‘A fight against injustice or breaking our myths’?
Once upon a time there was a woman in the history of Indian police, bold, vociferous and indomitable. Being the first woman to have joined India police Service she went on to become apple of the eye for parent of every daughter in the country. Mending traffic rules to her innovative reforms in Indian jails, having bagged prestigious awards and won the title of ‘Crane Bedi’, the lady became an icon and it was in the name which did wonders…
It was then and it is now, the dynamite from Punjab is running from pillar to post to be heard of the injustices she claims to have faced in the so called egalitarian society. Her non selection for one coveted post in the police has brought the lady back into limelight and she becoming the topic of discussion for many an Indians. The sob story of hers seems to have glued thousands of eyeballs but for reasons unknown. A name having been read in textbooks too much, an example of exemplary courage and persona representing modern Indian women often brought up in debates and discussions of women empowerment. Are these reasons enough to out rightly believe in her hue and cry over the non selection? Probably yes for the youth today.
Who’s who…what have we got to do! The attitude most of us have when it comes to opening the knowledge account of politics in our mind bank. Politics, bureaucracy walks hand in hand for some and others are just too busy to differentiate between the two. The Bedi controversy tickled my senses of the fact that we are either indifferent or ‘the good old students’ to carry the image stamped in our mind of the first female in Indian Police.
I remember being aghast and infuriated after having seen the breaking news- A tale of two women, the proud miss president and the baffled Bedi. Like many of the ‘aware’ citizens of society I went on criticizing the government including the prime minister for having committed a crime, in the form of gender bias, for keeping the tradition of throwing truthful and just candidate out of the public service. Standing up for the rights of women and fighting for the cause of justice I fought with my journalist friends, without realizing that the so imposed divinely image of hers is not going to sail my boat in the argument further.
Frankly speaking I had my sympathies and support for Bedi until I was challenged by a friend followed by a tooth and nail tussle, a geyser heated argument which pushed me to investigate her past records or I should say her past controversies. Its not that I am anti-Bedi now, but I surely perceive things in a much more mature and vivid way. And last I would say it’s not about a controversy of who deserves what, which might be newsy for a few days but its about the image creation and perception formation which, most of the youth fall prey to, ending up living a life of ignorance and indifference or being under the influence of good old textbooks.