India's Daughter - My take

Dear XY,

I am going to share my thoughts with you about “India’s Daughter”.

Let me first give you my feedback on the film before getting into anything else. I totally liked the film. It is difficult to enjoy the film, but that is because it is so well made. It relies on a narration of events and keeps away from hyperbole; given the topic, that is in itself impressive.

The film goes over the life of Jyoti Singh, whom we all know as Nirbhaya, her gruesome death and its impact on India. Many people are interviewed through the movie including 

• her very strong mother, 
• her supportive father, 
• her tutor and friend - Satyender, 
• the driver of the bus in which the rape took place, Manish Singh
• the parents of two of the rapists, 
• the wife of one of the rapists, 
• two Supreme Court Lawyers who fought on behalf of the rapists, 
• the police officers in charge of the investigation,
• two of the women who took part in the protests at India Gate
• Kavita Krishnan
• Sheila Dixit

The film captures all of them speaking calmly about the events. While Manish’s interview has been blown up out of context, Satyender’s interview has not been mentioned at all in the press. The two sets of interviews were in total contrast. One young man has had little education and opportunity and his views reflect what many of our politicians openly state. And the other young man is educated and has used that education to his advantage as is clearly reflected in his views. Watching the documentary clearly brings out this contrast. 

Manish comes across as lost and defeated. He says things in a monotone and it is clear that he is parroting what he has heard others say. In no way does he come across as a representative of India! Or as a person whom other would-be rapists are listening to!

The shocking thing in the film was to hear what the two lawyers had to say. I was really stunned. My parents’ families live in the 16^th century, but even they would not have such views. I was also surprised that these men actually aired their views with such confidence. I would have thought that yes, they would hold these views, but would try to tone it down in front of the camera. I wondered how the women in their families survived. I would have loved to hear from their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. I still think it would be a great interview idea – especially with their mothers.

The pleasant surprise was the parents – both were strong and yet positive. They had not become bitter because of this disgusting incident. Their question, as must be that of all rape survivors and their families, was why justice takes so long? Why in the name of justice does the rape survivor have to live through her hell repeatedly? And India doesn’t have an answer to that does it? Is anyone even trying?

I am very rarely patriotic. I prefer to live by “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam”. I always think of myself as a global citizen. Yet watching the spontaneous protests around India Gate, I felt pride that I live in India. Here is a country and a city known for its apathy, and here were all these people out on the streets, in the terrible December cold, braving police action, protesting. Name one other country where this has happened on this scale. And name one other documentary that has highlighted this. 

I have been a feminist since I can remember. IRMA was the first place where I felt obvious discrimination. And I have always fought it. In 1994, I underwent a gender-sensitisation training and I was filled with hope that in twenty years things would change. A film like this highlights the fact that we have miles to go before we sleep. That we are still preaching to the converted; that yes, change is happening, but at such a slow pace that it is unacceptable; that the backlash to the change is happening faster than the change itself. The increasing rates of violence against women in India could point to a growing understanding of the issue or the need to protest or even point to the backlash to the change.

The situation of women in worsening though – a good measure of this is the Juvenile Sex Ratio which has actually been declining over the last four decades; even in states like Kerala which have traditionally had a positive sex ratio. What this says is that India values its women less and less with each passing decade. This is shown in obvious behaviour in some parts of the country where a woman is treated as less than human. In other parts of the country, lip service is paid to politically correct statements, while technology is used to quietly eliminate the female foetus. 

These are all things I have not thought of in many years. The film made me sit up and think. It made me realise that all is not well with this country; that economic growth will not automatically do away with gender inequality; that I need to do something, contribute in some way to easing this problem. Of course, I am a nobody. But I do believe that the ocean is made up of many drops and each drop counts; that I have to do my duty, my bit, regardless of the result. 

The film steers clear of party politics making the very strong statement that this is really above all that!

XY, you had posted on Facebook that this film is part of a conspiracy to degrade India at a time when it is doing well; that this Government is not being allowed to function.

I believe that this film would have been equally banned by the UPA as well, for very similar reasons. And that would have been a mistake as well. A ban only serves to highlight the object. And in this case, the ban actually did a disservice to the women’s rights cause, because the debate moved from the issue at hand to conspiracy theories.

I am sure there is a global conspiracy to downgrade India. But don't you believe that this country is greater than all these petty efforts? Do you seriously believe that a film made by a foreigner will cause other countries to look down on India? One German Professor is racist and you believe that is “global” response? Come on, you are more intelligent than that!

I don't believe in conspiracy theories in general. I believe that if you work hard, it shows and the world respects you. If you consistently take positive steps it is bound to show you in a positive light.

 I believe that India is losing respect because of the shenanigans our so-called leaders indulge in at the national and global levels and have been doing so for at least two decades now!

Yes, it would have been great if an Indian journalist had made the movie – but the fact is s/he didn’t. So let us not be racist and say that the film is bad because it is made by a white British woman. 

Yes, tourism numbers have been going down. Not because someone is trying to degrade India but because of the reality that India is unsafe and disgustingly dirty. 50% of tourists to India visit Agra and the Taj Mahal. I went there last year. I was thoroughly put off – you are harassed on all sides and the garbage was simply everywhere. A zone around the Taj Mahal has been sanitised, but then foreign tourists do go beyond that.

In Goa, numbers have been going down because of the garbage and the looting by taxi drivers. Sri Lanka and Thailand offer the same experience at a comparative price, in much cleaner surroundings and with politer service providers. While language may be a problem in Thailand, Sri Lanka is simply perfect. I felt ashamed on my return from there!

Put aside emotion. In today’s world of technology, is it possible to ban anything? Didn’t the GOI make complete fools of themselves by trying to do so? A dignified response would have been to say that we are not obliged to respond to every dog’s bark☺. The film would have died a natural death or it would have been watched by a bunch of toothless feminists like me. This has nothing to do with NDA and UPA – the State made a mistake in banning the film. Full stop. 

Remember Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses? It was his worst book! (Yes, I have read all his books.) And yet because of the fatwa worldwide and the ban in India it sold way more than it should have. Why didn’t we learn from that?

XY, watch the movie – if only to see how much more this country has to progress; if only to feel pride in our live democracy; if only to watch Jyoti’s parents and learn how a girl child should be brought up; if only to see how there are positive young men like Satyender out there. Just watch it da. And then rant against it.

20 March 2015

Further reading – Google Nandita Haksar in Navhind Times and Madhu Trehan in Navhind Times