The Blank Noise Project

I am taking part in a terrific intiative Blank Noise Project . This group has taken a great intitiative to change the attitude of Indian People about "Eve-Teasing" and "Sexual Harassement" and bring such heinous crimes to light. Needless to say, it is as worthy a cause as any other (In fact more so because it is also the most neglected one ) . Gaurav here talks about the mindset of the man . Several others have also linked their experiences on Blank Noise .

Most of the people are under the impression that it is the uneducated and low-class poeple who indulge in eve-teasing. While this is true to certain extent, the great "Educated" youth of Modern India is not to be left behind. Indeed, I have seen and heard of several cases where girls have been teased, groped and fondled where the so called "Enlightened" Youth were present . ON two occasions, one of my friends was the sufferer .

Once, before joining IITB, We had come to TEchFest 2003 from Pune. ON the final day, there was an exciting RoboDogs show in the evening. The interest was tremendous and by evening there was a great rush of crowds to get into SAC at IITB . IN the melee, when everyone was trying to get in, my friend was fondled not once but thrice. She could not see the cultprit because of the crowd , but she was shaken ! I was shocked when i came to know about it. Of all the places , IITB ! OF course the IITians dont control who comes to watch these shows , but surely some better way to manage crowds and handle miscreants is required. I am 100% Sure it was some students , as no one apart from students was allowed .

The same friend told me how she and her friend had suffered the same when they went to shop in Tulsibaug ( A very famous Shopping Area in Pune ) . And mind you, they are not the ones who dress in a way you can call "skimpy " or "Revealing " . So what propmted the wild-bristling-with-mojo-sadistic-bastard guys to grope these girls ! Simple lust ! Of course they knew that the public is going to blame the girls and not the Groper himself. Disgusting !!

I have seen even worse behavior at Verve which is an inter-collegiate competition in Pune. The level of crowds at this event is so pathetic that it becomes difficult for girls to go anywhere without some guy staring lecherously . Girls have to be accompanied at all times. And all this in a so-called "Culturaly enlightened " city like Pune. In fact, our experience at Verve has been so bad that we stopped going there after our 2nd year . Where is the moral brigade now. It only shows its teeth when it comes to acts of vandalism to protest the "Western" Valentine Day or to tear the posters of some "Offending" Film .

In all these cases of eve-teasing, the role of the "Gaurdians of Indian Culture" has been as an advocate of the hapless i-cant-control-myself-when-i-see-a-female male. To blame the girl is oh-so-easy for the culture brigade . And why will it not be , when the members of culture brigade themselves are among the perpetrators ( The infamous Valentine's Day episode in Mumbai this year where the "guardians" happily tore the clothes of women and girls who were there). Anyway, the less said about the "Gaurdians" , the better.

I hope that all the readers of this blog will join this movement. It is upto the common Junta, us, to take up this issue and change the people's attitude. We can , and we will make a difference.