India`s daughter, my views on the documentary.

India`s daughter, my views on the documentary.    

The heinous crime that happened on 16^th December, 2012 in the capital city of India is fresh in our reactive negative feeling somewhere in the highest emotional compartment. It touched everybody`s imagination about the very existence of him or her as a human, as a member of civil society. It is still disturbing every Indian. Whenever a flash comes it is nauseating, I never felt comfortable to discuss it even with my wife. I am a believer and it strained my belief on the existence of Almighty. Visiting Lord Jagannath at Puri was my earlier usual habit when I am inspired or depressed which never happened after the incident. I am still a believer having no clue how the Lord who saved Droupadi in the Kurusava remained still during such a crime. So there is no question of criticizing the documentary on the ground that it exaggerated anything or it is unjust to discuss this when the parents are ready to share their grief.

 However certain genuine question to my lay mind has struck upon.

I am not knowledgeable as regards to legal procedures and making of a documentary and my views are based on what natural reaction came to my mind about the document.

1-  Is it normal that a crime of rape happened in one country will be permitted to be telecasted by the official channel of another country that is not rape free?

2-  Did BBC get permission from government of India? Is it BBC`s right to telecast say a document (As it is not a fiction) say on other odd happenings like Gujarat riot, 1984 Delhi, assassination of Rajiv Gandhi or alike beyond a news item. Can an Indian film maker does a British crime documentary of a sensitive issue and DD telecasts it?

3-  Is it an awareness movie? Who is not aware that to rape is a demon`s act. Who is the hale does not know it. Yet it happens due to over all degradation of morality, rampant use of alcohol and drugs, thinking concomitant consensual sex as a normal happening. Flooding of explicit material. When members inside an assembly house see such materials and caught red handed people think it as a minor offence. A porn star becomes a celebrity and participates in Big Boss and our channels project it as an achievement. Yes as per law it may not be a crime but it leads to unlawful crime as a female here is getting stardom for a reason that is not acceptable in India. Certainly India`s daughter is placed at a little higher place. India`s daughter is described as one who defeats the principle in control of death like Savitri and a long list.

4-  The movie could have been done without taking the name of India other things remaining same. It seems intentional to put India in poor light. It is said BBC has edited the rape statistics of British which originally was there.

5-  Why such a loud voice is raised if Govt of India banned it. An honourable court has directed so. Can any govt in true sense stop its circulation in this modern IT era? They did it as a rightful protest and without doing it the same persons who are opposing the ban must be dragging them for just opposite reason. This writer is at the opposite pole of the right wing that is in power at present for various other reasons but feels the GOI did the right thing. Our home minister expressing his statement,"BBC should not have aired it", is the most natural and civilized statement.

6-  I would like to discuss the defense lawyers first. The man who at length voices gender inequality statements is doubtfully talking truth. He is doing his profession within the rules of Indian judiciary system and being the defense counsel would try to find out all windows of escape. But outside the court for a international documentary why should he state such politically incorrect statements? May be he is working for a fabricated documentary that had given the script to him for rehearsal. This is very doubtful. A lawyer has all rights to fight for the deadliest crime to find out was his client really not innocent, as we are commonly told 100 culprits may be acquitted but one innocent should not be punished. But why for a film even if he is a male chauvinist should tell such obvious incorrect things that a seventh pass person can edit.
 The other counsel who just after the verdict of the court has already told something unpalatable being angry and emotional about capital punishment. He is now unable to change his version because of his ego. I think the statement he gave that if his sister or daughter ………… he would make her stand in the farm and shoot she in presence of all his family members should be taken cognition as a crime and there must be some law against it, which should be enforced. Again this statement is not the voice of male India, 99.9% males would have felt hurt by his nonsense statement.

7-  As regards to the juvenile criminal, the documentary repeatedly shows the mob slogan nabalak ko vi fasi do (hang the juvenile too). The jail psychiatrist, the NGO activist and jury almost all give hint that an aberrant case should not change juvenile justice altogether where as victim`s parents the Singh couple think it in the other way. There is every possibility the defense must have used the juvenile as the shield. They must have made him and other criminals believe that if most of the brutalities are loaded on his head nothing is going to happen beyond three years of jail and it may make others` crime look less violent. Yes they must have tried all means. The defining age of a juvenile cannot change it needs to remain same what it was five thousand years ago. It is the responsibility of the society to be rectifying itself so that a juvenile remains a juvenile does not enter to crime. At one end a seat in the upper house would be gifted to a head of a liquor industry and at the other hand you expect crime free society. No never possible. Like atrocity against women is a social failure like propelling a juvenile to crime is a social failure. I am equally hurt to feel a juvenile is so brutal and why so? Even the same victim had shown sympathy to a juvenile criminal of minor crime. A juvenile being so brutal makes me feel that his innocence is raped by the society. If the state fails to rectify the young in juvenile custody it is against the very philosophy of special and light punishment to them.

