Surely my honour, you are joking?

The medicine should never be stronger than the disease.

Let me tell you where the thought originated. The Supreme Court has passed a ruling that no vehicle in this country can carry tinted glasses – no matter what the percentage level of darkness. And the reason: because a few perverts in our country have resorted to raping women in moving vehicles. A further piece of wisdom is: It is ok if your car comes tinted from the manufacturer – but not ok if you get it tinted, even within permissible limits.

Well, what the hell?..... What kind of logic is that??

Let me first clarify. I am a strong supporter of women’s rights. And particularly on the heinous crime of rape, I do feel the punishment meted out by our courts need to be much stronger. So, whatever I say below is not to trivialize this issue of rape, but to moderate the way we handle this issue.

Coming back – removing all tinted glasses irrespective of how dark the shade? Isn’t that a bit extreme? Isn’t that like painting all Indians driving a vehicle with one big brush that says, “potential rapist inside!”. Also, by saying it is ok if it comes tinted by the manufacturer – but not ok if you get it tinted yourself, within permissible limits – what is the honorable judge trying to say? “We don’t trust any of you citizens to act responsibly, but the manufacturers – oh yes, we do”.

If the logic of passing this judgment be right, then by the same logic:

• No Indian should be allowed to marry, since there are wife beaters amongst us.

• No Indian should be allowed to drive a car, since some do drive rashly and cause accidents

• No Indian should be allowed to have children since some parents do ill-treat their children

• All politicians should be sent to jail, since some of them are known to be corrupt

• Nobody flying in planes should be allowed to wear shoes and er.. undies – afterall someone tried bombing planes that way!

I can go on and on…… But, the point is – I think, as Dilbert would say - the honorable court is addressing the wrong problem. The core problem is not in the tinted glasses (though I do think there is a case for the very dark ones to be removed or replaced) – but in controlling the perverted behavior.

 

What could be the solution? Well – there are enough theories and wise men who can answer that question better than me. However, there is one interesting theory that holds some plausible answers. It is called the “Broken Window Theory”.

It says that in a neighborhood where buildings have broken windows, people are more likely to engage in bad behavior. Maybe because they figure no one will care. Or there’s little chance they’ll get caught. The idea has been embraced by people in law enforcement—crack down on petty crime and you’ll also put a halt to more serious offenses. New York City, for example, used the logic to justify a “zero tolerance” approach to things like the squeegeeing of car windows & on ticketless travel in the underground metro. Crime did go down in New York city. Similarly, Dutch scientists found that cyclists who parked their bikes near a wall covered in graffiti were twice as likely to litter than people who parked near the same wall after it was painted clean.

So the point is – if we are really serious about plugging crime, start with the small offenders. Mete out exemplary punishment to the eve teasers, to the drunks who cause a public nuisance, to the traffic offenders (especially to the ones who drive in the opposite direction in one-way streets), to the people who scribble obscenities within housing complex lifts. Send out the message that you are really serious about setting things right. And maybe, just maybe – we will see the serious offenses coming down too. If it has worked in a once-upon-a-time high crime city like New York, good chances it will work here too.

And in the meanwhile your honour, please do spare us innocent souls from the harshness of the Delhi heat and sun!