Dear Prime Minister,
Congratulations on a landmark election that placed you into power and on a moment where the world witnessed you kissing the steps of the world?s largest democratic institution.
Now that your duties have begun, I?d like to point out a characteristic of today?s India, something that defines its image, its perception, its very social fabric?
Rumour has it that in a few months, citizens from a number of countries will be allowed a ?visa on arrival? into India. Naturally, this is to propel tourism by promoting the positive image of Incredible India, its spiritual beauty and an involuntary sense of hospitality among its citizens. While I applaud the idea, I also listen to my friends who aren?t from India ? women; American, British, South African, Nigerian, Australian, Brazilian and so on, who are so keen on learning about the bedrock of ?dharma?, the Upanishads, the Moghul Empire, the Guptas, the Moryas, the origination of the concept of ?karma?; however, one of the first things I?m asked is, ?is it safe? I?ve heard and read so much about the harassment and abuse of women!?.
I don?t know what to say.
Today, I learnt about two girls under the age of 18 who were brutally raped because they went to relieve themselves as they didn?t have toilets in their homes. To add to the physical and mental injustice, they were then hung from a tree for their village to wake up to and witness the very next day. Reports state that the police did not respond according to their mandate and when they did, the family of the victims refused to let the bodies be released in order to show the world this injustice.
This image, this story, yet another one since a steel pipe was used to gang-rape and kill an innocent woman on a bus, has unfortunately attached itself to the image of India. It has. And to ignore this is a larger injustice to the innocent victims of this atrocity. As yet, as Indians, we vocalise in disbelief, followed by accepting this incredible social evil within the country, followed by an apathetic reaction of, ?it wasn?t my daughter/sister/wife/mother, but if it was ????????.
There?s no question about it, a majority of the population voted for you. For several reasons, but this current of endorsement towards you was based purely on the notion of hope. Your voters asked for, demanded, needed and implored change. To very many, it was your economic prowess that appealed to a huge voter base. The representative few of that base attended your swearing in ceremony. I?m glad they did. They believe in you.
To a very large group of others, they also believed in hope. But they never attended your ceremony. They couldn?t. I can assure you they wanted to. They were women. Uneducated and educated (but deprived) women. A large part of your voter base, in fact. These women too hoped for change; a vision of enlightenment amongst their ?men?; the freedom of being able to step outside their homes to state their social/economical/political beliefs without the fear of subjugation, abuse, disparagement, rape and possibly death. But they didn?t.
They couldn?t.
They wanted to.
But they couldn?t.
Instead, they stayed home. Watched their ?men? pontificate over the outcome of the elections whilst they were obliged to perform acts they had but no choice for. Cooking, cleaning, ironing, fornicating (in some cases, without consent); without question, without challenge and without resistance.
Prime Minister Modi. There is a lot of critical debate behind your history and strong beliefs. But I won?t get into that. Personally, I believe that any man who truly wishes to run for office within a country of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and whatnot, must have an ideological imperative for the betterment of a mixed society. Such a man must have an awareness of the various social norms within each religion, caste, system and social structure within the fabric of India.
To me, to acknowledge the latter and to achieve such a sense of balance are bold intentions and it must carry with it an extremely high sense of acknowledgment of responsibility for a job that frankly, very few ministers or congressmen in other countries could achieve. They simply don?t have the diversity among their base.
I understand that your job is faced with the impossible task to make everyone; every religion, every caste, every sex, every creed within plus one billion of a population, satisfied with their government, legislature and judiciary. Those who want development, those who want sustainability, those who want international exposure, those who want liberation, those who want the ability to express freely and those who want the safe harbor of being able to travel and relieve themselves without the fear of gross physical and mental violation; I could go on?..
Your job is to make sure that ?some? balance is achieved. What a task it must be, I have no doubt. I do believe your term will be spent with sleepless nights and questionable purpose but you chose this path, you chose this role and you chose this honor. And now, for that, your judgment, response and moral balance is relied upon by more than one billion people.
I suppose one key demand is simple. Make the empowerment and education of women your true legacy. We live in a world of Boko Harams, misogynistic mass murderers, serial rapists, and government sponsored programs to demean and degrade women. You live in a unique environment. The world?s largest democracy. The world?s biggest mix of religions. The world?s fastest growing number of billionaires. You have every single ingredient within your lens to act definitively towards a subject that plagues both, the ?developed? and the growing societies around the world. And it?s easy.
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You could, in one term, very easily demonstrate to the world the ability to revolutionize a concept ? the empowerment and education of women in India. The idea that raping and violating a woman will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished. The idea that very soon, as history had it, India could once again, witness a female prime minister, generating hope, a turn of orthodoxy and a ?flow down? effect in every other possible position of privilege, politically, economically and socially where a woman could take that lead.
Your term has just begun. You have a formidable reputation of zero tolerance towards anything that grates yours and your country?s moral fabric. So let this honorable ideal, this effort, of being the first diverse country to truly respect a woman?s rights by educating her, educating her parents and family not to kill her because of her sex, educating her family not to ?burn? her because she fell in love withthe ?wrong? person, educating her neighbors not to rape her as she went to a mangrove to relieve herself; let this ideal fit into your impermeable set of zero tolerance beliefs.
This is a plea and there?s no doubt such an attitude towards the above from you will extrapolate among the masses.
The world is watching. India is waiting. Our daughters and sisters and mothers crouch with baited breath to be liberated so that they can finally stand.
Let this be your legacy Sir.
Any man with a calculator can liberate an economy. It takes a profound leader and human being to remind and expose its people towards principles of mutual respect, regardless of sex and caste. After all, that is what the Upanishads literally translate to ? sitting near a teacher. Today, you are that teacher and the country sits beside you.
The colours of the Indian flag are saffron, white and green. One young girl wearing green was robbed brutally of her white purity and hung from a tree bearing saffron fruit. It?s only fair we ask of you to make sure the blue wheel of law spins rapidly to restore the true meaning of these colours.
I have no doubt a man of your principles will make this his legacy.
Thank you Sir.
Kayaan K. Unwalla
