Molestation, Jodha Akbar, and being human

Last updated on: March 21, 2008 at 6:36 pm by Desh Kapoor

Molestation, Jodha Akbar, and being human 2008-03-21T18:36:33-05:00 Desh Kapoor

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Two posts have struck me today – one, this one on Jodha Akbar from valley Chai; and second, this one on women groping in Pakistan on Pakistani Spectator.

While ValleyChai talks about the many contradictions he sees in the religious affiliations of many protagonists linked to the movie and how it is a pleasant surprise; Amna on PakSpectator talks about how she and many women she knows have been groped and molested in Pakistan so many times. On that post, a person gives a comment by invoking religion (Islam) and its teachings.

I have been wondering – do people interact nicely with each other or are civil because of religion or despite… or just because they are human beings, to heck with the religion. If Javed Akhtar has written two devotional songs – Man mohana and khwaja-mere-khwaja is it: because of his religion; despite of his religion; or because he is just a human??

We all know what the answer is.

Do the people who grope and molest women in Pakistan as per the post, do it because of their human character or is it something to do or not do with their religion?

Again the answer is pretty straight forward!

People interact with each other at a human level. The moment religion comes to the fore, a new layer is added.. that of an artificial moral/ideological code that makes what was a “natural” interaction to become an artificial one. Now, this same person starts interacting with the other through a veil.. a veil of religious pressure of a moral code. But has it changed the character BEHIND this veil?? Clearly NO! So, what use is the veil?? It is a temporary forced mechanism to change! The counter reaction to which will be even worse! If you dont believe me.. look at the hundreds and thousands of Mujra parties in Pakistan every weekend where girls from middle class or poorer background are made to dance naked or semi naked.

Compare that to Netherlands – where prostitution is legal! Do they have as many mujra-like parties? Maybe. But all the women and girls in those parties would be baring their selves of their OWN accord and as much as THEY feel comfortable with.

Sexuality is per se not a bad thing. There is NOTHING immoral about it. It is just an act. But how it is approached is what creates the mess. The good and the bad of sexuality is all in our minds. In itself there is nothing that is bad about it.

Similarly, human interaction is always a “pure” thing, when it is free from any conditioning. When a conditioning is included in this interaction and the corollaries of this conditioning brought to bear upon that interaction, then the fight and the misery begins!!

Let us at least be humans first!!

India

Pakistan

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