Jyoti’s body was brought back to India and cremated in Dwarka according to Hindu rites. Later, her ashes were scattered on the River Ganga by her father.
As soon as the news of her death spread, angry protests erupted across India.
Large crowds began holding vigils with placards reading, “You inspired us all” and, “No to violence against women”, which continued for several days after her death. Earlier, while Jyoti was in hospital, the prime minister made a televised speech expressing concern and sympathy. Now, after her death, celebrities and senior members of society spoke out against the slow judicial system arguing for quicker trials and stiffer punishments. One of the accused ended his life in jail.
It’s a year since the Delhi gang rape shook the entire country. The incident, one of the worst of it’s kind, took away the life of the 23 year old paramedical student who was only a little older that we are and had dreams not different from our own.
They say, A real man respects a girl on the road in the same way as he would expect another man to respect his daughter. A real man respects a girl on the road in the same way as he would expect another man to respect his daughter.
As the entire country mourned the death of the 23 year old rape victim, as the nation cried out for justice and change, we simply miss out on something essential, something very very significant. It's very easy to say "the system needs to be changed". It's equally easy to say "We will change it". But is it equally easy to enact the same? Most would agree it isn't. Changing your profile picture to a black dot and putting up statuses like "Rip damini/nirbhaya" don't work. There's also a reason why it doesn't. It's because we seldom have our heart in what we are doing. If the country needs to wake up,we are the ones who've got do it.. Blaming the government is easy. Finding an alternative isn't. Pointing fingers is easy. Doing the essential isn't. When we say,"the entire society must change",lets realise that we,you and I are a part of the society. And a very important part of it. For you can change the government when you're unhappy with it. The citizens of the country cannot be replaced. It's essential to change ourselves before we rush to rectify others. The change begins at home,with oneself. At individual and significant ways,for we seldom realise that the most significant incidents occur because we let go off the insignificant ones so easily. We have already witnessed the number of men who have come forward and have actually raised their voices. But the point is that many of those very men would probably be the ones shouting names on the streets or calling girls "chicks". The change comes from within. Today thousands of people have raised their voice probably because the brutality of the affair was too much to bear,because we have been made to realise with a bang that we do not deserve to be called human beings any longer. In the past,there have been thousands of such cases which have gone unnoticed and probably, often unreported. Even while the country stands on the streets waiting for justice, 5 more rape cases have been reported. What do we do about it? Stop going out on the streets? Or appoint a personal escort? The answer lies within.
In our race for power and fame, we have probably forgotten what humanism was all about. We do not want people to follow gandhism policies, but when the essential respect for each other goes missing, it's excessively difficult to live in the society,as one society. At times, I wonder if we have any reason to live as a society at all. Arn't the animals better off??? Atleast they wouldn't go killing their own kind.
There is magic in her. She walks in and you cannot help but notice her confident gait despite the distracting presence of the unborn fetus, her voice exudes a sort of self-determination like no other , she is broken, bruised and battered but lets none of that come in the way as she searches every nook and cranny to find her lost better half, she is charming her smile dazzles you and every tear of hers evokes your personal tearful memories.
The Indian society, is, indeed a hypocritical place to live in. One day, it worships the female figure, falling at her feet, begging for mercy. The next, the woman of the household is pushed to his feet. Her spirit crushed, her thoughts tangled, her heart broken, the courage that she still shows, the power that she still conceals beneath her veil- comes from the goddess.
Let's change this worse-than-animal attitude of ours. If the mindset can be changed, we dom't need stricter laws. Punishments come much later. Let's actually behave like human beings and treat each other like human beings. Lets change ourselves. The society will change automatically. Lets actually take a pledge to reform ourselves. No country in the world can claim to have witnessed protests against rape on the scale of India’s, where people turned out in the tens of thousands to voice their shock and sadness. It was people power that forced the government to change existing rape laws and drew the world’s attention to the problem.
Accusing the government,the system and the entire world fraternity can come later. Taking attempts to chane oneselg is the first thing that has to come.
A year after the heartbreaking incident, let this generation pledge to never let terrible incidents like this happen again.
