The Talwars and justice

"If and when the innocence of the Talwars gets proven, what we did to them as a country, as a society will also be out. We ruined them. The Talwars lost their reason to live – Aarushi – but we as a people killed them, stripping them of their dignity forever," says Fiza Jha, Aarushi Talwar's best friend in a poignant article.

What if the Talwars are innocent? Having seen the utter messy way in which CBI and the police handled the case, and the salacious way the media played it up, there are very good chances that they might be. And have been wrongly thrown into jail, with their lives messed up, torn and destroyed beyond repair. 

Not one person who has known them has said that they could have murdered their only daughter who they loved and adored,  and househelp Hemraj. 

Journalist Shoma Chaudhury who has been following the case says this on catchnews.com: ... this case also has a much deeper significance for every Indian. If any of us are to be safe, investigations, legal processes and convictions have to be much sounder and fairer than what the Talwars have faced.

An then of course, there is Avirook Sen's book Aarushi!

We can't see women do what they want

The Indian society has an issue. It cannot see women enjoy themselves. So used are they to images of long suffering women who sacrifice their happiness in the interest of their families, that when they see women out for an evening, wearing clothes they want, enjoying a drink, they are unable to come to terms with it. Be it the Mufti (religious leader) in Kashmir or the media in Andhra. Be it the north or the south of India, the mindset is the same. Could vary in degrees!

I was very disappointed in the media which did a story on these bunch of girls coming out of a restaurant in Hyderabad. They were made out to be a bunch of drunk women by the regional media. To me they seem very upset over being filmed without their permission. And why should anyone just take their pictures?

Is there a shortage of stories for the media to cover? Just get out of your comfort zone and see the tragedy all around --farmers killing themselves, women dying in childbirth, children who are out of school, women being tortured for dowries, poverty, ill health , corruption, a whole lot of negative stories. And if you want to be positive, capture our hardworking people using their imagination to survive, honest citizens doing their best to live a dignified life, parents working hard to give their children a decent education, scientists, industrialists, the music, the dance...

Where is the dearth of stories for the media?
At the same time, I am very encouraged that these young women have decided to fight for their right to be, and are demanding compensation from all the channels which strangely cannot find a worthwhile story to do, that  they have to pounce on women out for an evening. 

The Aarushi - Hemraj murder case

As a former journalist, I am deeply ashamed at the manner in which the Indian media covered the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case.
As an Indian, I am very disturbed by the manner in which the police conducted itself, the lack of professionalism that it exhibited and the way the investigative agencies goofed up. It is frigthening and does not bode well.
As a woman, I grieve for her parents, the Talwars.
And as a human being, I wish the murderers are found and punished.

I am giving you the link to one of the most poignant and balanced accounts I have read about the murder case. It is written by  Shree Paradkar, a cousin of Aarushi's mother, Nupur. It must have been tough for Paradkar to do the story. How do you maintain professionalism when you are emotionally connected? But she has shown it can be done.

The link to the article - http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/01/26/aarushi_talwar_murder_a_look_at_one_of_indias_most_notorious_cases.html

Now, a ebook on the case by her -
http://www.thestar.com/news/stardispatches/2014/02/19/ebook_excerpt_betrayed_my_cousins_wrongful_conviction_for_the_murder_of_her_daughter_aarushi.html

Crime and Punishment

Incest can't be punished in India. The incestuous fathers will have to be tried for rape. By not having laws to deal with particular crimes, is a society's way of choosing not to see the crime. For at the root of it all is the so called sanctity of the family. An Indian family. And it raises uncomfortable questions and the society would rather not accost them. So pretend it does not exist.

It is the same with the media. If the media takes note of an issue it is an issue. If it chooses to ignore it, it becomes a non issue. There are so many non issues for the media today. For it chooses not to talk about them.