I was about to book a taxi today in a jiffy, when my cousin prompted me to verify whether the service provider has been banned or is permitted to work in the Delhi. I quickly brushed aside her qualms by applying the obvious logic that the number won’t work if the service is banned. Keeping this trivia aside, it is interesting to note that, we as Indians come to our senses only when there is a major dent on the existing socio-politico-economic functioning of the society at large. It is as if, preventive measures are absent or we can put it as preventive measures had never existed. Somebody needs to get duped, robbed, murdered or raped in order to bring laws and regulations to avert, monitor and punish the perpetrators of such crime. It’s about time, we should start becoming proactive, and I won’t use the adjective “more” as I am afraid to admit that we were never proactive at the first place.
As per the Wikipedia “proactivity or proactive behavior by individuals refers to anticipatory, change-oriented and self-initiated behavior in situations” Adding to the definition, it is through proactivity that an individual or an organization is able to deal with the complications in the future by identifying the possible loopholes in the system and rectifying it effectively in a timely manner. The enquiry into the recent rape case highlights the gross deficiency of authority in the present monitoring of transport services, keep aside being proactive for bringing a positive change. It is shocking to note that so many commercial taxi services have propped up, wherein booking is done online, sms and confirmatory calls are sent but the license of drivers are invalid, registrations of vehicles is not present, no background checks being made on the drivers etc. It is like painting a dilapidated rickety house with brand new emulsion paint and selling out with extravagant advertising. Such a sorry state of affairs we have ended up with, business houses have got away easily, displaying a blatant disregard of these norms and still continue to rake up more and more profit. Regulations for tariff charges are also completely absent, some taxis offering 15/km in contrast to others offering an astronomical 25/km, whom should we believe will be having a greater service and better security? The cheaper one or the costlier option? Undoubtedly, proactivity, is the need of the hour, the need to tighten the regulatory norms in issuing of driving licensees, audit of commercial transport providers and tariff charges. Numerous other options would help enormously in this scenario, turning around the situation to the positive half.
The women in our society seldom have the luxury to enjoy outdoor parties, excursions, picnic alone these days. Even as a couple they are no good at fending off the criminals who keep lurking in the streets. Such a pathetic world, it may seem to the girls, with whom I have enormous sympathy. It would be so suffocating to live in a society wherein you are forced to agree with what to wear, what to eat, whom to talk, where to go and when to come/go/do all the time. Somebody rightly protested “don’t ask our girls to stop going out, instead ask your boys to behave responsibly”. Despite of media and social campaigns at a colossal level to develop the social mindset, we are still knee deep into orthodoxy favoring the males. As some people are heard saying “if you provoke, it’s but natural to be molested”, shocking it is, but sadly this is ingrained deep into the mindsets of the majority of population even in the educated urbane dwellers. What should one do then? It seems the girls are bound to suffer in this society aren’t they?
Well, keeping the lax in the authority in actively filling up the loopholes and also keeping in mind the existing conditions, the female society has to far more vigilant. It doesn’t do any harm while grouping up together for late night excursions, suppose you are alone, it’s not a bad idea to reveal the whereabouts to somebody whom you trust. Drinking is fine, but in case you are on the verge of dozing off, it would be a great decision to immediately ask your friends to pick you up, at least inform them. After all, you don’t want to be in the company of a stranger whilst you are not in senses. Some would raise questions, why make all this fuss, can’t the girls enjoy and come out in taxi safely, why does Delhi or India has to be like this. I agree to your concerns citizen Kane, but things don’t change so swiftly, its far better to exercise certain safety precautions than to risk everything at stake. Things like this are no stranger to modern societies like the United States as well, where girls get raped at college frat parties after being drunk. Human nature is subject to many vices, and you never know who would turn out to be like whom.
