To,Ms. Shiba Kurian,ReporterThe Times Of India.
Even before I put forth my opinions about your article or why was I astounded to read it, I want to make it crystal clear that neither do I support any of the crimes stated in the article nor do I claim that this particular state is free of such crimes. I totally stand by my prior article of Delhi rape case and maintain the fact that the men who commit such ghastly crime should be hanged till death.
But, what I disapprove of in this article is the content and the title in itself! I believe in the saying “Pen is mightier than sword”. Hence, I would like to remind you that you have this intangible power of creating and changing perceptions since you are a reporter. I strongly recommend you to use it for the better. Accusing the criminal is one thing (the right thing) but questioning all the men who belong to that particular region is bizarre. Further, pointing out that these men are mentally ill, indulge in alcohol and according to some person’s perspective all men in Kerala treat women as sex object is absolutely ridiculous and absurd!
These are the points you have to keep in mind:
- Firstly, being mentally unstable isn’t limited to one region.
- Secondly, neither do all rapists consume alcohol when they indulge the crime nor do all who consume alcohol commit rape.
- Thirdly, a criminal is not directly proportional to the entire population of that state.
Going by the lucidity in your article, one can easily claim that all Muslims are terrorists and that all Bihari men can commit rape effortlessly (Men accused in Delhi rape was from Bihar). This is just a judgment which an uneducated and irresponsible citizen can pass. As a refined citizen, you have to educate others on how not to stereotype. It is us YOUTH who have to change the historical way of thinking so that the generation next have a mind of their own and do not take sides based on the ethnicity, race, religion of another. But this article is of such poor eminence!
Neither, do I claim that people with mental instability do not live in Kerala or that alcohol consumption isn’t on the rise nor that all men treat women equally in that province. But, don’t these facts prevail in every society? It is the criminal’s immorality, low values and evilness that have to be emphasized as opposed to the place to which he belongs.
Well! The actual fact is-Lots of cases pertaining to Rape go unregistered!Several criminals are roaming free unnoticed!Heaps of registered cases still lie in an old file, covered with dust; its pages worn out waiting to be attended!And so are the moist eyes of the victims waiting to hear that her offender is finally punished!
As a reporter, your determination should be to work towards building a better nation where there is no room for stereotypes but your article clearly fails to do so. All the statistics you have mentioned is a waste when you conclude that it is more to do with alcoholism and mental instability.
It could be a twist of fate that you have written an article on Malayali men and I speak the same dialect. Having said that, I will maintain that this blog would have been addressed to you even otherwise. I strongly urge Times of India and other social media to discourage such articles since if this was to be right, then there will soon be a claim that entire gender of Men are personally responsible for such ghastly crimes. Speak up,HPK!!!
