"My language of protest,
My fire of resistance,
May it burn twice as bright,
In double the fierce retribution,
Crushing and shattering
The web of a hundred conspiracies,
Bringing liberation, light,
And a million awakened souls." --Salil Chowdhury
The grotesque incident that occurred at the R.G. Kar Medical College on August 8, 2024 has shaken the conscience of the entire nation. A 31-year-old second-year female PG doctor was brutally raped and murdered in a government hospital while she was on duty.
Imagine your leg pulled apart so hard that your pelvis breaks, your spectacles crushed deep into your eyes causing them to bleed, your collarbone broken into pieces, and then being strangled so violently that you bleed from the mouth - all while going through this agonizing transition from life to death, you are then subjected to the most depraved act of rape. The sheer horror and suffering this woman experienced in her final moments is unimaginable.
After this heinous crime came to light, the victim was deliberately labeled as "psychotic" and her death dismissed as a "suicide". Her grieving parents were mentally tortured, harassed, and not even allowed to see their daughter's body for three hours straight.
Is this the freedom and security we are celebrating 78 years after independence, when even women are not safe in their own workplaces?
Those who carelessly blame and shame rape victims for their "character" or "dressing sense", making insensitive comments like "you can't clap with one hand", must realize that the sole reason for such crimes is the sadistic pleasure derived by depraved monsters from sexually assaulting and dehumanizing their victims. This gruesome incident did not occur on a deserted road at night involving a drunk woman ( which is equally unjustified) , but within the very walls of a hospital, to an on-duty female doctor.
The nation has witnessed a powerful mass response to the clarion call delivered by women to reclaim the nights that have long been monopolized by anti-social elements.
At the stroke of midnight on August 15th, as the world slept, women across India rose up in unison to march and protest, reclaiming the streets that rightfully belong to them. This is the first time in history that women have come together in such large numbers at the symbolic hour of India's independence Day to assert their right to safe, free movement, and it will forever be etched in our collective memory.
I couldn't help joining the protest. This was the first time I had ever marched in a procession, voicing and raising slogans to my heart's content . The entire civilian populace unanimously demanded the downfall of the corrupt government, the government which has been sheltering the anti-social elements all the while and that culminated in the mushrooming of arrogant ignoramus, aggressive barbarians and mudslinging of the virtuous and educated.
But, I wish that this reclamation is permanent, the deep-down vehemence does not die down and the dream of a safe and secure society does not evaporate like any other social aspiration.
The agitation within me has not subsided yet. The ardor for a radical social change is running down into my veins, incessantly shaking me from within. The fire within me has been reignited and the spark rekindled. I desire to burn down the status quo with the stroke of my pen. To all those "neutral" creatures, lacking moral compass, habituated with walking on the all-sides-pleasing tightrope and claiming that the protests are being painted with the brush of politics, let me tell you that until and unless the ruling party stops indulging and protecting the real perpetrators, the counter politics clamoring for justice won't stop and will only gain greater momentum from the anguish of people.
Alike many, I could not put my heart and soul into celebrating our 78th Independence Day, for I felt and still feel that we have not achieved real freedom, have we?
We are incarcerated by our fears. Despite having spine, we do not have one. Despite having voices, we do not speak up. Instead, we suppress those who possess both.
Indians under colonial rule intently nurtured their ideologies even in the face of adversity. But now, we nip them in the buds even before our opinions gain impetus within the boundaries of our hearts. This forces me to ask - when were we truly freer, before 1947 or now? Is political freedom everything? What about the redemption from mental slavery, as urged by Bob Marley? The emancipation of people across caste, creed and gender from social evils and miseries? Have we ever questioned the anarchic tyranny of those in power? If not, then what are we really celebrating 78 years of independence for?
As Tagore implored, let us strive for a world "where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high." Let us not allow the vehement movement for justice for Tilottama to die down - discuss, opine, and propound until the perpetrators are held accountable.
In the words of Swami Vivekananda, "Sacrifice your life for the good of others and go round to the doors of people carrying this message of fearlessness - arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached."
Let our existence embody this call to action, this refusal to be silenced in the face of injustice. The storms of upheaval shall crush the autocrats to dust, and only then true freedom will dawn upon us.