To conclude, it won’t be wrong to blame the transport authority for having such a languid approach to regulating norms in the city. They should immediately start monitoring and conduct audits to gauge the existing practice of background checks of drivers, proper licenses and tariff regulation. A welcome initiative in this direction has been the publishing of a list of authorized cab service providers by the department and subsequent banning of services non complaisant with the existing norms. Safeguards to be used by girls for their safety, carrying of pepper spray, informing the friends/relatives of whereabouts will help enormously in helping all of us in fighting this menace together much more efficiently and effectively. Thus by pro-actively implementing concrete actions in this and many other spheres of the society, we will be able to make it a safer place for everyone.
As per the Wikipedia “proactivity or proactive behavior by individuals refers to anticipatory, change-oriented and self-initiated behavior in situations” Adding to the definition, it is through proactivity that an individual or an organization is able to deal with the complications in the future by identifying the possible loopholes in the system and rectifying it effectively in a timely manner. The enquiry into the recent rape case highlights the gross deficiency of authority in the present monitoring of transport services, keep aside being proactive for bringing a positive change. It is shocking to note that so many commercial taxi services have propped up, wherein booking is done online, sms and confirmatory calls are sent but the license of drivers are invalid, registrations of vehicles is not present, no background checks being made on the drivers etc. It is like painting a dilapidated rickety house with brand new emulsion paint and selling out with extravagant advertising. Such a sorry state of affairs we have ended up with, business houses have got away easily, displaying a blatant disregard of these norms and still continue to rake up more and more profit. Regulations for tariff charges are also completely absent, some taxis offering 15/km in contrast to others offering an astronomical 25/km, whom should we believe will be having a greater service and better security? The cheaper one or the costlier option? Undoubtedly, proactivity, is the need of the hour, the need to tighten the regulatory norms in issuing of driving licensees, audit of commercial transport providers and tariff charges. Numerous other options would help enormously in this scenario, turning around the situation to the positive half.
The women in our society seldom have the luxury to enjoy outdoor parties, excursions, picnic alone these days. Even as a couple they are no good at fending off the criminals who keep lurking in the streets. Such a pathetic world, it may seem to the girls, with whom I have enormous sympathy. It would be so suffocating to live in a society wherein you are forced to agree with what to wear, what to eat, whom to talk, where to go and when to come/go/do all the time. Somebody rightly protested “don’t ask our girls to stop going out, instead ask your boys to behave responsibly”. Despite of media and social campaigns at a colossal level to develop the social mindset, we are still knee deep into orthodoxy favoring the males. As some people are heard saying “if you provoke, it’s but natural to be molested”, shocking it is, but sadly this is ingrained deep into the mindsets of the majority of population even in the educated urbane dwellers. What should one do then? It seems the girls are bound to suffer in this society aren’t they?
Well, keeping the lax in the authority in actively filling up the loopholes and also keeping in mind the existing conditions, the female society has to far more vigilant. It doesn’t do any harm while grouping up together for late night excursions, suppose you are alone, it’s not a bad idea to reveal the whereabouts to somebody whom you trust. Drinking is fine, but in case you are on the verge of dozing off, it would be a great decision to immediately ask your friends to pick you up, at least inform them. After all, you don’t want to be in the company of a stranger whilst you are not in senses. Some would raise questions, why make all this fuss, can’t the girls enjoy and come out in taxi safely, why does Delhi or India has to be like this. I agree to your concerns citizen Kane, but things don’t change so swiftly, its far better to exercise certain safety precautions than to risk everything at stake. Things like this are no stranger to modern societies like the United States as well, where girls get raped at college frat parties after being drunk. Human nature is subject to many vices, and you never know who would turn out to be like whom.
To conclude, it won’t be wrong to blame the transport authority for having such a languid approach to regulating norms in the city. They should immediately start monitoring and conduct audits to gauge the existing practice of background checks of drivers, proper licenses and tariff regulation. A welcome initiative in this direction has been the publishing of a list of authorized cab service providers by the department and subsequent banning of services non complaisant with the existing norms. Safeguards to be used by girls for their safety, carrying of pepper spray, informing the friends/relatives of whereabouts will help enormously in helping all of us in fighting this menace together much more efficiently and effectively. Thus by pro-actively implementing concrete actions in this and many other spheres of the society, we will be able to make it a safer place for everyone.
Very succinct!!
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