Radhika's Ujaala

Sitting in the veranda on this lazy morning, she was drooling over the events of the past six months. She was finding it impossible to keep her tears in check trying to comprehend the direction in which destiny had steered her. Till not quite long back, she used to consider herself as the luckiest girl in the entire world. She had aced her MBA examinations and had got placed in a reputed MNC four years back. She had worked hard and earned herself a decent reputation in her company. She had also built up substantial savings for purchasing her dream home in Mumbai. Finally, two years back she had married her childhood love and they had pooled their savings to purchase their dream home and had relocated there. She could not have asked for much more in her life till….

“Radhika….Radhika…..”…Neeraj’s voice sounded concerned. He found her seated in the veranda lost in deep thoughts.

“Radhika…..Radhika….what’s wrong?”…He shook her out of her reverie.

Looking at Neeraj, she no longer could control her tears and they streamed down her cheeks, leaving behind marks of sorrow on her pale skin. Neeraj took her in his arms and tried to console her.

“Oh Radhika….don’t lose hope….who knows destiny has much better plans in store for us….there are thousands of kids in need of love, care and a safe and secure home….giving birth to a child is not the only way you can become a mother….I promise you that we will soon have a cute little daughter in this home calling you Mumma…Mumma…”

Hearing these reassuring words, Radhika became still more inconsolable, and in between her sobs, looked at Neeraj with eyes full of love and gratitude….”Oh Neeraj! I love you…..”

Almost a month had passed by and with continuous loving support from Neeraj, Radhika had somehow managed to get her life back on track. She was returning home after a hectic day when she saw big, bright, smiling, green eyes staring at her with innocent affection. A lady with a beautiful child in her arms was talking to one of Radhika’s neighbours. After the usual round of courtesies, Radhika learned that she had new neighbours in the flat across hers. They were a family of four, Shama and Nafees, both software engineers in the same firm, Nafees’s mother and the adorable little Ujaala.

That first eye-contact with Ujaala was enough for Radhika to fall head over heels in love with her. Visiting Shama’s flat to see and play with Ujaala had become a permanent daily evening ritual of her life. Ujaala also soon became extremely attached to Radhika and would look forward to her daily visit.

Radhika was feeling like dancing with childish joy and excitement today. It was Ujaala’s first birthday! Radhika had purchased a truckload of gifts for Ujaala and was just stepping out of her house to go to Shama’s house when she saw a police official walking towards their building. He saw Radhika standing in the doorway and approached her….”Could you please tell me where Mr. Nafees’s house is?”….he asked, in a dominating voice. Radhika pointed towards Nafees and Shama’s house reluctantly, with horror filled eyes…..”Inspector, what is the issue?”…She asked with a tinge of fear in her voice. “I have a complaint against them for trying to convert their neighbours to their religion”…he remarked nonchalantly. His matter-of-fact remark was enough to send shivers down Radhika’s entire body. She got rooted to the spot and couldn’t move for a while. Mustering all her courage, she probed for details. She was shocked beyond belief to hear what the inspector had to say.

Their common neighbours had complained against Nafees and Shama that they had developed overly friendly relations with Radhika and Neeraj with an intent to convert them to their religion. They had cited numerous examples, such as their offering prayers at Radhika’s house occasionally, spotting a copy of Quran at Radhika’s place, their regular mutual visits, Radhika’s extreme attachment and love for Ujaala and so on and so forth.

Radhika was dumbfounded to hear all this. After a few seconds, she managed to regain her composure. She tried to reason to the best of her ability with the police official standing in front of her. “Sir, I think you have been entirely mistaken. Nafees and Shama are like family to us. We are extremely close to each other and enjoy each other’s’ company. Ujaala is more than a daughter to me. But religion has never been even a topic of discussion between us. They have never ever tried, intentionally or unintentionally, to impose their religious beliefs on us in any manner. Please ignore the complaint. We are sorry that your precious time was wasted…” She finished her urgent entreaties with an expectant look at the Inspector.

