An Open Letter Guwahati Wake up by Prisny Borah and Dattatreya Kashyap Mahanta

Guwahati- Wake up!!!

It’s only been  few weeks since Aamir Khan, in his seminal show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ lauded the northeast for the high pedestal that it provides to its women. The recent heinous incident of the molestation of a 20 year old girl by an cannibalistic mob in the busy GS road in Guwahati, seems almost to have obliterated all the praise that came our way.

Delhi, is considered unsafe for woman and we for one who were students in the Delhi university often used to be vocal in our pride of being coming from a place where respect for women is considered a ‘norm’. Such a statement seems to have been degraded to mere rhetoric, almost like one of the many promises that politicians are prone to making before elections.

The recent incident in our hometown has called into question the very existence of morality and ethics in our society. Our rich cultural history has been put on trial.

The smiling face of the ‘demons’ as they engaged in the act seems a heartless inhuman act of gigantic proportions. As the journalist, asked the questions to the girl after the ordeal, trying to reveal her identity on national TV, one almost feels agitated to the bones due to the sacrilegious manner in which TRP’s have stolen a march over basic human modesty and values.

Even the government seems to have been jolted into action only when the incident became nationalised and God knows how many such examples of atrocities on women go unreported and unaccounted for.  The police force also seems to have proved itself totally inept in tackling the issue in a comprehensive manner, even when the identity of the molesters has been brought into light. 

Let’s stop pushing issues under the mat, in the name of moral policing. Each lady, each girl has the complete and undeniable right to dress the way she likes, visit whichever place she want’s. It’s the responsibility of the police and the pub owners to ensure that underage people are barred from entering bars and pubs.

‘Wake up people’! ‘Wake up government’! Or, it won’t be long before our localities would resemble ‘Khap Panchayats’ or worse, even a talibanisation of the society would ensue.

And lastly,this message is to the youth – if we do really care for an issue, Let’s move beyond changing our Facebook status and move towards action which are more concrete and effective, if time matters are taken into our own hands.

Prisny Borah & Dattatreya Kashyap Mahanta.