My Nation Failed Me

I do not know how to be an Indian anymore. What do I stand for? What does India stand for? Are we the sheep being herded across policies and morals? Are we pigs being fed to be slaughtered? Are we the lions, caged and whipped? No. How could we be?

In the past week alone, I have read numerous news articles that have disheartened, angered and disappointed me. From mentally disabled women getting raped and abused to a society of the offended, from scams to hanging prisoners in silence to creating a Hindu Rashtra. Should I go on?

I write this piece with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I am going through a string of negative emotions not only as woman in India but as an Indian. When do we take our space back? When do we stand up for the so called democracy we call home? We are heading towards a path where freedom of speech, freedom to walk the road, freedom to claim freedom is at risk. But what do I know? I am just a voice in the disgruntled offended republic.

No matter how much we try, the discourse of rape in India is still the same. How long will we keep placing the blame on the women? I as an individual should have the right to wear anything I want without getting raped. I should be able to walk the streets without being x-rayed with visions. I should be able to do what I want, I should be able to live and not ‘allowed’ to. I should not be ‘allowed’ to do anything. It’s my right!

People need to understand the dynamics behind rape. It’s not just about sex. You can buy sex, no matter how illegal it is. Rape is about power and exertion of that power over women. Rape is about the fact that the same guy who is taught that women are shit, has to work under her in a more evolved city. It’s about teaching her who’s the boss. It’s ‘I have a penis and let me show you where it goes’.  But what do I know? I am a just a woman.

 The newest conflict in India is about religion. I am okay with everyone having their own faith, then again, why would you care what I am okay with? Exactly. Have your religion. Stop shoving it down people’s throats. Stop telling people which religion to follow. Why the hell do you care so much? Why the intense desire to get dominion over other races. It’s the exact thing you are afraid the other religion is trying to do. Irony is weeping in a corner while you fight your battles. Then again, what do I know? I am an atheist.

When will we learn to take a joke? When will we stop telling people what they can and cannot do. I am sorry governments, that’s not what we are spending our tax money on. The nation is full of people who need your attention and you are fixing all your attention on a freakin’ roast? Why does it offend you? The hypocrite in you shouts at the display of vulgarity while you shag off to Sunny Leone? And yes, women, you too are party to this I-am-offended charade too. Why is your sensibility hurt when I know what whatsapp messages you laugh at? Answer me this, if you do not find it funny, does it mean no one does? Or do you not think other people’s opinions matter? Again, Irony weeps and weeps. And again, what do I know? I like anti-jokes too.

I absolutely do not know how to be a woman in India. I do not know how to be an India. I do not know how to be a human. Teach me otherwise India. You are answerable to the people who fought to free you. Don’t let your own subjugate you, when you did not let the foreigners do it.

Wake the fuck up India!

No India, it does not end with comedy. The fight will go on, and so will the resistance. Today, they are against abusive language and lodging FIRs while the MP who called all other religious people HaramZadas is well on her way to enlighten people more. They are okay with MPs watching porn at Loksabha but are against consenting adults abuse each other in front of again ‘consenting’ adults. The key word is ‘consent’ and ‘choice’. Who gives you the right to take away someone else’s? why this narcissism? Why the superiority complex? And finally, how far will you go to curb creativity in this country.

It does not end with comedy. It will filter through to music, writing, graffiti, art and all other creative mediums. Creative people have always had a way to rebel against cultural norms and dogmas. Are we becoming so insecure in our skins as to confront every bit of rebellion?

India is the land where millions fought to overthrow the British rule? We don’t like being told what to do, whom to marry, what to wear and how to live. Are we okay to be told how to create? Are we as a nation okay with censorship? As a nation, we have 99 problems and comedy doesn’t make the cut.

A nation where rape is a culture, violence is on the rise, religious extremists are vandalizing churches, love jihad has a Wikipedia page and where women are still trying to keep up with all the sexism, you care about what a bunch of comedians are doing to push the envelope of comedy in India?

Dark ages, here we come. India is buying a one way ticket back to medieval ages. I refuse to have to filter my thoughts before the ink is etched on paper. I refuse to give up my right to create. I refuse to stand by and watch while my fellow Indians are harassed for no good reason. And those of you who think you are secure, think twice. It can and will be you next.

Wake the fuck up India!