I read the account by this guy, of that dreadful night in Delhi. When he and his girl friend were beaten and thrown off the bus in the cold, wintry night.
She, raped, so naked, utterly bruised and he injured all over. Many paused to look at them and sauntered away.
They remind me of the cartoon I saw the other day, of folk stopping by to gawk at the helpless couple, did nothing and days later marched along the streets with placards in protest.
They also remind me of the ancient story, when educated folk, seeing a waylaid, bleeding man, made excuses and looked the other way.
How hypocritical! If only they had stopped by, picked them up without fearing for their lives, the girl could have been saved today.
What good did their candle do finally?
Aren't we a nation of hypocrites?
We talk eloquent about equal rights to each gender, but kill our girl child in the mother's womb.
We speak of justice to the poor, yet scream at our maid, the peon or even the poor wayside hawker.
Our fingers readily point to racial discrimination in the U.K, but willingly ignore casteist leanings in our own nation.
We speak of accepting others as they are, but why the clamor for fair and lovely brides?
We abhor the brazen, open sex of the West, but watch sleazy images secretly when alone.
We clothe our women in yards of the Sari, yet unclothe her bit by bit in our filthy minds.
Let's not be a nation so superficial, so without compassion, so ruthlessly double tongued.
If only there was one good Samaritan, with no thought of his own, who'd not have hesitated to help those folk to their feet, rushed them to the nearest health care center...
But he happens to live only in the pages of the Bible.
And we continue to remain a tribe which revels in lighting candles for our dead.
