Shiney Ahuja is accused of raping his maid. Should have been a simple enough headline somewhere on the 4th page of a Mumbai newspaper. It is not. Shiney is a bollywood actor, famous and married.
Well, this is not the first instance of a rich and famous being accused of such an act but what is a first is the media and the public reaction to it.
Part of the reaction is, naturally, condemning the act. It is the other part that I am not so comfortable with.
The audience is baffled by the fact that the victim is the maid. Most of the comments that I see on the various news websites express disbelief and some even go to the extent of suggesting that the entire episode is a stunt by the maid to extract more moeny of her employer, which has gone horribly wrong. A section of people condemn the act not because it is rape, but it is a maid. How can someone rape his maid, someone who is not even good looking, is poor and as some readers say,"stinking"?
So the source of disgust is not the act, but the victim's social status. Is it OK to rape a high society girl? Or one should only try to rape people in their peer group? Why is it that the society thinks that the higher income people have more intergrity? Why is it that we all stood up for Priyardarshini Muttoo and Jessica Lal but cannot find enough courage to speak for the incident that happened in Khairlanji some two and a half years back?
Do we feel hurt more when we can relate to the victim in terms of lifetyle, and aspirations? And if yes, why?
Shouldn't the crime be judged on the act alone?
Amidst all this, Times of India published the findings of a the medical examination report, which will put to shame the porn magazine writers with the details and the decriptions. They did nothing of the sort with so many other such incidents.
The girl was perhaps raped within the closed walls of an apartment. The jury is still out on that one.
Times of India raped her publicly on the pages of a newspaper that is circulated widely.
Add to it the plethora of jokes doing rounds on Shiney Ahuja's episode. We have made a mockery of an incident that should have been unanimously condemned.
My India, what have you become?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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6 comments:
Totally agree about the social status comment. Also, you did a good thing not putting up ToI link.
The media and its race towards sensationalism is crossing all limits of sanity and personal privacy.
Try and complete the cycle, its readers who want spice in news and media then leaves no stone unturned. There is no order for that. Media influences so much so that if audience want jessica lal case to be highlighted, then it will be. Finally how you put your point across does tend to change the meaning and thats what our Indian media has championed.
@ruchir: The dogs are hungry in the street, then do you lend the soft, tender flesh of your thighs for them to have a feast upon? No, right!
The media has the responsibility of informing and educating, not corrupting the masses.
Jo dikhta hai, woh bikta hai.
In India it is : Jo bikta hai woh dikhta hai!
agree.. but the link that im trying to create here is that a bigger player does not mind crossing the boundary just to retain its power and that what is happening. And yes a big newspaper can forget its moral obligations (sell its soul, or feed hungry dogs its flesh) for a moment if it tangibly benefits them. Imagine a management that ignores intangible loss/benefits , this is how lowly.. and they go.
there was this article describing it as 'violent rape'...never heard of gentle n subtle rape.
Times of India did it again on her..
we need to understand this too
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