India’s Daughter: banning the film will not ban the crime

India’s Daughter has made more news being banned in our nation, than it would have otherwise. The documentary does not show anything we do not already know. The coverage done by the Indian media, of the heinous crime that took place on the night of 16^th December 2012, did not leave anything to our imaginations. Almost every Indian is aware of story inside out. A major part of the documentary has been narrated by one of the men convicted of that crime, Mukesh Singh.

One of the reasons why the Indian Government has banned the documentary is because it contains the interview with Mukesh Singh, who is being held at Tihar jail, which is a high security prison, and letting in someone to interview a prisoner poses many questions on the security situation in our country. But what is more disturbing to me is the fact that, when there is a genuine witness of what really happened that night, why was he not a part of the film? Apparently, he refused to be a part of it as he did not support the motives of making the documentary.

Avanindra Singh, the other victim and the only surviving witness of the crime has called the documentary fake and backs its banning by the Indian Government. Banning the documentary will not ban the crimes. It’s time we learn to accept our follies. Be it access to the Tihar jail to interview one of the convicts or the thoughts that have been shared in the film. It is indeed appalling to hear how and what a rapist thinks. The audacity with which Mukesh Singh talks in the documentary shows the limit of shamelessness existing in our society today. People say that lack of education is the root cause of such a deformed thinking. I wonder what could be the root cause for the malefic thinking displayed by the defendants’ lawyers in the film.

Any change that is required in a society at large must begin at home. The long existing patriarchy in our country is one of the main causes for a number of issues that exist in our society today. I feel mothers can do a lot to bring such a reform in our country. This does not mean that fathers are excluded from the responsibilities of providing the right upbringing to their children. Why mothers can help a little more in the process is because they can make the sons better understand the value of a woman. If there is domestic violence in the family, either the child will grow up to treat women the way his father did or if the mother takes up a stand against that violence, then the boy may grow up thinking of woman as being strong enough to stand for themselves and worthy of respect.

It has been proven that boys generally have greater affinity towards their mothers. The first female figure in any boy’s life is his mother; hence the mothers hold a huge responsibility in creating the right mentality of a man towards women at large. In an ad by Vogue India titled “Boys don’t cry”, Madhuri Dikshit talks about how instead of telling our sons that boys don’t cry we must educate them about the fact that boys don’t make girls cry. It is a powerful statement that can help to solve the problems of violence against women in our society.

It isn’t easy for women to stand up for themselves when there is any kind of violence happening around them or with them. It needs courage of unpredictable magnitude. In all honesty no one can help you if you don’t want to help yourself. People may empathise with the victims but only the victim truly knows what it takes to get out of the trauma they suffer. The crime that happened on the night of 16^th December 2012 shook the citizens who take pride in calling their nation Bharat Mata. This shameful event made to the list of the most gruesome crimes in the world.

I am no one to decide whether the ban on releasing the documentary in India is justified or not, but what I do know is that it is doing what it’s meant to do, maybe just with a slower pace than expected.