My mother used to say: “Never fear when you are in public. If there is one bad person in the crowd, there will be 20 good people who will come forward to help you.” But when I read about a young girl’s molestation by a group of about 20 men on the busy streets of Guwahati with many people shooting the incident, but none coming forward to help, I realised my mother was wrong. The incident is a shame on humanity.
I have always been proud of my Assamese origin; for the first time, I am ashamed of it. It is time civil society in Assam woke up and ensured that such shameful incidents, so contrary to our culture, did not occur again.
Umme Fardina Adil,
Guwahati
The outrage is another example of the utmost corrosion of Indian society. The video of the young woman being molested sends a chill down the spine. Some men are seen giggling and enjoying her plight. It is shocking that a few people and the media videographed the incident but made no effort to stop it.
The Assam Director General of Police Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury even said “Thanks to the prompt media coverage … we identified 12 of them [molesters].” Imagine a police officer thanking the media, when his men are expected to prevent such incidents.
Manasi Parvatikar,
Gurgaon
The image of a young woman molested publicly by a mob was much more than shocking. There are no words to describe the horror. I always thought I was lucky to be born in India where women are independent, unlike their counterparts in Afghanistan and some parts of Pakistan.
It is indeed sad that the state is unable to prevent such incidents from recurring frequently. A girl is not safe at home, at school, on the streets, or in a police station. God help those who have daughters. A humble request to parents who have sons — please teach them to treat women as human beings. The change must begin at home.
Manorama Gadde,
Ramagundam
A girl is molested in public by a group of hooligans and hundreds witness the tamasha instead of coming to her rescue! Would they have watched silently if the young woman was a relative? That women have no protection anywhere is a matter of serious concern.
A. Srikantaiah,
Bangalore
The entire country is ashamed and shocked at the molestation in full public view. From the video footage, it was clear that the men behaved worse than beasts. It is a shame that women are left to fend for themselves in such situations.
P.K. Syamkumar,
Chennai