8-  The driver is shown repeatedly so also his parents. The driver is tutored with a script, it seems like that. May be he is told by telling this and that the Supreme Court may convert your death penalty to life imprisonment. I suspect so as he tells he was doing nothing other than driving. Of course to make it look neutral he also tells many irritating statements. It may be told the seriousness of the situation, the death penalty has brought spontaneity in his expression but yes chances are remote. In a documentary that takes the name of one country and aired by the state channel of another country editing should not have taken place and the driver`s statements are unedited/without prior practice is nothing but lie.

9-  The spontaneous demonstrations in Delhi and outside Delhi have shown how male or female all felt hurt all came to the street with one real goal justice. That is what India is from time immemorial. A Ramayana was built against atrocity towards a woman so also a Mohavarat. Basically Indians are justice loving. Naya and Anyaya are discussed in every issue in every village.

10- Criticism regarding the nocturnal movement of women, their dress code etc are non issues always raised by inferior people. Probably Indians are the most receptive people to international costumes. How many British women wear non British dresses? Our official dress code for a female ie a Saree with a Blouse obviously makes the woman most beautifully presented, she puts on it, and she also for her work suitability wears all different international costumes which she is very comfortable with, so also the males. Indians are versatile in the sense of fashion. Can a British woman wear in a gorgeous party the beautiful costumes of India? One feels happy with our adaptability. As regards not allowing going outside in night I can say our staff nurses and lady doctors are very much nocturnal so also the IT professionals, I just put it here to say the allegation against India on this point is out of proportion and the people who uttered favoring it are intentionally made prominent in the film.

11- Regarding the repeated showing of the fight between the mob and the police is nothing to do with this crime. In any type of mob activity being unruly happens from the demonstrator’s side and being excess happens from police side. It should not be. This is not relevant to daughter of India.

12- We are doing post mortem that because of public pressure the case was brought to justice. Yes sure a commission was formed, rules changed, policing was perfect and justice was early. All authorities including the public have already made the desired effect.

13- The police said nobody from the public came forward to help to shift the patient early. This is true our police public gap needs to be bridged.

14-Madam Sheila Dixit said how son is preferentially fed in India. A mother does it. It needs to be addressed. But should madam address it from Delhi or from BBC?

15- The Indian woman,the wife of a convict with her baby in lap feels her husband cannot rape another woman. She actually feels it or not is different issue but she projects herself helpless without her husband. She states, husband`s duty is to protect the wife and take care of her, without him how and why should she or her child live. She is another daughter of India. It can be taken as an image of male dominance but also can be viewed as the standard of intimacy that India`s daughter imagines with a man.

16- All parents shown in the film are helplessly portrayed and actually they are so.

17- People of India appreciate the work of Justice Verma commission, quick, just and effective.

18- The issue of vanishing daughters is raised. Who does it? The educated wealthy parents with the help of most educated professionals in white courts. So poverty is not the root cause of all evils in India. Out of every million men nearly two lakhs are deprived of a partner and the result is detrimental. The current PC PNDT rule is never going to help, It should be changed to routine state sponsored sex determination and notification and tracking of the missing sex. At one end big people celebrate marriages as a royal event forcing most of the expenditure to be done by the girls parents, who also give too much of gifts and at the other end they secretly wish they must not have this responsibility. This and the many more causes of preference for a son needs to be addressed.

19- Coming to the victim`s parents, they feel their grief should be shared worldwide. They are parents and they should be respected as the loss and the pain is beyond imagination. I sincerely listened to all their sorrows. Identified to the situation. Also feeling guilty to criticize the film as it has used the name of India for negative reason and as the writer here feels BBC should not air it as its intention is partial against our motherland.

20- The film is not complete as the male companion is not interviewed. It is his human right to speak or not to speak but his silence makes the film grossly incomplete and inferior.

21- I have my regards to the director and producer Leslee Udwain who did a lot of effort to make this film. My objections are as per the above discussion and may be biased as I identified me with India. I shall be happy if her efforts are unintentional and unbiased by anti India feeling. 

The controversy in a democracy regarding banning it or allowing it is bound to happen. I am for banning it because of the use of my nation`s name for negative reason that seems to be unauthorized, the broadcaster is the official channel of another nation not private. Most importantly it will not solve any purpose of making people aware as this is strongly in people`s memory and would remain forever as she is my daughter and your daughter and that of the most unfortunate Singh couple.

 One last advice to BBC please do a documentary on Jaliwanawallbagh and unlawful possession of many Indian wealth including Koh-e-noor with the title India`s pride to show your credibility..