The glorious full moon of Shravan Poornima marks the celebration of Raksha Bandhan, a festival which celebrates the sacred bond between a brother and a sister. Sisters tie a piece of sacred thread, the Rakhi, which today of course has taken on many beautiful and even futuristic designs and forms, on their brother’s wrists. The brothers in turn pledge that they will stand by their sister and protect her in times of need. It is also customary for the brother to gift their sisters on this pious occasion, which also brings siblings together, despite the distances that modern life may have brought in.
Legend has it that when Lord Krishna was once hurt, Draupadi ripped off a piece of her saree and tied it around his bleeding finger. Krishna was really touched by her gesture, and vowed to protect ‘his sister’ when she was in danger or need. When Draupadi’s brother-in-laws, the evil Kauravas Dushana and Duryodhana were trying to disrobe her, she called out to Krishna for help, and he came to her rescue at once, making her saree infinitely long and protecting her modesty.
As we celebrate this festival, a firestorm is raging in Kolkata and across the country. Furious doctors, enraged by the horrendous rape and murder of a young doctor, as she was resting after a gruelling shift, are protesting for justice and safer working conditions, especially our sisters, our women. Whilst the investigation is still on-going, the sheer brutality and criminal intent that have come to light in early reports are spine-chilling, and beggars belief as to how someone could have subjected a fellow human being with such cruelty.
Women are conquering new frontiers each day, especially in the field of medicine, to which we all owe so much, especially given the recent pandemic. It is our collective duty to ensure that we can provide a safe working environment for them, free from objectification and harassment, and stand up for our sisters if we see that they are in a vulnerable position. Unchecked human depravity knows no bounds, as we have witnessed in this case, so the slightest hint of any criminal tendencies should be challenged and checked to ensure women’s safety at home, in the workplace and beyond.
The gruesome Nirbhaya rape and murder in 2012 mobilised the whole country to bring the perpetrators to justice. Sadly, it has taken the irreparable and painful death of yet another one of our sisters to reignite the dwindling flame of consciousness around women’s safety in our country. It is our responsibility as a people to ensure that something like this is never repeated, be it having more stringent laws or their more efficient execution, but above all, being more vigilant and weeding out the criminals who threaten their safety.
