WHO KILLED KHURSHID ANWAR: MEDIA TRIAL, FRIENDS OR ALL OF US?
WHO KILLED KHURSHID ANWAR: MEDIA TRIAL, FRIENDS OR ALL OF US?
The issue is not just the death of Khurshid Anwar who may be a good friend, a wonderful human being beyond any boundary that stands between individuals, groups or communities. It is also about pushing a sensitive person to commit suicide by media trial without giving him a fair chance to be tried in a court of law; lack of timely emotional support by friends across the party lines; vicious kill-the -image campaigns waged by vested interests not able to deal with a committed and intellectually sharp social activist; interpreting anti-rape laws in a manner that is tantamount to considering a every man( defendant in a case) a rapist without doubt and every woman( complainant in the case) saying only the gospel truth about the case; an oversimplified notion that in every real or not-so-real rape case, the only victim is a woman and no man on the earth ( be it her father, mother, lover, friend, teacher, boss, subordinate, a sensible citizen, etc.) is to be trusted irrespective of an array of facts; and , no less important, the ever-growing hunger of Indian audiences for free news and information that makes news media, in this case TV news channels, crazy for stories that are more in the domain of fiction and less about facts and the underlying truth ( Why don’t we so often hear about movies made with the same intent? The answer is we pay matching price to watch the same whereas the news is heavily subsidized by advertising. In the bargain for less price, we get what is half-truth!).
Let’s face it: we get what we deserve. Many of us are sad because we know what a person like Khurshid Anwar can do and what he just cannot do; we are shell-shocked we have known him for decades as a fearless crusader against all kinds of communalism( majority or minority); and, most of all, because was a dear friend ready to lend a helping hand in times of need. This was clearly visible in a condolence meeting organized in JNU today between 4-8 pm: braving hilly cold in the open air theatre, hundreds of men and women gathered to pay their last respects. Notable among them were his women friends who proudly said that they felt SAFE in his company; some of them feeling sorry for possibly not being around when it was most needed.
KHURSHID ANWAR IS A MARTYR, THE ONE WHOSE PHYSICAL DEATH MAY BE HIS OWN MAKING BUT THE DEATH OF HIS DIGNITY WAS CAUSED BY SO MANY PEOPLE INCLUDING ALL THOSE WHO LOVED HIM BUT FEARED BEING BY HIS SIDE WHEN HE NEEDED THEM THE MOST. IT IS HIGH TIME THIS SUICIDE WAS CONSIDERED A MATTER OF NATIONAL SHAME ELSE MANY MORE KHURSHIDS WOULD BE WAITING FOR THEIR TURNS ON THE HACK. IN ANY CASE, THE WOMEN EMPLOYMENT IS SURE TO SUFFER AT LEAST IN THE SHORT RUN IF IMMEDIATE ATTENTION IS NOT PAID TO THE ISSUE BOTH IN LEGAL AND ATTITUDINAL TERMS. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
( Posted in the 4th week of December 2013.)
The issue is not just the death of Khurshid Anwar who may be a good friend, a wonderful human being beyond any boundary that stands between individuals, groups or communities. It is also about pushing a sensitive person to commit suicide by media trial without giving him a fair chance to be tried in a court of law; lack of timely emotional support by friends across the party lines; vicious kill-the -image campaigns waged by vested interests not able to deal with a committed and intellectually sharp social activist; interpreting anti-rape laws in a manner that is tantamount to considering a every man( defendant in a case) a rapist without doubt and every woman( complainant in the case) saying only the gospel truth about the case; an oversimplified notion that in every real or not-so-real rape case, the only victim is a woman and no man on the earth ( be it her father, mother, lover, friend, teacher, boss, subordinate, a sensible citizen, etc.) is to be trusted irrespective of an array of facts; and , no less important, the ever-growing hunger of Indian audiences for free news and information that makes news media, in this case TV news channels, crazy for stories that are more in the domain of fiction and less about facts and the underlying truth ( Why don’t we so often hear about movies made with the same intent? The answer is we pay matching price to watch the same whereas the news is heavily subsidized by advertising. In the bargain for less price, we get what is half-truth!).
Let’s face it: we get what we deserve. Many of us are sad because we know what a person like Khurshid Anwar can do and what he just cannot do; we are shell-shocked we have known him for decades as a fearless crusader against all kinds of communalism( majority or minority); and, most of all, because was a dear friend ready to lend a helping hand in times of need. This was clearly visible in a condolence meeting organized in JNU today between 4-8 pm: braving hilly cold in the open air theatre, hundreds of men and women gathered to pay their last respects. Notable among them were his women friends who proudly said that they felt SAFE in his company; some of them feeling sorry for possibly not being around when it was most needed.
KHURSHID ANWAR IS A MARTYR, THE ONE WHOSE PHYSICAL DEATH MAY BE HIS OWN MAKING BUT THE DEATH OF HIS DIGNITY WAS CAUSED BY SO MANY PEOPLE INCLUDING ALL THOSE WHO LOVED HIM BUT FEARED BEING BY HIS SIDE WHEN HE NEEDED THEM THE MOST. IT IS HIGH TIME THIS SUICIDE WAS CONSIDERED A MATTER OF NATIONAL SHAME ELSE MANY MORE KHURSHIDS WOULD BE WAITING FOR THEIR TURNS ON THE HACK. IN ANY CASE, THE WOMEN EMPLOYMENT IS SURE TO SUFFER AT LEAST IN THE SHORT RUN IF IMMEDIATE ATTENTION IS NOT PAID TO THE ISSUE BOTH IN LEGAL AND ATTITUDINAL TERMS. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
( Posted in the 4th week of December 2013.)
posted by U&Me | 10:41 AM
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