Justice - Elusive for Common Man

A democratic system is defined by values like Liberty, Equality and Justice. Justice is elusive for a common man in India. India follows a system left behind by the British whose sole purpose was to rule the vanquished. Lord Macaulay must be feeling very proud that he was able to achieve his mission of obliterating Indian value system. India got Freedom but the subjugation of India is complete. We are yet to gain real freedom.

Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary, the three pillars of a democracy, are in shambles. Our laws are framed badly, inherently biased and lend themselves to be misused. One would expect to get justice at least in the Judiciary. What use is that Justice which gets delayed?

Gopal Shetye is on Hunger Strike in Mumbai, demanding intervention from the Chief Minister's Office, Maharashtra so that he can get compensation after having been acquitted of a crime that he didn't commit. His acquittal came after 7 years and by then he had already served his 7 year sentence. Why does this man need our attention?

He was a Hotel Management graduate, who was working as a Chef in a restaurant in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. He was arrested by the Police who were following up on rape complaint. It was a botched investigation from the beginning. He was picked up as his name (Gopal) was the closest to that of the person (Gopi), they were looking. They also ensured that the illiterate victim would pick Gopal in the identification pick up line. He was convicted for 7 years rigorous imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit.

It took more than 7 years for his appeal in Mumbai High court challenging the order of the lower court to be heard and result in his acquittal. He endured many losses during this time. He contracted Tuberculosis in one of the many jails, he was shifted. His father passed away. His mother returned to their native place as there was no one to support her. His wife put his two young daughters in an orphanage and remarried. He is unable to get a job as a Chef as his Tuberculosis is not yet treated. He is unable to take his daughters out of the orphanage as he himself is on the road.

Who will restore his lost life and dignity? Why did he have to be punished for other's incompetence be that be the police or the Magistrate in the lower court. He had a perfect life of being able to live with his parents, wife and two young daughters. He was a good man first before being a good son, husband and father. All of that was taken away from him.

At a time, when the focus of the Modi Sarkar is on "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao", It is heartbreaking to know that Gopal's wife had no concern for her two daughters and left them in an orphanage. She also remarried without divorcing Gopal. The two young daughters lost the support of their loving and doting father due to a false rape case.

Gopal is one of the many innocent men who have been framed or caught up due to the biased laws (498a, DV, Rape, Sexual Harassment, SC/ST Atrocities Act, POCSO).  It is high time that corrective measures be taken.

False rape cases makes the crime graph shoot up, play havoc with the crime statistics and tend
to trivialize the offence of rape. It is troubling to note that 75% of rape cases are false. The media doesn't highlight the acquittals in rape cases. Failing to do so invariably leads to the impression of India being an unsafe country.

A woman who files a false complaint faces no public backlash as her identity is protected. She also has no financial drain on her resources as a public prosecutor is provided to her. The accused’s life is destroyed as his identity is made public.

Our honorable PM Narendra Modi ji focusses on "Make in India", "Skill India". Capable men who are in their most productive phase are running around courts or rotting in jail instead of being able to contribute to the vision of a "Shrest Bharat", "Swachh Bharat", "Digital India". Can't this be rectified?

Our laws have to be fixed. Laws can not be gender biased when crimes are gender neutral. Police have to be weaned out of the mindset set by the British. Judicial reforms are the need of the hour to reduce the huge backlog. The vacancies have to be filled. Capable judges have to be appointed. That can happen only if we end the current method of appointing judges through the collegium system.

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Go Girl - Thrash the Eve-Teaser

I came across this video which has gone viral about a girl in Pilibhit district (Constituency of Ms Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development), who has thrashed an alleged eve-teaser inside a police station.

Is this the women empowerment, Ms Maneka Gandhi has in-mind? One wrong doesn't right another wrong. The girl thrashing the alleged eve-teaser by taking him inside the police station should be condemned. The inaction of the police while she is beating the boy is also deplorable.

All those, who were elated by seeing her thrash the boy, should know that the next time, when it happens to you, you will realize your folly of forgoing your right to a trial. Nowadays, the words of the woman, are sufficient for convicting you. Not all men are criminals and Not all women are angels.

When the laws are not fair, may be the only option is to turn vigilante and take the law into our own hands. Let us punish all those unscrupulous women who have filed false cases (be it rape, dowry, sexual harassment at workplace, domestic violence) since there is no punishment for them as per law.

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Marry Down, Marry Up or Not to Marry

Parents strive and sacrifice a lot in trying to get their children the best education, starting from Kindergarten, with a hope that their children will either become an Engineer or a Doctor and will have a good life.

A boy growing up in India often keeps hearing - Study Hard, Play Hard, Work Hard - You will have a great life! The first priority always being studies.

Once the boy starts earning and is doing well in his career, the inevitable question comes. When are you going to marry and settle down in life?  The societal pressure won't stop until the boy marries. Most of the Indian movies used to end with a wedding with the implicit assumption of the couple living happily ever after.  Nobody shows the life after marriage. There is a Hindi saying that marriage is like Shaadi ka ladoo jo na khaaye woh pachtaye, jo khaaye woh bhi pachtaaye!

Few even describe a marriage as that of being a Merger and not an Acquisition in management terminology. What happens in reality? The reality is far from it either being a Merger or an Acquisition.

Choosing a right partner for marriage is like playing a Russian Roulette game. It is a game in which a guy puts a single bullet in a revolver and spins the chamber. He puts the gun to his head, pulls the trigger and hopes that the bullet won't fire.

It is surprising that most Indian men are ignorant of the marital laws before they get married. It is contrary to the manner in which most do extensive research before coming to any decision (be it buying a car or a smart phone or an apartment). They don't realize that the system has been rigged to favor the wives.

A man would be called a Mama's Boy if he listens to his mother or henpecked (Jhoru Ka Ghulam) if he listens to his wife. Any action resulting from the husband's mother due to her love for her son will be considered as an interference in her son's marital life. The same doesn't apply to the wife's mother, whose actions are fine even though she may be wrecking her daughter's marital life.

What will the man end up doing as both the terms (Mama's Boy, Jhoru Ka Ghulam) are demeaning?

• End up becoming Jhoru Ka Ghulam at the cost of his well-being for sustaining or saving the marriage and may also have to distance himself from his parents and siblings.
• Stand up to the irrational demands of the wife and then face the various false cases (IPC 498a, DV and a bouquet of cases) which can be easily filed by his wife, thanks to the misuse prone, gender biased laws. It will take years for him to get acquittal due to the huge judicial pendency.

The focus on education from childhood so that one can lead a better life shouldn't be discarded for ameliorating the marital blues, encountered during the adult phase. Indian men have no qualms in accepting a woman who is less educated than them or as equal to them or more than them as their partner. Only 25% of women accept men who are less educated than them as per the study conducted by University of Oxford.

The best option for an Indian man is Not to Marry, enabling him to live a life free of the in-house legal trouble (nothing but legal terrorism, state sponsored extortion). Few men can choose to Marry Up and try to lead a blissful marital life. The majority will succumb to the societal pressure and Marry Down and will realize that marriage is a crime for a man in India.  Mera Bharat Mahaan!!!

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