The statistics of Rape

The word has such hideous connotations, that many of us would flinch at a mere utterance of it. I never thought I would write an article with that title. I don't like it, it makes me shudder to have it on my otherwise happy blog. The recent incident (http://goo.gl/UZcms) has outraged the nation. Everyone wants to fix this one problem. I do too. 

What is this problem that we all want to fix? Six of them raped her one by one, and then inserted a long iron rod in her vagina that damaged her intestines permanently, and then threw her from their running bus on the Mahipalpur flyover, that thousands of us cross everyday. She lied there on the road, naked, at around midnight in the Delhi chill, covered only by a pool of blood. 

I don't understand this problem. What makes anyone get down to such an animalistic level? The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of India reported 10,068 rape cases in 1990 which increased to more than 21,000 in 2008. I thought India has progressed dramatically in the last 20 years. We have more educated people than we ever had. Evidently, we have more gory people than we have ever had, as well.

I looked around on the internet for articles, statistics and reports of Rape in India and the world. The statistics are very debatable. A significant percentage of Rape cases don't even get reported for various reasons all over the world. There is a significant percentage of false cases as well. We can't exactly measure the problem at hand, but the statistics definitely hint at certain trends that cannot be denied.

A lot of the discussion on blogs and forums today is coming to - it is the orthodox and oppressive eastern culture that encourages more cases of rape and we must encourage a more open culture like in the west. A UNODC report (http://goo.gl/BvfzW) however suggests something else. If we look at the number of reported cases of Rape per 100,000 of population...

• There is not a single eastern country in the top 20
• The developed countries like UK and US stand at number 5 and 10 respectively with close to 30 rape reports per 100,000 of population.
• India stands at number 50 with 1.8 rape reports per 100,000 of population.

Another research (http://goo.gl/nTyG3) indicates that alcohol is involved in 71% of all rape cases. In 49% of cases both the victim and the perpetrator had been drinking. 

If there is a certain reason for rape, lets call it "x" (algebra, remember?) - the  developed countries have 15 times more "x" than India. The Caribbean, Americas and Europe have far more "x" than the eastern countries. And in the last 20 years, India has managed to double its "x".

I think there are some fantastic things that we need to learn from the west. And at the same time, there are some fantastic things in the eastern culture that we must honor, learn and live by. The eastern culture in its little rituals and characteristics, teaches a tremendous reverence for women, among other things. Guruji points out that the three most important departments of Finance, Education and Defense are handled by three women - Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga. The ultimate power that runs the world is feminine, we pray to her as the mother divine. Sex is not a taboo, neither is it the most important thing to do in life. 

I think this is largely a case of education. The situation in India is bad. It would have been worse, if we did not have our value system and the inherent spirituality in our culture. The need of the hour is to expand our horizons with our roots intact. And teach the same to our children.

Jai Gurudev

Learning from a Snow Leopard - Part 1

There are places on this planet where you just wouldn't hear the honking, nagging, chattering and clunking that is so much a part and parcel of our lives. There are no people, no computers or mobile phones, no electric poles, no houses or buildings and no roads. There is snow, some amazing views of the mountain, uncomfortably cold wind, invigorating silence and not so easily apparent but very much existing... wild life! This is nature, untouched by its intelligent manifestations.

This is a random pic of Dodital from the Interent. I think I have one with me in it, but will need to fish for it in the dusty unvisited undergrounds of my home.

I had a first hand experience when I made a couple of treks into the Himalayas with the college Adventure Club. Every college trip has its stories. The most famous one from our trek to Dodi Taal in 2003 was about a Snow Leopard. I didn't see one, no one did. But there were signs all around and we were scared.

Ten years and  twenty two kilos down the line, being married and with a kid... my best shot at adventure off late has been watching a Snow Leopard on You Tube. It wasn't thrilling, but then I learned something.

A snow leopard is a stunning wild animal with some breath taking skills. She is fast and ferocious, like every other leopard is. And she tops it up with her ability to maneuver through the precarious mountain terrains. She can climb very steep, almost straight, slopes and descend down them with equal poise. She can even take a vertical U turn on these slopes.

I was watching this snow leopard in a documentary film, amazed at her awesomeness when something irritated the awesomeness like a spec of dust in the eye.