Keenan-Rueben Murder Case: Is it Wrong to Stand up for What is Right?
By Diana Menezes
Mumbai, Nov 8: First of all my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of Keenan and Reuben.
Being a young woman born and brought up in Mumbai, the story of Keenan and Rueben has personally disturbed my mind. Sitting thousands of miles away from Mumbai and reading the various versions of this incident on the internet and news channels, one question that remains unanswered in my mind is - Will Keenan and Rueben ever get justice? When Kasab hasn't been hanged yet, I wonder if the 13 murderers will ever climb at least the steps of the court. I hate to say all this, but I too am an Indian, a Mumbaiyya dil se - and we cannot run away from the reality we are living.
Eve-teasing is not a recent invention. Young girls and women have always been the target of anti-social goons on the road. Young girls and women, irrespective of their age had no privilege to ever roam freely on streets or have a late night life. Be it alone or in groups, with husbands or dads, women never escaped eve-teasing. Today while the memories of this ghastly incident is still alive in our minds, can we take inspiration from these two young boys and raise our voices enough to bring an end to this hateful life of women? Can we raise our voices loud enough that Keenan and Reuben hear us and feel proud of what they see?
How many of us are going to be the next Keenan and Reuben? How many of us are going to keep our voices raised until someone has heard it? How many of us are genuinely gathered to support and not to just be a part of some happening event and talk of the town. Terrorist walk into our country kill the hundreds of innocent lives in our neighbourhood - Mumbai is back to life the next day.... Is this what each mumbaikar should be proud of?
What justice is it that we need to fight for? Is it a tit- for- tat? Or seeing the murderers hang to death or imprisoned for life is justice? Justice will be done to Keenan & Rueben and to all their loved ones when these murderers and their sponsorers are punished as per the law. Justice will be done if every next person who attempts to eve tease a girl tomorrow would remember the punishment given to this gang of murderers and stop himself. Justice will be done if the people guarding the law and order situation in this country pull out every anti-social group from every corner of Mumbai and rest of the nation and punishes them. Justice will be done if our own sisters and mothers could walk freely on the streets of Mumbai every night feeling safe and respected. When will that justice prevail?
Sorry if I offend anyone, but sincerely I do not expect any politician or any government official to support us today. These people fight with hidden motives and intentions. They are faced with innumerous scams today and they are busy saving their own asses. It’s the people’s voice that will make a difference. The hundreds gathered at the funeral and the millions on Facebook and Twitter are the ones I am calling to gather. Let's raise one big voice of humanity and make a difference. Frankly speaking I too have no idea how to make a difference within a corrupt system, but I do know we must set every ass involved in this on fire. What Keenan and Reuben started we got to finish. Their names should never be history and neither should what they fought for.
Where are the photos of murderers? Why cant we call a Mumbai Bandh to mourn our loss? Where is policeman who barged into the ICU room of Reuben in the hospital and possibly added to the agony of Reuben? Fourteen days of custody and then what happens to the murderers? Did the bystanders who watched it all have no spine? Is this story going to get lost just like the serial bomb blasts or the terrorist attack? Is this incident going to be just another one to talk of town and forgotten in a few days?
One of my friends asked me today: Where is Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachann, Sachin Tendulkar? Oh, they are celebrities… They talk only when something happens to their family and their industry... May be they don’t feel the pulse of the Mumbai’s crying hearts…May be they are scripting this story and signing some contracts for the next up coming movie on Keenan and Reuben... ???
It's high time we take back the right to make justice from the hands of cowards in this society. Let us all together give a new definition to Justice.
I remember a quote from my childhood: "come on India dikhado, Duniya ko hilado"
Let us not leave this incomplete. We assure support to Keenan and Reuben's family till the end....