Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayte, now running on ‘Star Plus’ channel, has hit India like an Agni missile.
As an influential person, he has challenged the Indian nation as no one has done as ever before. Aamir Khan is a respected Bollywood actor, renowned for producing or acting in films that carry strong social and moral themes.
Most of his followers know him as a person driven by conscience and he is a protector and defender of ethical and moral values.
In the first episode of Satyamev Jayte, Aamir Khan highlighted the prevalence of female foeticide in India that has become a multimillion-dollar industry.
The use of sonar to detect the sex of the unborn child is widespread in India and the sole purpose of sex detection seems to be to abort the female child as soon as it is confirmed. It is claimed that Indian doctors have established national codes to convey the message to parents. They say “Jai Shri Krishna” when it is a boy and “Jai Mata Di” when it is a girl.
India is a patrilineal nation where boys are prized and girls are despised.
Since the availability of technology that detects the sex of the unborn child, thousands of doctors engage in this lucrative trade, which is nothing but murder.
Anyone who engages in this despicable crime is a murderer, including parents who invariably initiate the action.
Awakening conscience
It is eventually the Government’s responsibility to bring the perpetrators of such wicked crime to be prosecuted and put behind bars and the length of the sentences should serve as a deterrent to both the parents and doctors.
While this may be the right thing to do, the Indian Government is corrupt and incompetent. It has neither the political will nor the ability to rescue the Indian nation from its rapid descent into the abyss of inveterate shame.
Aamir Khan has poked the moral conscience of the Indian nation that has more religious and social preachers than any other country.
It is difficult to believe that the land in which Mahatma Gandhi was born, lived and died has some people following such an obnoxious practice.
His legacy to the world and India in particular to uphold truth, promote love, advance moral and ethical values has lost relevance, as India wallows in wickedness.
It is a shocking revelation that people who engage in this crime comprise the elite of the Indian society that includes doctors and lawyers. They have money, the means to hire the ‘assassins’ to execute the mission.
Three women who told their heartbreaking stories stunned the world. One of them was bitten so viciously by her husband that she required reconstructive surgery to her face. Her only crime was giving birth to girls. The pictures of horrific wounds on her nose and face cannot be easily erased from the minds of those who had the misfortune to see them. These three women showed great courage in publicly airing their pain and suffering. It will certainly encourage others to stand up against such crimes.
Child abuse
In the second episode, Aamir Khan highlighted child abuse, largely of sexual nature.
Most people in the audience felt that it would not be beyond 10%. They were stunned when told that statistics showed that child abuse in India was as high as 51%.
It also came to light that 53% of boys were sexually abused. This revelation was India’s hour of its greatest shame.
In the third episode, the vice of dowry in India revealed that every hour one bride commits suicide, succumbing to pressures. Some die in mysterious circumstances and in most cases, the in-laws are complicit.
This episode depicted that Indian greed knows no bounds. Money, cars and gold are constantly demanded by some bridegrooms and their parents. The extent of violence, torture, torment and blackmail that the bride and her parents suffer is horrendous. Some parents, in meeting the demands, have lost their homes and become destitute but extortion does not abate.
Paling pride
The world view is that the country is now a moral pygmy but remains strong in preaching with hundreds of saffron-clad so-called sages globetrotting and spreading the message of non-violence, embracing truth, removing ignorance and leading virtuous and honorable lives. If they were true to their chosen profession, India needs them more than the world. It is a shame that with such rich reservoir of talent, these preachers have failed to liberate India from the squalour of impiety, corruption and sleaze.
India is capable of taking drastic action against the parents and doctors who engage in this despicable practice. The caste system was one of its greatest challenges and appropriate legislation was put in place to protect victims.
Interestingly, the demand for dowry is illegal but it continues with same vigour, as if the legislation did not exist. Demand for dowry is the root cause of female foeticide, as parents fear that they would not be able to fulfill the demand for dowry when the girls grow to marriageable ages.
Nature revolts
Because of female foeticide, there is acute shortage of girls in states like Punjab and parents go to the poorer States in India to buy girls for their sons. Polyandry, unheard of in recent history, is now being illegally practiced in some places in India.
Effectively, there is a reversal of fortunes. Now the boys pay dowry.
When humanity interferes with Nature, the consequences can be grave and India is now paying the price for its imprudence and willful violation of Nature.
The sanctity of the place of mothers in India stands at the risk of being damaged.
I love India and sincerely hope that with people of conscience like Anna Hazare and Aamir Khan this great country would be able to correct the social wrongs.
I sincerely hope that Aamir Khan’s series becomes a catalyst for Indian regeneration that restores India’s image and respect as a nation that defends the rights of its most vulnerable citizens, namely women and children.
Rajendra Prasad is a thinker, author of ‘Tears in Paradise’ and an Indian Newslink Columnist. Email: raj.prasad@xtra.co.nz
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