Rapes: We need to objectively analyse the rot

LETTER TO EDITOR OF GOMANTAK TIMES published on 21/12/2012 Sir, The public reaction and drama over the horrific gang rape incident in New Delhi is far more shameful than the rape itself. Are death penalties, surveillance cameras, police patrol vans and chemical castration going to solve the threat of sexual assault on women? In an India that claims to be technologically and intellectually advanced and a generation of youth that thinks it knows all, the level of discourse around the rape incident was not at all reflective of these tall claims about advancement. There needs to be some civility and reasoning in our responses to a crisis instead of cursing politicians, stereotyping men as some sort of sex predators, bashing the police and screaming in public places before the TV cameras. No one is ready to find out why rapes take place with such frequency. It is definitely not the absence of adequate laws because for the last 50 years this threat never existed despite no laws being in place. If we desire meaningful solutions to curb the crime then we need to objectively analyse this rot. Is it just man's attitudes or perception of woman as a sex-object, or is there something more to this debate around rape that those with modern life-styles feel threatened to talk about? Let us stop reacting to social issues like a bewildered herd and start responding to a crisis like a civilised and reasoning society. -Soter D'souza