Raavan is still Alive

Every year with great pomp and show, we burn the Raavan… Correction… we burn the statue of Raavan…. But we leave the actual Raavans alive.

I just came across an article in TOI which says that a 4 years old girl has been raped by a 42 years old ATM guard somewhere near Thane in Maharashtra. He must be having children much older than the girl. That Raavan is still alive.

The one who crossing all the limits of cruelty pulled the intestines of Nirbhaya out of her body, and was still treated as juvenile…. That Raavan is still alive…

Those who killed 8 years old Asifa after torturing her for several days, those Raavans are still alive.

And the one who could manage to throw a bottle inside the womb of a 5 years old girl, that Raavan also is still alive.

We have so many Raavans around us who are roaming around alive and free. A girl is touched by several Raavans on her way to office while travelling in a crowded metro. A girl feels eyes of several Raavans staring at her bust while standing on a bus stand. A girl many a times feels the touch of a Raavan on her body in a hospital while undergoing medical procedures. A young kid often succumbs to mala fide intentions of a Raavan who comes to him/her in form of a tuition teacher. A mother feels and scares the existence of numerous Raavans in the society when she starts sending her toddler to school. Several wives bear the Raavans every night when they face marital rape. The moment a mother learns that she has given birth to a female child, the images of scary Raavans start haunting her.

Which Raavan are we burning every year? The one who never even touched Sita? What about those Raavans who are not only touching but strangling to pieces the body and souls of several Sita, of several women, of several kids, and even of toddlers and infants…. of Humanity….

Amidst the celebration of Dussehra, among the thousands of people hooting and celebrating the burning of Raavan… Correction… burning of statue of Raavan….. among those thousands of men….. there may be hundreds of Raavans….. And they might be the bigger Raavans than the one whose statue we burn…. The one who becomes the Hanuman and burns the Lanka of Raavan with his tail, might be a Raavan himself… the one who acts as Ram in the Ramleela and burns the statue of Raavan, are we sure that he is not Raavan?

The one whom we share our lunch with in the office might be a Raavan. The one who teaches us in the school why we celebrate Dussehra and burn Raavan might be a bigger Raavan himself. The one who is our family doctor might be a Raavan inside. The security guard at our society gate whose job is to protect us might show us the Raavan inside him any day. The boss in the office may turn into a Raavan by offering promotion to his female employee in return of sexual favors.

Around 4 years ago, my husband (fiance at that time) suffered from a deadly lungs infection. I found the best pulmonologist in the city and he saved my husband’s life. I bent to his feet thanking him; I could see an “Angel” in him sent by God. However, just a few months later, that so called “Angel” raped his female patient who came to him for her treatment seeking relief from her ailment.

See, this world is full of Raavans and we still feel that burning a statue is enough to celebrate the victory of good over evil. I am not against the celebrations, I in fact love the festivals, lights and colors… but I wish one day we celebrate not only a festival, but the real victory of good and defeat of evil.

Today, on the day of Dussehra, I told my 3 years old daughter the story of Ram and Raavan, I told her why we burn the statue of Raavan. I told her that we burn the statue of Raavan to signify that this is the fate of anyone who is evil….. but I wish one day we celebrate the burning of actual Raavans. I wish one day I tell my daughter that not only thousands of years ago, but today too, the evil is always defeated and burned. I wish one day I tell her that in kalyuga also, the good wins over the evil. I wish one day I tell her that today too the Ram, Laxman, Jatayu, Sugriva etc exist who turns the universe upside down to save a Sita from a Raavan. I wish one day I tell her that today too Hanumans exist who are not afraid of burning the whole Lanka of some Raavan to save a Sita.

The day when Nirbhaya case accused will be hanged, I will tell my daughter that today is the real Dussehra. The day when there will be a law of death penalty for rapists, I will tell my daughter that the day is the real Dussehra. The day when there will be no Juvenile clause for rapists, I will tell my daughter that the day is the real Dussehra. The day when there will be no mercy for rapists, I will tell my daughter that the day is the real Dussehra. The day when there will be no more Nirbhayas and Asifas, I will tell my daughter that the day is the real Dussehra….. The real victory of good over evil…

Till then, let’s keep fooling ourselves that we are burning the Raavan and that the Raavan is no more….

Happy Dussehra…..

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Read my post on Feminism: Letter of a working mother to her daughter

And on gender biasing: Ek Ladka to hona hi chahiye! Really?