Violence against women in India is getting more gruesome by the day. The recent cases are different because they were all done by intimate partners, lovers, boyfriends, or husbands. Intimate partner violence or domestic violence is not new in India, but we have clearly not learnt to speak about it, leave alone take strong actions on a war footing. In the past, it was dowry deaths, bride burning but now each new incident is taking us to a new depth of cruelty: stabbing in public, shooting in a hostel, throwing body parts across town, or even cooking chopped body parts at home. Frequency, nature, and visibility of these incidents, all have changed in recent times; making it scarier for girls and women to live in safety of their own homes, and with their loved ones.
However, it is not unusual for people or the media to isolate these as individual cases of mental insanity. But these incidents reflect a certain societal phenomenon; these are symptoms of something rotting in the depth of our society. So, before we judge girls or women about their choices, live-in relationships, or anything else; let us look within. Why are boys and men becoming so violent or why the nature of crime is becoming so gruesome? Is there no fear of consequences? Where are we failing as parents, teachers, law enforcers, lawmakers or citizens in making it a more humane society?
And yes, if these incidents do not churn our stomach, give us sleepless nights, or simply shake the depth of our core in fear, then I believe something is seriously wrong. Either we have become indifferent, or we are one of them.