

Television can be such a veritable fount of new learning if you care to watch it closely. Whoever thought of calling it The Idiot Box must be a cretin surely. Take the example of this new commercial for an online employment agency. It gave me in mere thirty seconds razor-sharp insight into The New Pecking Order in Today’s Urban India. At the apex of the pyramid is what the country’s current Super Star – and all-round darling – insists on calling “hum artiste log”. This includes – once you decode the subtext – film actors, directors, music directors, classical dancers, singers, chefs, hoteliers, restaurateurs, fashion designers, jewellery designers, tarot readers, numerologists, astrologers, hair stylists and cricketers. At the base are the lower denizens such as barbers, washer men, air traffic controllers, etc. – in short, ‘non-creative’ workers. The New Order ordains the “hum artiste log” to the higher rungs of the social ladder – the priestly caste, as it were – and requires that they be rewarded in inverse proportion of what they contribute to the old-fashioned idea of the greatest common good. The media engine, including Page Three and the gossip rags, goes into an overdrive to whip up the hype to sustain this state of affairs. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, boys and girls.

The new apple in Mumbai’s eye? (Hint: It puts Mumbai on par with the Big Apple.)

One lives and learns, I guess. A little over two years ago, I first read in the press about a brand new social animal that had infiltrated the Indian Page 3 milieu. Can you guess who? I shall give you a hint in the form of a definition: “A dandyish narcissist in love with not only himself, but also his urban lifestyle”. Mark Simpson, the original inventor of this social prototype, defines it as “a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis – because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. … [also] … officially gay, straight or bisexual, … [which is] utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere.” (Sounds pejorative, almost scurrilous, and scarcely desirable, does it not?) Apparently, the arrival of this exotic and exclusive life form in our midst has now blessed Mumbai with a global status on par with the Big Apple. How very fortunate! We’ve our world-standard fashion industry as well as our widespread urban prosperity to thank for the new arrival, I’m told. And, who is the beneficiary of this bonanza? All those who come under the ‘grooming industry’ umbrella, who else? Find more enlightenment on the new social phenomenon here: http://www.wordspy.com/words/metrosexual.asp