This is what exactly I feared. Continuous news feeds of
single and gang rapes coming from different parts of India are creating an
impression that, nation is not safe for women. Unfortunately it is spreading an
erroneous message - being a woman is enough to get raped, it doesn’t matter
whether one is eight year old or eighty year old.
This may not be authentic, you can cry that more than 5000
year old Indian culture teaches us to admire women; these are isolated episodes;
number of rapes per capita is low in India etc. But for those who want to spend
vacation in India, to attend a business conference, to study in Indian
universities; these news are providing enough reason to think twice about the
visit.
According to NYT, “Visits to India by female tourists
dropped 35 percent in the first three months of this year compared with the
same period last year, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry
of India. That three-month period came after the fatal gang rape of a
23-year-old student in New Delhi in December...”
High level media frenzy related to betting in IPL, election
news etc is relentlessly trying to push the subject of women’s safety under the
carpet. Rape incidents, coming every day in corners of newspapers may make this
brutal crime look like an every incident. Gradually we may go back to steady
state and overlook it. Nevertheless safety is an important factor in selecting
holiday destinations. Those who do a small research on India will definitely
come across these horrible incidents. Who want to live in a state of fear
during vacations?
India is indeed incredible as GOI wants everybody to
believe. Rapes and other violence against foreign women tourists are isolated
incidents. Regrettably even a single incident would do enough damage to the
reputation of our country here and abroad.
These reports are an indicator, we should take up the safety
of women living here and coming from abroad as first priority. Raising a
separate tourist police force in popular destinations, professional training
for guides, drivers etc may solve the problem to an extent. However, permanent
solution demands a fundamental change in beliefs, concepts, outlooks and
mindset.
Sajeev
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