Yes, I am in India! :(

<<Originally penned in Sep 2013>>

The incident which I am gonna share now happened some time back. But I remember it every now and then. Today I couldn’t control myself but to put them into words and share it with a few people whom I know.

Dec 16 2012, the day I had my ticket from NY to Hyderabad (via New Delhi), back to India, back to My Mother Land. As planned everything went on well and boarded my flight with mixed feelings. I had spent almost a year in US and now I was leaving with lots of memories in my bag. The flight journey was as expected and finally I landed in New Delhi the next day. I had heard from many of my friends, how it feels when we land in India after spending a considerable time abroad. One of my friends had actually said that she just wanted to kiss the mother land as soon as she landed. I too was excited. I got down from the flight and was walking towards the domestic gates to board my connecting flight.

I had not been at the Indira Gandhi International airport before, so was looking intently around since I may not be here so soon. It was no less than any international airport and was impressed. After the security checkup, which took a while, I saw a telephone booth. I rushed to it and called my Dad to inform that I have landed in New Delhi and my next flight is on schedule. I had to now go towards the domestic section. On the way there were many outlets of Indian and international brands. I glanced through each one and was walking leisurely. Suddenly I felt something unnatural. But didn’t understand why? Ignoring, I moved a little ahead and saw an outlet for chocolates. I had 2 big packs of chocolates already in my luggage, but still couldn’t resist and scanned through the varieties. There was this pack of Lindt chocolates which I didn’t taste at all. So went to the counter and purchased them, really happy with the new addition. Again I felt the same uneasiness as before - A man dressed in a uniform with the GMR emblem was staring at me! I wondered am I not dressed normally. I moved little ahead and saw another man who was handling a vacuum cleaner to do the cleaning of the carpet trying for glances at me….. At last I realized…. “Yes! I am in INDIA”.  

The bitter truth sunk through me. I never expected that the realization will dawn on me in this way. Being born and spending all my life but 1 yr in India, as a female, this is something which we get used to it subconsciously. Just sighing in my inside mind, neglected the stares and went and sat near the gate through which I was going to board the next flight. I gave a glance at my fellow passengers and then on the TV. One of the news channels was reporting something on cricket but scrolling news said, “A 23 yr old female was gang raped in a moving bus in New Delhi last night….”

That news was just any ordinary one until a week later when protests had started in different parts of the country. That incident shook the whole country, but failed to make any impact on the laws pertaining to the brutal crime. Even today, when we glance through the newspapers, we read similar incidents, happening more than one in a day, across the country. Irrespective of the age of a female, the crime is performed and the criminal gets out very easily. Each day, I have this question to myself, to which I have no answer – “Will girls / women ever feel secured and walk without hesitation in our own country?”