The twists and turns of the Rohtak attack saga makes one realise the limitations of cameras in depicting reality and the whole story would make late Japanese film legend Akira Kurosawa proud. His Rashomon effect - a term which refers to real-world situations where multiple eye-witness come out with conflicting information about the same event, had come to full play in this nondescript town in Haryana.
It all started in a bus, where two skinny college girls took on three youths, one of them attacked the guys with a belt, and someone shot a video. It went viral on social media and for TRP driven TV stations it was godsend as this audacious act happened in Khap heartland and girls had survived to tell the tale. So the gutsy duo had to face the media flash bulbs and field questions ranging from valid to inane. Terms like 'braveheart', which were first coined during the infamous 16/12 Delhi rape were dusted up and made regular fixture on tickers.
Talking heads (all usual suspects) were brought in and the people who got branded as the ultimate villains were the passengers for not coming to the girls' rescue. The girls were put on a pedestal and showered with never ending accolades.
The state stepped in and announced recommendation for bravery award (the easiest thing to do) and patted on its own back for doing enough. The fact that girls and women find even mundane tasks such as stepping out of their house, boarding a bus or going to college a life threatening risk, and the government hasn't done anything much in this regard was totally forgotten.
But a day later another video surfaced with the same girls thrashing another man, making many of their new found fans wonder whether they were the cornered victims or serial thrashers of men with camera in tow.
Around two days later the boot was in the other foot. A third video surfaced with journalist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj interviewing some of the passengers and women from villages to which the boys and girls belonged. The overwhelming tone of the interviewees was that the boys were being framed and the case was set up. One of the speakers, an aged women passenger, mentioned how her seat was usurped by the girls and the men had only asked them to vacate it, thereby leading to a fight.
Deepika by the way is a documentary film maker and currently working on 'Martyrs of Marriage', which depict the misuse of section 498A of IPC on dowry harassment by women to frame husbands and in-laws. A not so politically correct cause to follow for a woman.
The government then decided to put its plans to award the girls on hold and ordered an inquiry. Till then the guessing game continues, whether the girls were genuinely fighting eve teasers or the boys were being framed.
Also Read: Bangalore Beat
It all started in a bus, where two skinny college girls took on three youths, one of them attacked the guys with a belt, and someone shot a video. It went viral on social media and for TRP driven TV stations it was godsend as this audacious act happened in Khap heartland and girls had survived to tell the tale. So the gutsy duo had to face the media flash bulbs and field questions ranging from valid to inane. Terms like 'braveheart', which were first coined during the infamous 16/12 Delhi rape were dusted up and made regular fixture on tickers.
Talking heads (all usual suspects) were brought in and the people who got branded as the ultimate villains were the passengers for not coming to the girls' rescue. The girls were put on a pedestal and showered with never ending accolades.
The state stepped in and announced recommendation for bravery award (the easiest thing to do) and patted on its own back for doing enough. The fact that girls and women find even mundane tasks such as stepping out of their house, boarding a bus or going to college a life threatening risk, and the government hasn't done anything much in this regard was totally forgotten.
But a day later another video surfaced with the same girls thrashing another man, making many of their new found fans wonder whether they were the cornered victims or serial thrashers of men with camera in tow.
Around two days later the boot was in the other foot. A third video surfaced with journalist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj interviewing some of the passengers and women from villages to which the boys and girls belonged. The overwhelming tone of the interviewees was that the boys were being framed and the case was set up. One of the speakers, an aged women passenger, mentioned how her seat was usurped by the girls and the men had only asked them to vacate it, thereby leading to a fight.
Deepika by the way is a documentary film maker and currently working on 'Martyrs of Marriage', which depict the misuse of section 498A of IPC on dowry harassment by women to frame husbands and in-laws. A not so politically correct cause to follow for a woman.
The government then decided to put its plans to award the girls on hold and ordered an inquiry. Till then the guessing game continues, whether the girls were genuinely fighting eve teasers or the boys were being framed.
Also Read: Bangalore Beat
No comments:
Post a Comment