In India, the recent surge in rape cases has shaken the conscience of every right-thinking Indian. People were outraged when in December last year, a young girl was gang-raped in Delhi and later died. A similar horrific incident occurred in August this year in Mumbai when a woman photojournalist was gang-raped.
Unfortunately enough when such horrendous incidents occur in metropolitan areas they are widely reported, whereas in small cities and villages– where these things occur just as frequently– they go unnoticed. Why is it that rape cases have become so common in India? Why sadly the fear of punishment has not deterred the rapists so far?
However the traditional Indian society which has its roots in the Vedas, always looked at women not as objects of lust but as spirit souls, part and parcel of God.
The Bhagavad-Gita identifies lust, anger, and greed as the “three gates leading to hell.” Present-day society is unfortunately well-equipped to aggravate the disease of lust. Obscenity has become so common–in movies, TV, advertisements, Bollywood songs and so on. Some leading newspapers and magazines are stuffed with semi nude pictures of women just to increase circulation. Internet and mobile pornography is at its peak. Even in cricket tournaments like IPL, semi clad cheerleaders are brought in to entice the audience. In fact, scantily dressed women are used in advertisements for virtually any and all products, be it shaving cream, shoe polish, electronics, air conditioners, or tooth paste.
Women are portrayed as objects meant for gratifying the senses. today the cheapest commodity available in India is condoms, which suggests to the populace that “You can have unlimited sex with unlimited partners, but just use condoms.” However, unrestrained sex does not satiate lust; it aggravates it, like pouring gasoline into a fire. Lust is an extremely powerful psychological and emotional force that produces intense craving. On the fateful night of 16 December 2012, the perpetrators of the Delhi gang-rape were on the hunt for sexual satisfaction and they could have targeted any woman. If we promote, propagate, and advertise lustful tendencies so rampantly, how can we expect for sexual crimes against women to not occur?
Women, who once occupied a coveted position in Indian society, are now finding themselves in a dangerous place. Traditional Indian society, which has its roots in the Vedas and respected women is now threatened under the clutches of the oh-so-mordenised world!
