~ Asha Devi, Nirbhaya’s mother….Jaitley speaks out his mindset: 1 “small incident of rape” advertised world over is enough 2 cost us billions of $ in tourism…..@arunjaitley laments about one ‘small’ incident of rape, @PIB_India deletes small from speech text……
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It is a fact that people have in-built expectations about how public figures will behave. We expect the (senior) Leader to be business-like (and dictatorial) in thought, speech and action. We expect the (junior) Leader to be a fire-breather: our Hindu sisters and daughters are in danger and we should take revenge. We expect Madam to stay silent on pogrom I (against Sikhs in 1984) and talk non-stop about pogrom II (against muslims, 2002). We expect Arundhati Roy to be cursing the super-castes and hero-worshiping the Maoists.
Arun Jaitley is a more complex character. He was the person who admitted (ref. Wiki-leaks) that for the BJP, Hindutva is not a matter of conviction….just a ploy to win elections. Yes, we believe that is indeed the case (but it does not make us feel any better about the BJP or the tactics it chooses to use).
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question of Hindutva, Jaitley argued that Hindu nationalism ‘will always be a
talking point’ for the BJP. However, he characterized this as an opportunistic
issue,” Robert Blake, the Charge at the US Embassy, said to his government
after a meeting with Jaitley on May 6, 2005.
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Jaitley is respected (and even loved) by friends and foes alike. He is that unlikely character, an under-stated and over-intellectual Punjabi Brahmin. The only negative comment we note is from William Dalrymple- he calls Jaitley a “dark genius.”
Looking beyond the ghastly faux-pas that he has made (compounded by refusing to apologize cleanly….we would recommend asking for forgiveness from the family), it provides us a worrisome glimpse into the elite mind.
They are really not too bothered about the fact that a girl in the 21st century does not have freedom to enjoy an evening with her partner in the capital city of India.The loss to business…the loss of jobs…that is the true worry.
That also leads to a separate but important question: why do tourists come to visit India (or any other country) and what are their expectations? If a country was neat, clean, and safe, and cheap…would tourists give a second thought about human rights? Chinese tourists are visiting Sri Lanka (personal experience) while Germans have not stopped visiting Thailand.
There is no question that tourism has been affected…but that should motivate us even more to correct the problem. For us the equation is simple: India will improve (and not just the economy) only when the condition of the women improve. Yes, boys are falling behind, alarmingly so in many areas, and we should be mindful of that. But the patriarchy must go….even if it is replaced by anarchy (we dont believe that will happen).
At the end of the day Arun Jaitley showed that everything said and done he is just another “typical Indian man.” And that is both sad and disappointing.
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at the centre of a row over his “small rape incident” remark with attack
being mounted on him from various quarters even as he said he had not
referred to any particular case and that he had no intention of
trivialising any crime.
….
“I regret that the statement has been construed or some word that I have
used have been construed as insensitive. That was never my intention,”
he said in his clarification.
He was referring to his remarks made yesterday at the annual state
tourism ministers’ conference that “one small incident” of rape in
Delhi, advertised world over, was enough to cost India millions of
dollars in terms of global tourism.
…
Though he had not specified any incident, his remarks were seen to be a
reference to the rape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old paramedic girl
on December 16, 2012 in the capital over which the entire country was
outraged and protests were held all over.
…
Jaitley said he has always been outspoken on issues relating to crimes, particularly those against women. “I am very sensitive to these issues myself and there is no question of
trivialising any crime or any particular incident. I had not referred to
any particular incident,” he said.
…
The minister said he had spoken “in general” on how crime can hurt
tourism and the image of crime against women itself dissuades tourists
from coming to India.
…
Criticising Jaitley’s remarks, victim Nirbhaya’s mother said, “He has
disappointed me. During elections they had used Nirbhaya’s name for
political gains and after coming into power they call it a small
incident.”
…
Her father said, “We are deeply hurt by what he has said. No rape is
small, each rape incident is shameful for a country and when public
figures and politicians make such statements it looks so insensitive.
They should remember that when they speak, not only our country but the
whole world listens.”
…
Member of National Commission of Women (NCW) Nirmala Sawant said, “It is
wrong from the part of a minister to make such remarks and compare how
such crime can hurt country’s economy. His remark is very unfortunate. I
condemn it.”
…
The word “small”, however, was edited out of his speech transcript released by the Press Information Bureau.
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Link: One-Small-Incident-Of-Rape-In-Delhi-Arun-Jaitley
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regards