Stripped

They come from all over, from distance towns, villages and spilled over around the vast army area.

All the rattling buses to city had to bear large burden of ticket-less hopefuls occupying the roof top and no one could dare to object. The fate of trains was no different with large youthful crowd singing and sitting on the curved dangerous roofs. The moment these trains entered the city limits they took bombarded stones on the houses near railway tracks. The glass panes got shattered, earthen pots vanished with bangs and few child, aged and women got hurt. The crowds in our Mera Bharat Mahan have mind of their own and reaction pattern feared by all.  Larger the crowd, all the heinous crimes would go unpunished forever. Anonymity of crowd has become safe cover and unhindered opportunities for many to let out the boiling prejudices and suppressed anger. Bigger the crowd, bigger is the collective power to damage and destroy,  attack, thrash, kill, maim, insult  and rape any one. Whatever one could not have guts and opportunities to indulge in, alone.

The large crowds confer the coveted anonymity which propels some to indulge in unimagined violence and gore. It is very disturbing that how simple and otherwise docile people get attracted to such violence, most of it reserved for young girls and women.

They ransacked the railway station with impunity and looted whatever comes their way. The vehicles got turned; people got beaten by the ever swelling rampaging mob.

The new recruitment for men was scheduled the next day. The army area was surrounded by the eager, starry eyed young men looking for a career in Indian army, the most coveted occupation for many of the sturdy youths. There had been stampede and deaths resulting from the huge unmanageable crowd. But the lesson had been not been learned and the area of the city was slowly filled by large number of youth. They come with one Rexene bag, a leaking plastic water bottle, and papers. For more compelling were lots of dreams and hope to make it and change their uneventful life forever.

Being a soldier in India army remains one of the best career options for many young Indians. The allurements are heady and dreamy aura about being a part of a glorious occupation, defending the nation, being able to wear a dashing uniform, postings in faraway exotic places and various lifelong benefits pull the strings.

The residents of the area were rudely shaken by crowd of rowdy boys occupying the space of both sides of the roads. The space to walk, park vehicles was gone with boys sleeping there and singing mournful ballads. Early morning joggers, many of them women hurried back home to escape the loud leering, whistles and cat calls.

Come, hot afternoons and the boys opened gates and perched under shed of drive ways and cool lawns. The lame objections of the residents were ignored with contempt such city bred indifference deserved. They banged doors and asked for cool refrigerated water again and again till such supplies were no more possible.

The girls and women of the house were imprisoned in back rooms, far away from being able to hear the bawdy rustic jokes and lusty songs they sung with clear purpose to make their intensions as naked as possible.

The air got fouled as the crowd eased themselves sitting on high walls of many empty plots. There were no solutions in the offing as the crowd grew large and every open space was filled by these harassed boys. The police was not foolish to try to restore any order in the huge unruly mob.

The vendors smelled business and converged to sell refreshments and sundry merchandize sought by the crowd.

Soon enough, few greedy vendors were given a befitting thrashing because of rampant exploitative pricing and rudeness shown to would be defenders of the borders.

The large administration teeming with highly educated snooty officers was blissfully unaware of the havoc being played in the capital. Newspapers reported that the long awaited recruitments were due next day but forgot to tell the whole story. They somehow had no idea of the inconveniences experienced by the residents of the area.

Most of the people were forced to stay indoors as the dangers were so large and it becomes impossible to walk or take vehicles out on roads. Every inch of space got filled with swarm of young hopefuls spilling in every hour.

          The interview time neared, the fences were pulled down, and barricades were run over.

The recruitment drive to Indian Army was now in the full patriotic glory.

Out of blue two young girls riding a scooter materialized from a side lane and stood still, undecided. They were shown the way to enter the crowd and assured of a safe get away.

They were too naive.

The hungry crowd of deprived youth pounced on them, female cries were lost in the shouts of young men eager to feel, grope and maul female bodies.

People watching from nearby house tops were too stunned to react. An  ex.  army officer noticed and took out his gun on the hoodlums and shouted them to leave the girls.

The cowards trying their luck to defend borders just ran away. They loathed leaving those two young girls crouching on tar road, every piece of cloths they wore were gone, stripped naked by the large demented crowd. They had blood oozing from nose and scratched flesh all over.

Only a few yards away a young woman driving a car was also incited to enter the crowd and she met the same gruesome fate. Her sari was pulled away making her turn in the car surprised with mortal fear. They pounced on her with naked depravity and she too turned it to mass of blood and bruises. A rifle aimed by another alert ex. army man from rooftop made the ruffians ran away.

These were too gory sights to forget but were never reported in newspapers, reasons are still unknown.

Fate of a school bus filled with deaf and dumb children was no different, only the occupants were helpless kids barely able to comprehend what was happening. The school management and parents perhaps misjudged the depravity of the crowd and made a big mistake their wards will not forget easily ever.

The bus was made to halt and hungry young men boarded the bus with clear objectives in mind.

They snatched away the tiny Tiffin boxes of wide eyed challenged kids with ferocity reserved for enemies of Mera Bhara Mahan.

They looted whatever was visible as the crew trembled in fears. The young female attendant was groped with intense severity.

All these people will never forget the scars of these beastly behaviors ever.

Do the army top brass care and aware of    severity of these repeated incidents across country and have the lessons have been learned?

Why can’t they plan the small recruitments aimed at cluster of villages and towns?

I do not know but do read such incidents repeatedly and go over those horrific moments.