I,Rapist - 2

Dear Rapist,

I shudder from top to toe when I write ‘Dear’ but then my values do not permit me to start with anything else. I read with interest and some amusement your note, your autobiography as you call it:This--> http://athakkali.blogspot.com/2013/04/irapist.html .

I could decipher the snigger and sarcasm dripping out of every syllable that the note carried. I could feel your sense of being ‘untouchable’ and your complete confidence in yourself to get away with murder as the expression is. Not to mention your tone which was patronizing and reeks of “I am like this only and you can’t do a thing about it”. I concede you, your moment of mirth and indeed agree on a few of your accusations regarding the way I have treated the women as second class citizen. But I also sense something more from your note. A sense of desperation, of fear, of defeat, of screws tightening around you.  You knew it the moment you accused me of mainstreaming you. Mainstream! No longer will you be able duck under the radar; no longer will I allow you to disappear from our collective conscience. Your mask of anonymity is pulled off, your cloak of mystery shred to pieces. Nothing, just nothing is going to restore your peace of mind.  The reams of newsprint, hours of primetime television as you say is after you 24/7. From social media to chatrooms, you are being disrobed across the world, real and virtual. The spotlight as they say is now firmly on you and nothing is going to take it away. Every time a politico says something senseless, you get the brickbats along with him. Every self styled godman who spouts medieval wisdom, has the kitchen sink thrown at him and you. Every time a youth on a strike shouts “We want Justice”, you get a step closer to being brought to it. And every time the police look the other way, I know they too will be in the docks keeping you company. No more dark alleys to hide, you are here, there, everywhere and I will keep it that way. You still think you are beyond my reach?

What you refer to in your note is just what is physically visible on the ground and you guffaw at measures which have failed to completely uproot you. No, I am not looking for tougher laws to rein you in as you suspect. No, I am not talking death penalty as it has never worked and never will. 24/7 policing I know it is not feasible. Chemical castration is like locking the stables after the horses have bolted. They are not a deterrent strong enough to hold you back. Did I hear you mutter “Then how?”?

You have only scratched the surface and as one would expect from you, are unable to look inside my subconscious. What you have failed to notice is the change in me. I, Husband, who could not stand up for my wife in a patrilineal household, am now standing up for my daughter. I,Mother who bore all the biases silently is now saying no to your domination. I,Son who was the prima donna in the society am now ready to take up cudgels on behalf of my sister. And I,Women, whom you tried by all means to eliminate and subjugate, am here not as a weakling but as an educated, independent, confident and empowered being. Empowerment! Guess you would never understand this word! And I am not referring to Gen-Next; I am Gen-Now, here and now.  No longer will you bully me with the fear of Shame!  No longer am I worried of hiding your deeds under the carpet in the name of Family honour, fear of seclusion, afraid of living a life of a recluse. I have mainstreamed you, I am changing the mindset of the dark ages and I am closing the easiest escape route that you took by putting ‘kudumba gauravam’ below the well being of my woman, my girl! I have got you cornered, hurting you where it hurts most. Through my mindset. I have learnt that to send you to ‘in’, I have to come ‘out’ into the open. Pun intended! Is that a frown that I notice developing on you face Mr. Rapist?

Long haul, you said? Yes! I know it is. A very long haul at that. It is a slow process indeed. Mindsets developed over millennia do not change that fast or easily. The process has begun, slowly but surely. It gains momentum by the minute and sooner rather than later will snowball into a deluge never seen before. A revolution that will permanently wipe off that smirk of yours! It is now but a matter of time. Welcome, be my guest, be a cynic! So were many more once, till 15^th August 1947 happened. The second freedom movement is well and truly underway.

 As my parting gift, here are a few lines which you can sing to yourself during the lonely life that awaits you in the nether world Mr. Rapist:

“The mindset of the dark ages which enslaves us,

 Is being set to a bonfire!

Slavery is a thing of the past,

 Men and women will live as equals in this great land of ours!”

Yours,

I, Hope!
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PS: The verse is from Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi’s immortal Tamil song “Viduthalai Viduthalai” (Freedom,Freedom). For helping me understand the soul of these awe inspiring lines and for this link http://www.raaga.com/player4/?id=11508&mode=100&rand=0.030441350070759654 (third stanza) my humble Namaskaram to Shri R.Janakiraman, @periyakulam! Thank you Sir!