After listening to her patiently, the Inspector smiled a mischievous smile….”Thank you for the information, Madam. Now, if you could please excuse me and let me do my work?”….Radhika was again left rooted to the spot in disbelief. The scene that followed, got etched in her memory forever. Despite all her pleadings and entreaties, the police officials forcibly took away Nafees and Shama along with them, leaving behind a confused and crying Ujaala in her grandmother’s arms.

Radhika immediately called up Neeraj and they rushed to the police station. After much deliberations, the police officials released Nafees and Shama on bail with strict warnings to not indulge in proselytising activities in future. It was past midnight when all four of them returned home, distraught and exhausted, after an unbelievable and long day.

In the next few days, Radhika saw her whole world collapse in front of her eyes. Despite Radhika and Neeraj’s repeated requests and assurances, Nafees and Shama refused to continue to stay in the city. They were too shaken up and scared after the incident and had firmly resolved to leave the city.

That day was the last time Radhika saw her Ujaala with her big, bright, smiling, green eyes staring at her with innocent affection. She was refusing to leave Radhika’s arms. In turn, Radhika was facing great difficulty in keeping her tears in check. She didn’t want to bid adieu to Ujaala forever, with tears in her eyes.

Ujaala had wailed inconsolably when Shama finally forcibly took her from Radhika’s arms. Radhika could only see a blurred image of Ujaala through her tear-filled eyes. She rushed back inside her house and collapsed on the bed crying out with uncontrollable grief. That was the last time Radhika saw her Ujaala……the light of her life had left her forever, leaving behind a permanent void in her heart that refuses to be filled to this day…….

Lessons from the Leslee Udwin Documentary

The recent ban imposed on the airing of the documentary titled “India’s Daughter” by Leslee Udwin, has again brought the infamous 2012 Nirbhaya rape case to the limelight. The brutal and insensitive rape of a 23 year old paramedic student in the National Capital Territory of Delhi sent shockwaves in the entire nation and resulted in mass protests of the kind never seen before in Indian history. The sustained and prolonged public protests forced the government to sit up and take notice. The Justice JS Verma Committee was appointed to “look into possible amendments of the Criminal Law to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women”. The preface of the report submitted by the Committee on January 23, 2013 notes, “The constitution of this Committee is in response to the country-wide peaceful public outcry of civil society, led by the youth, against the failure of governance to provide a safe and dignified environment for the women of India, who are constantly exposed to sexual violence. The immediate cause was the brutal gang rape of a young woman in the heart of the nation’s capital in a public transport vehicle in the late evening of December 16, 2012”. The Committee submitted its report in a record time of 30 days. It made some path-breaking recommendations, some of which were accepted and resulted in the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2012. Although the committee stopped short of recommending death penalty for rapists, they were nevertheless awarded the same, the final plea to which is pending with the Supreme Court. The gruesome nature of the rape and the fatal physical injuries inflicted on the victim led the court to categorize this case among the rarest of rare cases, deserving an award of death penalty.

 

This incident became a landmark in that it sparked a plethora of debates ranging from law and order and good governance issues to the need of gender sensitivity and a major cultural re-orientation in our society in the way it views and treats its women.

 

The release of the documentary by Leslee Udwin and its hasty banning by the Indian government has re-ignited the debates. The focus this time around has shifted to the accused and their warped mind-sets towards women and the general patriarchal set-up of the Indian society. This shift in focus is a result of the interviews conducted with one of the accused and their lawyers, which clearly portray the unrepentant attitude of the accused two years after committing the crime, and being awarded death penalty for the same. The interviews with the defence lawyers lay bare the ingrained gender bias and male domination in our society.

 

The government, in its haste to ban the release of the documentary in India, has inexplicably reasoned that airing of such views by the accused and their lawyers are is against “national interest” and derogatory to India’s image in the world. This stance, though disgusting, may not be surprising. The government has only lived up to its true character of creating hype for all the wrong reasons and in the process, side-lining the real issues plaguing our society.

 

For me, two core areas emerge that need to be redressed to have a real and lasting impact in transforming our society and changing its mind-set. One is, the right education at the right time, and second is the much neglected domain of prison reforms. The two might not seem to be much inter-related at the first glance, but I will elaborate further on a need of substantial reforms in both, and the exponential impact it can have on the society.

