In a new low for our misogynist society, women are being threatened with rape and acid attacks, for daring to raise their voices. Noted Kannada writer, film maker and script writer, Chethana Thirthahalli, received dire threats on social media after she attended a rally endorsing beef consumption and wrote articles that questioned some Hindu rituals.
“I have been receiving threats from some fundamentalists. In the threat, it was mentioned that I should not write anything critical about Hinduism and about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After I have endorsed beef eating and participated in town hall protest, they even threatened me for life. So, I thought of lodging a complaint and I did it,” said Thirthahalli, reported DNA.
In her complaint, the writer said she had been receiving the messages from Jagrutha Bharatha and Madhusudhan Gowda on Facebook for the past five to six months.
“Initially, most of the messages were from fake profiles and were reactions to my posts on Facebook. I ignored them. However, off late, Madhusudhan has been messaging me regularly especially after reading about recent protests where I have been and so on. His threats and messages are communal, anti-feminist and often obscene,” she told TOI.
“With the killing of writer Kalburgi and little progress in its investigation, I do not feel safe now. I may not be anywhere near Kalburgis’ stature, but I am afraid. So, I decided to file a complaint, especially when I realised that these people were following my every move, every post,” she added.
The police have registered a case under IPC section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (word gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman). They have also referred the case to the cyber crime cell, to trace Madhusudhan.
This is yet another footnote in ‘The Growth and the Rise of the Intolerant Indian’. Off late, a single word spoken out against the present government’s policy or a measure endorsed by them (case of the beef ban) has not resulted in a healthy debate or opposition, but nasty intolerance, name calling and in the case of women, sexual harassment. Chethana Thirthahalli isn’t the first woman to receive horrific threats of sexual violence – rape and acid attack, for ‘daring’ to speak up on political issues. Remember how badly Kavita Krishnan and Shruti Seth got trolled and abused for speaking out against the ‘selfie with the daughter’ issue?
In the past, we have never failed to speak up or make fun of our incumbent leaders and prime ministers for their involvement in corruption or other unsavoury practices, which go against the elected representative’s office. Remember how all of us trolled Manmohan Singh as the ‘silent prime minister’? Today the same public is not allowed to speak out a word against the present government and then this is what happens to an author who protests her right to eat the food of her choice. What is this country coming to?
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