These are some of the few adjectives that come across my mind when I see the way the Indian media is handling the horrific murder of Scarlett Keeling.
A young 15 year old girl was drugged, raped and left to die on a beach in Goa. I saw an episode of “We the People” on NDTV recently, and the attitude of the people and the media in general really shocked and disgusted me.
The show had a mix of Indians, tourists (from the UK mostly) and Goans to give the show a wide perspective. But what I saw from Indians and Goans was totally cheap and underhanded tactics to evade the controversy. It seems like the media and in general – the Indian public have become more or less defensive of this issue rather than face the situation. Goans especially seemed to take it a little too personally and most of them were singing songs praising Goa. I mean sure Goa is a great place and all – it doesn’t change the fact that an under-aged girl got killed there. So stop making excuses for yourself and take some responsibility. Find the a******s who did this and hang them. (I also personally feel that the punishment for rape should be capital punishment) A certain Mr. Sequiera who was a part of the show was mindlessly defending the police (and Goa) – wish I could post his comments, but his arguments were not worth remembering. I don’t think anybody or anything can defend this terrible incident.
Well its great to see Indians all uniting for a common cause – but here – it was all about ganging up on a mother who lost her child. Most Indians on this show were all about victimizing Fiona MacKeown and brutally criticizing her parenting skills. It was disturbing to see that it was mostly women who were rebuking Fiona and blaming her for her daughter’s death. One would have thought that women would have empathized with another woman who lost her child…… Nevertheless, instead of addressing the real issue at hand, which is the terrible crime committed by Indian men – they were focusing on Fiona, highlighting her parenting skills (which I will agree were at best – mediocre) and holding her responsible for her daughter’s death.
I have to give it to the Indian media for being so thorough and meticulous in their homework. Lets see some of the aspects of this case that news channels and news papers were talking about –
1. Fiona is a bad irresponsible mother – (Okay I agree that’s true – but is it so important that the real culprits seem to be completely sidelined???)
2. Fiona stabbed a sex pest trying to get fresh with a friend – (actually I applaud her for that)
3. Her home in Devon is crap – (This is important to the case because???)
4. She takes drugs – (well she didn’t rape her daughter did she???)
5. Scarlett was sexually active as a minor – (Wake up people – a lot of Indian minors are too – I don’t think it justifies rape and murder)
6. Well it happens in UK as well – (Oh yes – why don’t we all start hacking people with machetes – happened in Rwanda)
And then we have totally incompetent ministers like Ravi Naik – who is unfortunately the Home minister for Goa. The government of Goa not only tried to cover up the tragedy but is also trying to ban Fiona to re enter India. These politicians are using these aggressive tactics only because they realize that their dirty laundry is being aired in public. What do they have to hide? What are they afraid of? Its quite pathetic that we did not have a single leader who could stand up and face the truth – A 15 year old was raped and murdered – IN GOA!!!! It is about time that we face the problems of drug/substance abuse in Goa – but oh wait – that is never going to happen because our respectable political leaders are already knee deep in this business.
Check the link out below for more information.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa_doesnt_want_Fiona_to_come_back/articleshow/2875465.cms
Yes I agree that Fiona was a terrible and completely irresponsible mother. She was stupid to leave her daughter with a stranger. But why are we Indians focusing on that?? Are we so ashamed that we cannot face and accept that this crime occurred in OUR LAND? Do we not have the guts to feel sorry that this happened in our country? Do we not have the competence to find and punish the perpetrators of this heinous crime? Why in the world are we focusing on all aspects except for the murder? Why cant we all raise our voices against the men who committed this murder?
India has always been welcoming to foreigners. I also know that most Indians have honour and integrity and would be ashamed as this event has scarred our accepting and hospitable image. However, to see this cowardice and general lack of outraged shown by Indians has saddened me. I would like to see Indians show a little more responsibility – this is our country and it is our job to make it safe and attractive for tourists. We need to set our own standards and not look to other countries as a benchmark. Many Indians live safely and comfortably in the UK, US and Gulf – its about time that we learn the hospitality we so proudly preach.
Life is a sine wave 