World as I Think

We are often proud to be an Indian, for we have a profound past underpinned by a rich diverse culture, which harmonizes humane values. I have bragged about our Indian culture for too long a time, I am now consciously aware of the nitty gritties of how our society works. I want to play the devil's advocate this time.

How evolved is a culture which forces two unknown people to have sex. It is even laudable that it has happened without the consent of one of them (mostly the female) in the past. I can't imagine how the crime ratios would look if the rapes in the "first nights" are to be accounted. The male partner mostly assumes the right to have sex with the female partner just because they are married. I don't know whether we would even accept this as a case of human right infringement.

There is a negative aura about dating and pre-marital sex, which is prevalent in the western society. In the western society, there is a sense of consensus if two people want to get married, each of them exercise the freewill to choose their partner. In the Indian society, the horoscopes seem to overwhelm the need for a blend of the characters that would want to be together for rest of their lives.

We acclaim that the system has worked in spite of all this; we have lower divorces, single parents and lonely elders. Indian society has been a male dominant society where the female is curtailed of her right to even pursue a career and which eventually forces her to depend on somebody to even live her life. This essentially clips her thought of even revolting any hegemony by the males or the family perse which forces her to fit their boxes. Now that the society is slowly acknowledging the freedom of the XX chromosome, I feel that the females would essentially question the practices, which can put her in unfair clutches. If the divorces number looks healthy after 20 years, I would accept the Indian culture does posses some integrity. Its not fair play to clip a bird's wings and be proud that it does not fly beyond its current boundaries.

I know a couple of Indians who condemned the insanity over the recent shoot-out in Virgina Tech by an desolate college guy, some even dared to extend the argument that such inhuman activities are prevalent in the western society and can't be imagined in the Indian society. I don't know whether these people have the memento effect, they have a short-term memory loss, they cannot even recollect the communal violence’s in Godhara or Tirnelveli which is a manifestation of the cruelties of the caste system, which is deep- rooted in the Indian society. I don’t know as to how we dare to even boast about an inhuman society, which can carry the legacy of the caste system for 2000 years.

Labels: society