Waiting for the first month of the new-year to end, just thought of revisiting the last month of the last year. One question was constantly been thrown at me. The slightly more urban folks were asking me “how are you bringing in the new year” and the lesser urban folks ended up asking my plans for the 31st night. Then I realised that the actual intention of asking me this question was they were expecting me to ask them the same question and then they can share their elaborate plans. Quite funny but folks had their own joy in sharing their plans. As I wasn’t sure about my own plans the only option I had was to hear them out.
Come 2nd Jan and everyone had their own
stories to share, I was sufficiently educated on the various ways of
celebrating 31st Dec. Rather more than various ways I could hear
various philosophies about bringing in the new year. Few of them which I could
remember are mentioned below:
- Prefer bringing in the new year only with family in the house (the family ones)
- ……… With family and friends having a house party (the loved ones)
- ……… Exploring new places every 31st Dec to see new ways of celebration (the adventure ones)
- ……… Getting high on booze and starting the New Year with a hangover. (the spiritual ones)
- ……… Spending time praying or in religious place eg. Church, temples etc. (the religious ones).
- ……… Visiting theme parks, resorts etc. (the playful ones)
Too many opinions were flowing as a part of various
philosophies. Every philosophy was equal to one opinion. There wasn’t anything
wrong in that as, they were opinionating as per their own philosophies.
Looking at the world from our own world view needs to be
re-looked.
Few weeks before, saw this breaking news of Zaira Wasim.
For all those who aren’t aware who Zaira Wasim is, she is the famous Dangal
star. She even starred in the movie named Secret Superstar. She is a brilliant
actress in the making and a very hardworking young talent who proved her mettle
through 2 amazing movies. Dangal has even proved to be one of highest grossing
films in China as well. Outside of films, she has served as the Youth
Ambassador for the 11th edition of the Bengaluru Midnight Marathon in 2017. True
source of motivation to the youth of our country.
On 9th Dec while she was travelling business
class from Delhi to Mumbai, she accused a man of molesting her. She reached
Mumbai took a video of herself narrating the incidence and posted it on
Instagram. The video went viral and the public sympathy towards the girl
started flowing from all the ends of the country. The next day, Vikas Sachdeva, 39, was arrested by Sahar police the day
after the actress complained and was charged under sections of Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Indian Penal Code. The
Maharashtra State Women's Commission, the Shiv Sena, the Bhumata Ranragini
Brigade and others condemned the incident and demanded action against the
accused, while the Civil Aviation Ministry has threatened to put Sachdeva on a
no-fly list if he is convicted.It was quite commendable to see reactions coming in from all possible avenues. Even the celebrities jumped into actions through twitters and instagrams extending full support to Zaira. For the likes of Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Shobha De and the list goes on.
Another version to
the same incidence is that Vikas had travelled to Delhi to pay homage to a
deceased relative, post the prayer meeting boarded the Mumbai bound flight the
moment he was on-board he requested for a blanket, instructed the crew not to
disturb him to offer meals and dozed off. Yes, he did the mistake of resting
his leg on the arm rest of the front seat but that wasn’t with an intention of
molesting anyone. Even one of the co-passengers seconded this theory of Vikas
dozing off immediately after boarding the plane.
Currently this case is under investigation, however too
many loose ends to this case such as why didn’t Zaira make noise at the moment
she realized that she was getting molested / if she could make her ordeal
public on Instagram then why not to the co-passengers / the molester needs to
be an acrobatic genius to sit on the back seat and move his leg seductively on
the neck and back of the passenger seated in the front seat. Guess we all
should have waited before tagging anyone guilty or innocent.
It’s more than 6 weeks the incident has taken place, while
I know that Zaira has won the filmfare award and seems quite happy with the
success of her movies in China; I am clueless on what's happening on the front
of Vikas Sachdeva.
Post 10 days of imprisonment, has he really got back to work while he is still on bail?
Are his clients / customers entertaining him as they used to do before? How is
his wife facing the society as the media and celebrities have already termed
him as a molester? How is his 9 years old kid facing his friends at school and
in his vicinity? For every kid his father is a father-figure. How will this kid
react when after growing up he will still face questions about this incident?
Unfortunately, we live in a society where the media does
the trial much before even the judiciary understands the case. When it comes to
a sexual harassment case, ‘the man remains guilty until proven innocent and the
woman remains innocent until proven guilty’ the media seems more interested
when the person is accused but somehow disappears when the person is acquitted.
Our education, our maturity, our intelligence empowers us to create an opinion and have a stand point. But these opinions and standpoints need to be basis facts and not on the basis of our own philosophies and public sentiments.
May truth and justice prevail in this molestation case
and hope the media shows the same enthusiasm if Vikas is proven innocent.
Be sure of been at a vantage point before giving an opinion.
