Open Letter Addressed To All

Reuters photo

By

Ananya S Guha

Dear Country Men/Women,

Do you not care for our children, our women and the innocent girl child? If so, then why have we fallen into the clap trap of political divides and about what happened then, in the past? After the Nirbhaya case were we not united irrespective of which political party was ruling? Are we weeping now, or are we seeking umbrage under twitter handles? Time and again our politicians and political leaders are letting us down, only for those sick votes- they are answerable now to what happened in Jammu, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, then again Uttar Pradesh and then recently Jharkhand. Aren’t they ashamed that children are being raped and mutilated by none others than the protectors of the law? What law is this, which sanctions are killing and raping children? What godliness is this that such things are being perpetrated in sanctum of temples? Who is our God? And then our leaders are silent, one famed actor the protagonist of ‘beti bachao’ does not want to discuss it. Because he says he is disgusted? So disgust cannot be translated into protest or anger?

We have lost all shame, decency and compassion. We are silent and only take recourse to twitter handles to spout venom at each other. Can’t we transcend politics that this affects ALL OF US, beyond political designs and machinations. Not ideology, no political party has an iota of ideology left. While the ruling political party dilly dallies, dithers in the vilest manner possible, others are silent. One is busy electing its secretary, another had one member supporting the protest in favor of the criminals. What bonhomie with the ruling party! Aren’t we ashamed? A sixteen year old is raped and vandalized and her father is murdered. Why because they belong to a low caste? How high is their caste?

Friends and countrymen. Silence is killing. Keep the issue alive so that plans are worked out to bring these culprits and future culprits to book, by the rule of the law. Don’t deviate and start talking about a SC verdict or what happened in the past, or that hate speeches are as old as 1946?

We talk about educating the child? Educate yourselves first, educate us, YOU LEADERS.

Friends, Indians and countrymen, don’t lend ears, listen to voices within and let us demand these so called leaders to work out a system of justice and inform us in a clear transparent way. Don’t simply speak of a death sentence. Implement it. Speak to us, assure us, console us, for we weep but we are angry. Are we not ashamed that other countries and their newspapers have written about these incidents, and cast a slur on our Nation? And what do we do? Have debates after debates on television, read political shows and mudslinging. Is this a political game? Politicians have been egregiously involved, abrasively, shamefully, they must be brought to immediate book. We cannot simply forget this, after four or five days, we must continue with our protests and marches. Otherwise, they will take advantage of the amnesia and divert the issue and focus on some impending elections. Shame on them, that they can’t feel for the innocent child, shame on them that they give tacit approval to such atavism, shame on them that they do not denounce the worst desecration of temples, and a big shame to them that they even support these heinous, barbaric and primeval crimes.

Were they not children once upon a time? The erasure of their memories is a sign of how demented they are. Why are they talking about caste and class? Are they dividing the Nation on these spurious, abjectly false lines? Lies, lies and damned lies!

Ananya S Guha

Ananya S Guha

Ananya S Guha was born and brought up in Shillong, North East India. He has seven collections of poetry and his poems have been published worldwide. They have also been featured in several anthologies. He is also a columnist, critic and editor. He now is a Regional Director at the Indira Gandhi National Open University and holds a doctoral degree on the novels of William Golding.