Stopping mindless violence in society
Over three decades ago, there was one very powerful Tamil movie called "Sigappu Rohakkal", which was released in a time when violence in Tamil movies had not reached the boiling point.
The film depicted the agony of a psychologically disturbed young man, who had miserable experiences in his childhood, with different women. This pent up anger gets accumulated when he grows up as an adopted son of an equally psychologically disturbed man, who does not forget the breach of trust of his wife, who has sex with another man in his own house.
The man encourages the young man to systematically fall in love with young women, bring them to bed, have sex with them, and then murder them. The hero was a nationally acclaimed actor called Kamal Hasan, who went on to become one of the best actors in India. No wonder, he won the best actor award for his superb acting in the movie.
However, this movie brought to light the adverse effect of movies on young minds. Three incidents of rape and murder, in typical style, all borrowed from the same movie, were reported in the Tamil press.
In the course of time, everything was forgotten, as people of India, always tend to do. Nothing, of course, can be far away from truth. Movies in any language, have taken to mindless violence.
In every language, there is so much of violence, and the hero is often shown bashing up at least eight bad people at any point in time, rather effortlessly. This has a disastrous effect on the youth, who adopt similar tactics, even on the street. Violence against women has increased many hundred times, since the seventies when violence was shown in movies for the first time.
Worse, in every Tamil or Telugu movie, the hero is shown happily smoking or drinking (or both) , with equally disastrous consequences. Why is that our film makers do not care about effects on society is never ever debated.
In real life, lack of tolerance for ambiguity and intolerance over their grievances not being heard, is leading to collective violence, in which stones are thrown on police, or public vehicles are burnt. No one cares, and the press carries juicy stories, for a while and then everything is forgotten.
What we need to do is to address the basic issues. If the parents and the teachers can teach the value of non-violence, most problems can be solved, as we can influence very young minds in that fashion. Similarly, we need to address much larger issues like teaching the children the value of patience and compassion and care for others. If this is combined with hard work, the world will become a much better place to live in.,
What we also need to do is to create public awareness through the social media, in every language, and avoid any violence. Very strict action also needs to be taken in the case of those who indulge in violence. Unless we take collective action, nothing much can be achieved.
The private "finishing schools" that charge a sum to teach the unemployed youth, some employable skills is a case in point. The Government should come forward to open their own finishing schools, and there will be a remarkable change, when unemployment levels come down. At the moment, the unemployment level;s are very high, and we need to provide the youth with skills that are needed by the industry.
Violence can also be brought down, if the men and women develop better attitudes of tolerance and understanding of each other. This has already happening in the urban centers, but this needs to happen in the small cities and in the villages as well. Once this happens, there will a big change.
Violence against women, particularly against them at home, by cruel husbands who demand dowry or monetary benefits, should be tackled with an iron hand. The neighbors should bring to public notice any such violence, and the men should not go unpunished. Unless the mothers of the men change themselves, nothing much can be achieved. It is often seen that only such women are the actual causes of all such violence, and this needs to be crushed with an iron hand.
Some counselling can indeed help, but whether this can bring about a sea change is a moot point. Some efforts have been made in some quarters. However, the young women of today, who are highly educated and are also employed, will effectively put a full stop to the dowry menace in just about twenty five years from now.
Violence of female teachers is another very disturbing trend, particularly in the cities and even in small villages. It is often related to some frustration at home, where they are not able to bear the torture of some husbands, who makes life miserable for them, through their actions. Once again, counselling can be of some help.
Violence that happens in the society, that happens when a politically leader is sent to jail on conviction, is something that needs to be curbed with an iron hand. These are instigated and carried out by the worst of criminals, who can never change. The police should teach them a lesson or two, through their own methods and make them understand the futility of their actions. Such mindless violence recently happened in Tamil Nadu, and this was disgusting, to say the least.
We need to stand up and protest when such things happen. We cannot and should not, wink at such things, that seem to only serve the purpose of encouraging violence on such a large scale. Worse, just imagine the extremely harmful effects on children, more so, when they see the visuals on screen at home.
A very disturbing trend was seen when not many political leaders came out strongly against such organized violence in Tamil Nadu. They exhibited their narrow selfish political interests than anything else.
Violence in any form, whether at home, in schools, or colleges, or in the society, should never be encouraged. We need to be ever-vigilant against violence in any form, and we should try to discourage it with all our might. Creative a big concern and a consciousness is a very good idea. The role of the police is also crucial, and this also needs to be debated and highlighted through appropriate forums.
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