"India's Daughter" is not an insult to India but an eye opener

I managed to watch BBC's documentary film 'India's Daughter' as it might be soon withdrawn from YouTube as the Indian government has raised objections over this film and wants to ban its telecast all over the world. They are trying their best to pull this film from the internet so that no one can watch it because they think it is a conspiracy by some foreigners to defame India all over the world. Somehow the current central government of India thinks that this documentary shows India and Indians in a bad light, and they drew these conclusions without even watching the documentary. Actually, this documentary doesn't reveal anything which is not already known to many people around the world. Also, it would be wrong to assume that this documentary is only representative of the mindset which only prevails in Indian society, some things might be India specific but in general it should be seen as a harsh reality of gender bias prevalent in most parts of the world. This bias might manifest in different ways, and the methods and techniques might differ but I don't think that anyone can deny that gender bias still exists in many parts of the world and is a serious social issue even today. 

It seems that many ministers from the current central government of India are unhappy after watching only some parts of this documentary. They are especially upset to know that there is an interview with convicted rapist where he expresses his views about rape and is seen blaming the victims for whatever happens to them. No doubt that these things are disgusting to watch but the ugly truth is that there are many who think like this, I have heard similar statements made by many people I know, and each time I feel disgusted but the bitter reality is that even today some people think like this. Views similar to that rapist are echoed by some politicians of India and also in other parts of the world. Gender bias is a stark reality. The documentary tries to show a mirror to our society but it seems when some people don't like what they see in the mirror they want to break the mirror rather than try to work on changing the image. This is an escapist mindset that likes to live in continuous denial mode by either denying the reality or shooting the messenger when a bitter truth is revealed. Such people like to push inconvinient or sensitive issues under the carpet, they want to ignore it purposely and expect that people may forget or get used to the problem. Unless we courageously admit that the problem exists and we all are responsible for it we are not going to move an inch in the direction of solving it. One can have differences of opinion about the contents of the documentary, and one can question why rapist interview is there. One can definitely ask such questions or even disagree with the message that this film wants to propagate, but it is necessary to face the bitter truth that this documentary conveys.

As far as banning the documentary is concerned it is another pathetic decision to ban something without even watching it or having any reasonable discussion over it. According to me, only people who even remotely think like the rapist in the documentary will demand to ban it. Only people who sympathize with that rapist's mindset will feel threatened that they will get exposed and that's why demand a ban on it. Only people who don't want to expose filthy mindset of some people about women would like to ban it. Only those who want to live in denial mode as if these things don't happen around us will worry more about tourism in India rather than worrying about sexual assault incidents which happen on a daily basis. There is nothing anti-India in this documentary, actually, the documentary is not at all about India it is about the issue of sexual harassment and the attitude of some men towards women in our society. People are free to like or dislike it, it is their choice. Rape or sexual harassment is a global problem, if any incident in India or any protest in India is helping to highlight this issue or helping to create awareness about this problem why would anyone have an objection to that? Anyone who cares about this issue should watch this film. If anyhow you find that you sympathize with any of the thoughts expressed by some misogynist men in this documentary, then it's time to ban those thoughts from your mind not this documentary.

 Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUvlwmIfyx0