Nirbhaya documentary: Why are we so full of 'bhaya'?

Mountains out of molehills.  We are very good at creating them.  

The whole Nirbhaya documentary issue has snowballed into something that should never have taken up valuable Parliament time.  All thanks to a few in the echelons of power who knees jerk violently at the slightest of taps.  

For everything which is remotely controversial, the one-stop solution seems to be to BAN it!  Brush it under the carpet and act as though everything is hunky-dory until the media finds something juicer to cry itself hoarse on.

The fact that it would have been a lot more mature to constitute a committee with interested parties and stakeholders to view the documentary and report on it, is of course, totally lost in the midst of impulsive decisions and a mutual mudslinging frenzy.

If at all the government should be investigating anything, it is if the director of the film - who had agreed to the clause that the film was to be used for 'social' purpose only - made it commercially available to BBC.  If so, didn't those who gave the permission in the first place know that the film might be aired publicly in the future?  

Also, why is it that a foreign director/channel should always get full and exclusive access to the criminals?  Why do we have to wait till somebody from outside sheds light on our issues?  Are we saying that none of the umpteen television news channels in India ever thought of making a similar documentary on this or related issues?

Apparently the ban on the film has been enforced because India's image would be tarnished due to the views of a rapist.  Tourism would be affected, you see.  Well, in that case... 

• Wasn't India's image tarnished when a Japanese tourist was raped by a tour guide in Jaipur recently?
• Wasn't it tarnished when the French diplomat who abused his daughter was allowed to get away due to a manipulation of his forensic report?
• Isn't the image tarnished because a popular film actor has managed to evade justice even after 9 years of killing an endangered species of deer?
• Isn't it utterly shameful that the leader of a prominent political party of the country says that rapes occur because 'boys will be boys...they commit mistakes'?  Isn't he as culpable as the rapist?
• Aren't we left red-faced when self-created holy men who promise nirvana to their foreign clients take advantage of them?
• Why don't we also consider violating traffic rules, abusing fellow road users, spitting and urinating on roads as being detrimental to the country's image?

Why are we so insecure about what a rapist and his lawyers have to say?  Instead of analysing the contents of the film, we have allowed the whole issue to degrade into an ego battle between the government and the BBC, which has made full use of the opportunity to cock a snook at the government.

And here's the thing.  Nirbhaya's parents themselves have willingly participated in the making of the film.  And her father has said that everybody should watch the film.

So, I say let the film roll.  Learn about the rapists' and their defenders' mindset.  And then castrate them.



Image sources:

• http://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2015-03/leslee-udwin_650x400_81425409983.jpg
• http://media.indiatimes.in/media/content/2013/Sep/delhi_gang_rape_1378798591_540x540.jpg