Thoughts on "India`s Daughter" documentary debate

It has been ages, literally ages since I wrote something but the debate over Nirbhaya Documentary has prompted me to write this piece. Frankly I am confused and hopefully by the time I finish writing I would be clear on whose/which side I am.

One of the most debatable aspects of the documentary is whether it should be aired in India or not and I find it completely nonsensical. The ones in favour of airing have nothing to fuss about as its already out on social media and the ones who would have actually seen it or got any import out of it have already seen it. The ones not in favour of airing are being hypocrites as they themselves have seen it and are now taking judgemental calls for others which they have no right to. To me the bigger point of contention is whether or not a foreigner be allowed to make such a documentary. Do we need a foreign woman to make us understand the pathos the family and the girl went through and the sorry state of affairs for women in India? I am sure rapes and women safety is a problem in other countries as well, so why not reflect on your own land as well. You could argue that India has a much higher no of rapes per day , but its not the number that the documentary intends to attack , it’s the mindset and the mindset of a rapist is same whether he is a black or a white. 

The counter argument could be, are we as a nation not willing to allow outsiders to peep inside, to comment and suggest. Are we creating a society which is scared to know what others think of us and are only willing to open few doors, the doors which show the shinier side of India. May be only an outsider has an audacity to show the real face of India just like Leslee Udwin was able to bring about through some very thoughtful interviews of convicts and their lawyers. 

It’s a debate which might continue for some more time, but for a moment lets forget about who made the documentary and that it portrays India in a bad light and think about it as a film which is reinforcing that there is an urgent need to do something about the mindset of men in this country and reform the social status of women. I am not sure if we can bring a change in our current or previous generation but we sure can in the future generations. The way we behave and raise our kids would determine how much balance we are able to achieve in the society. While education and economic development will have its own role, its important we exercise and provide the right to each man and woman to be just Free!!