In light of the recent events and the posts which have been put up, I was shocked to read that it wasn't just Indian women who were being treated like crap but even foreigners who visit our country who were treated as objects of lust. Luckily there have been no reports that I have read which show acid attacks on these tourists. Women in India have been through hell and back but this doesn't mean that one should generalize the Indian men.
Recently I was speaking to a group of friends on this topic of which a few were of Indian origin. Whilst we discussed this, I was surprised to realize that one of my friends had been really interested in traveling to India until she heard about all the cases of mistreatment of woman which in turn led to one of my 'Indian' friends to admit that he was ashamed to consider himself Indian. This really annoyed me! Yes, as a nation we have plenty of faults and there are many things we need to fix, but this doesn't mean you denounce the country that you came from! As citizens of a country, is it not our responsibility to fix what is wrong with it and if not fix, atleast make an attempt before claiming to be insulted to be Indian.
This brings me to issue number two: the same friend who wanted to go to India started generalizing men of the country. She started claiming that all Indian men were the same and that they never seemed to stop ogling at her even in Singapore. What she didn't seem to realize is that there are cases of rape and mistreatment towards women all over the world, but that doesn't seem to stop you from travelling or meeting men of different cultural backgrounds! I have met my share of Indian men over the years of my existence and some of them have creeped me out, but overall my experience meeting and having conversations with these men have been what an average person may call normal. Stereotyping doesn't help anybody, but once you start insulting our men, that is where I draw the line.
There is no doubt that no matter where you travel you need to take necessary caution. I have always been told to be careful and not travel down poorly lit streets and be in places which have people around so you can call for help. I know I may have no right to judge since I haven't lived in the country for long enough to observe it, but as an Indian I am insulted by the fact that there are people who are ashamed to be associated with their nationality because of the recent news articles which have been popping out about all these cases!
Because no matter what, I am proud to be Indian and will try to do my part in making it a better place someday.
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