Recently the Government of India decided to ban a documentary by BBC on the horrific Nirbhaya rape case which happened in Delhi in December of 2012. Incidentally, this rape incident had led to a nationwide protest which contributed towards landmark changes in Indian laws related to sexual abuse and violence on women.
The rational for the ban was that the documentary in question put India in a bad light and the statements given by the convicts and their lawyers in the documentary were demeaning to the sentiments of the society and the victim.
Government's viewpoint is questionable on two counts apart from raising far more pertinent questions - Do knee jerk reactions of the government can in any way mitigate the issue of gender bias in the society ? Would global audience start seeing India as a gender neutral society just by government's condemnation of such violence or ban of a hyped coverage ?
First lets briefly talk about problem in government's line of action. Government of India armed with its remarkable idea of moral policing conveniently forgot that the very same convicts have a right to publicly assert their perspective as per the constitution of India; irrespective how irresponsible or incorrect those arguments be. In their defense convicts and their lawyers have often argued in court with similar lines of thought, which were widely broadcasted in the media during the trial, and readily rejected by the civil society - and rightly so (even though civil society does not really have any right to legally adjudicate). So the question arises why Government or certain section of civil society is scandalized by already known defense arguments of rape convicts and their lawyers; which never really got any traction or takers. Rather doesn't it largely reflect guilty consciousness at the end of Government ? For the fact that it has done little to curb the violence against women in a country where an incident of rape gets reported every 20 minute.
And even if for a moment we consider that government should have a role in taming the ogling mindset of large number of Indian nationals, the question is how does it really plans to do so ? Would it be by banning documentaries which highlight the issues of lack of education, economic disparity, class and sectarian divide, gender discrimination etc. contributing towards creation of rogue elements and misconstrued perceptions in the Indian society, or by taking actions like speedy trials against rape accused, promoting a more gender neutral and equal opportunity work environment, raising awareness against violence against women, imparting sex education in schools, and creating a space for women's voice in public forum and in policy initiatives ?
Prima facie it looks like Government is shooting the messenger and trying to gag the symptom instead of addressing the root cause of the problem and taking corrective actions. Knowing the fact that out of 795 Member of Parliament (read law makers), 250 have rape cases registered against them and in most cases the case trials are pending for years.
The glaring misconception of government is also reflected in its understanding that a certain recorded documentary or a news story related to rape would be a counter-narrative country's image.
On the contrary the cultural exchange and interactions between nationalities, tourist and personal visits, behavior of a visiting Indian national in a foreign country, and perceptions drawn from experiences of those exchanges are often the biggest contributors in creating an impression. And on all those aspects one must assess how a large number of Indian men fare while dealing with females of foreign nationalities.
The regular instance of misdemeanor with a visiting female in India is no secret. It has impacted India's positioning so much so that government had to launch a massive campaign of atithi devo bhavah (A visitor is like a god) to create awareness for respecting the tourists.
If I talk about behavior of Indian men in foreign countries based on my own experiences, I would have no hesitation in saying that the desired behavioral norms with a female are often broken; either knowingly or due to their complacency. Many a time this also happens in company of an Indian female - who does not mind chuckling on such delinquencies. And it is remarkable that in most instances the person in question believes that the victimized female would not imply anything negative about his behavior due to cultural divide or the language barrier. Conveniently forgetting that body language, gestures, and facial expressions do contribute towards behavioral assesment and a gruesome sexist actions are not easy to ignore.
It is rather intriguing that in most cases academic credentials, profession, or demography of Indian men do not really differentiate the nasty conclusions (which are often far and beyond the phrase "blonde ...") drawn for women of other nationalities. I often find that there is an inherent consistency in some of these sexist and raunchy remarks - whether from Indian professionals in a foreign corporation, or from Indian students in the cafeteria of a well known varsity, or from a group of young Indians enjoying a happy hour at a local bar. Surprisingly in many such instances Indian women or girls accompanying these men are often seen to be conveniently forgiving about such behavior by their male colleagues/friends.
The need for behavioral awareness among Indian men while dealing with opposite sex of the other nationalities is imperative. As we continue to raise awareness in domestic front one must also talk about gender bias on the basis of color of the skin and the nationality. If we do not proactively discuss and readily address it, it would continue to haunt the country's image in globalized world. And so far it continues to darken the ghastly perception of Indian men and the society in general in front of international audience - which incidentally the Government of India wants to improve by banning documentaries.
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