 

Let us first look at the much discussed field of education. It has been widely conceded that a serious and substantive reform of the society has its roots in education reforms. In the wider field of education too, primary education deserves a special mention here. It has been clinically proven that the formative years of an individual’s life play a substantial and crucial role in shaping the personality of an individual. The right guidance at this time of life goes a long way in shaping an individual into a well-developed human being with a satisfactory ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Education is the only means through which this goal can be achieved.

 

The key factor here is the differentiation between education and literacy. The Right to Education Act, 2005 has made education a free and compulsory right for all between the ages of 6years and 14 years. This Act has played a major role in near universalization of education. But the problem does-not end there. According to the 10^th Annual Status of Education Report, 2014, released by Pratham, the quality of education, especially in the government schools, leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, according to the report, out of all children enrolled in Std. V, about half cannot read even at Std. II level. The report goes on to suggest some useful measures that can be taken to augment the learning outcomes for children. These, inter alia include, grouping by level and not by grade, special focus, time attention and use of innovative teaching methods in Class I and Class II to ensure that children acquire basic skills, involvement of parents in the entire learning process etc.

 

Another aspect of the entire learning process is the value system that the children inculcate. The aim of education should be not only to enable an individual to read and write, but also, and more importantly, to build a strong value system, which includes respect for humanity, gender sensitivity, achievement orientation, values of honesty, integrity, hard work, empathy etc.

 

In order to achieve this goal, the entire mind-set towards the teaching-learning process needs to undergo a complete overhaul. First and foremost, there is an urgent need to recognize the importance of education, especially at the elementary level. The curriculum designed should not only target at making an individual literate, but also educated, learned and fit enough to live in the society as a well-rounded individual. Teaching needs to be re-established as a noble profession and put on a high pedestal. The economic and social status of teachers should be made commensurate to the importance of their role. Their selection process needs to be rigorous and their training continuous and meaningful. Even the non-state actors in the field of education should be adequately supported and encouraged.

 

The second area in need of urgent attention and repair which I want to highlight here is the field of prison reforms. The modern prison in India originated with the Minute by TB Macaulay in 1835. The present jail management and administration in India operates on the basis of the outdated Prisons Act, 1894. Several Committees and Commissions have been appointed to give recommendations in this area, which include, the recommendations given by Dr. W.C. Reckless, a UN expert, All India Jail Manual Committee, Mulla Committee, Krishna Iyer Committee etc. All these committees have given useful recommendations to deal with the problems of overcrowding in jails, corruption and extortion, unsatisfactory living conditions, staff shortage and poor training, inadequate prison programs, poor spending on healthcare and welfare, lack of legal aid, abuse of prisoners, inadequate means of mental and spiritual development etc. Most of these recommendations have remained on paper and the conditions of Indian prisons remains dismal to say the least.

 

To make any real headway in this area, again a complete change in mind-set is required. Prisons need to be seen not as punishing institutions but as reforming institutions. It is natural that after the Nirbhaya rape case, the country cried out for justice in one voice, and quick legal changes were introduced to calm the nation down. But the controversy surrounding the release of the documentary forces us to think beyond the usual. Even after being given the death sentence and spending more than two years in jail, the accused retains the audacity to justify his crime and almost be proud of having committed it. The thought provoking aspect here is not the effect that airing such views will have on the society, but the underlying conditions that encourage this perverted thinking of the accused. He is only giving back what he has been able to take in. He has never been taught to value life. He does not know the meaning of female dignity. Is it that impossible a task to show him the right path and guide him to right action? If an individual can be indoctrinated to act as a human bomb and take his own life for a perpetrated cause, can he not be indoctrinated with the right values to live a life of dignity and respect? Can our prisons not open the doors to a new life for the misguided ones who enter their doors? Yes, there will remain a few who refuse to reform, and we do have adequate laws to deal with such ones, but for the rest, do we not has something better to offer?

 

Do the above measures not have the potential to create a ripple effect and make the world a much better place to live in? I leave you to decide for yourself.