Law & Order

One of my favorite TV shows from home are the Law & Order series (the original and SVU, I hate the guy on Criminal Intent and can't stand to watch him). One of the best aspects of being addicted to these shows is that one is probably showing on some channel or another at any given time, the shows are ubiquitous. This is an addiction that has been not been fed for the past two years though as the show is not aired in India. This was a surprising to me as there are plenty of American television programs over here: Lost, Heroes, Amazing Race, 90210, and tons more. So why wouldn't such a popular show make it to Indian television? Well, I have over the past two weeks developed a hypothesis following an incident that occurred now two weeks ago that I think I am now ready to share.

I was walking home from work as I do every day and each day I stop at a construction site on a quiet side street about 2 blocks from my apartment to feed a dog, Ram and a puppy, Leo who I have written about before on this blog. Leo is the little black and white pup that I am still trying to find a home for. I like to stop in the afternoons and give them biscuits and water now that it is getting hot and just play with them and pet them for a bit. On this particular day I was kneeling down emptying the contents of a package of biscuits for Ram and Leo when I heard a loud noise. This noise scared Ram and he barked a couple of times and I looked up to find a car flying down the street. The car swerved towards Ram, trying to hit him and he began to run down the street to avoid the car which was pursuing him. I was shocked and angry and wanted to stop this person from hitting my sweet and gentle Ram so I jumped up (as any normal, rational feeling human would)and ran to the middle of the street and shouted out at the car to knock it off. I probably yelled at them something like, "What in the hell are you idiots doing?" or something of the kind. This had the desired effect as it did divert the attention of the driver from the dog as he slammed on his brakes and dirt went flying as he slid to a stop. I then saw he driver put his car in reverse (the reverse lights at the back at car came on) and I wondered "What in the hell is this moron doing?" Well, he hit the gas deliberately backing into me and knocking me into a motorcycle parked along the roadside. I jumped up and ran to the driver's open window and yelled inside at him and his passenger in the front seat. I didn't get to yell long as he again hit the gas and made his escape like the complete coward that he is.

It is not fun to go through an experience like this but unfortunately what follows in India is likely worse than the original offense. After the gutless moron had run away like a sissy a large crowd (maybe 50 people or so) gathered around me, they had been drawn by the commotion caused by barking dogs, a screaming woman and screeching tires. Luckily a couple of people who I have spoken to before on the street had witnessed the incident and were a part of the crowd. This is lucky because a good many of the group certainly didn't speak any English and were just gawking at the shaken foreigner so having a couple of people there with whom I could communicate was a big help. Several members of the crowd had noted the license plate number as well as the make and model of the car and I set off to walk to the nearest police station with three of the English-speaking witnesses (calling 911 or some equivalent is not an option, if one needs the police you have to go to them, not vice versa). When we arrived at the police station we were directed to speak with an old, pudgy policeman who barely even looked up from his newspaper as my companions related the incident to him in Kannada (the local language). He was not at all bothered by the incident that had taken place less than a quarter mile from his station and told us that I could not file a report at that station, we would need to go to a different station in Hebbal, a station around 10-15 minutes away by autorickshaw. I was not in the mood to drive all around Bangalore to try to convince unabashedly crooked cops to do their damn job, I just wanted to go home so I left the station and walked home. When I got to my apartment my landlords saw that I was upset and asked what was wrong and I related to them the day's events. They were concerned, but they seemed more concerned about me filing a police report. They were scared that whoever had done this might be a gangster who might have connections with the police (the police here are not only lazy and incompetent but are notoriously corrupt and can often be bought) and and that filing a report might put me in more danger or that the "goondas" might retaliate if I pressed them even if they were not associated with the police. This might all seem a bit overly-dramatic to most of you, it certainly was to me but this is reality in India, even in Bangalore, one of the so-called most cosmopolitan cities in the country. Most of my friends and associates later agreed that it was probably safer to not file a report with the police, and anyway, they said, most likely nothing would come of filing the report anyway.

After arriving back to my apartment I called Eric and told him what had happened and he was obviously angry and worried and he immediately decided to book a flight and come over to make sure I was alright. I had also spoken to some of my friends and they were kind enough to come to my apartment and visit with me for a few hours that evening. After a couple of days I received an email from my boss (who knew nothing of this incident) describing an attack that had taken place just a few days before mine where a group of women were beaten by a gang of men after the ladies had yelled at them for driving recklessly. I decided to speak to my boss about the incident and then learned that for the last month or so women have been targeted and attacked all over the city and that my case was not an isolated incident but rather part of a disturbing and sickening pattern. The attacks are perpetrated on women who are speaking English, wearing jeans or other Western wear (on the day of my attack I was wearing jeans and knee-length kurta (shirt)) and for what reason we can only guess. Most likely we have been targeted in the name of morality, culture and “public decency” by fundamentalist Hindus or pro-Karnataka factions. Because I learned that this is a new trend in Bangalore and not just an isolated attack I decided to file a police report, but by proxy. My institute offered to file the report on my behalf so I wrote a description of the incident leaving out my mobile number and home address to try to prevent police harassment and to attempt to be as safe as possible and an official from NCBS went to the Hebbal police station (where I had been told by the first police station to file the report). He was told that a report could not be filed at that station either and they sent him to a third station. Upon finally arriving at the correct station he was told that they would not file a hit and run report as there was no serious injury to me ( I had only minor bumps and bruises and a minor case of whip-lash so I didn't bother going to the hospital) or to any vehicle that I might have been driving. So apparently you can go around India hitting, slapping, pushing, running down, or raping anyone that you like as long as you don't leave a mark. I will definitely keep this in mind in the future. Finally after telling the police that I was a foreigner and I didn't go to the hospital because I was scared or some other crap the police did accept the report and have opened a case. So let's see what happens, I'm not holding my breath.

I have never been a big fan of the police in the US. They always struck me as out to get me, pulling me over for speeding to work when I was running late and hiding around every corner to hand out an expensive ticket for what I perceived to be nothing important, some stupid pointless law. Like so many other things that I took for granted, that most of us take for granted every day, I can now appreciate not only police but the also laws that they enforce. You think it's ridiculous to get a speeding ticket? Try living somewhere where speeding laws aren't enforced at all. When the law is meaningless then there can be no order and where there is no order there is chaos. And chaos is not safe, it is not comfortable and it is impossible to feel secure once you are confronted with the reality of the situation. It is disorienting to realize that you are powerless, that you have no ally or recourse in the event of an emergency and you begin to walk though life with your fingers perpetually crossed, hoping to stay out of harm's way. How one lives their entire life like this is unimaginable.

I don't know what is happening over here but the one thing that I do know is that I can't wait to leave it all behind. As I said, it is horrible enough to be hit by a car deliberately but it is much worse to know that there is nothing that can be done to either punish or prevent it and that the government turns a blind eye to this sort of barbarism. I am not sure what direction India is headed in if this is the new Bangalore. This sort of thing happens very frequently in the North but the South of the country has always been more immune to this type of behavior and I worry that this is the face of the New India.

Now I think that I understand why Law & Order isn't shown here, no Indian would be able to believe that a police force exists that actually does its job, doesn't expect a bribe to get something done and cares for the community (not to say the police force in the US is perfect but if you are hit by a car I am pretty sure if you call 911 a cop will show up right away and actually try to help). If Indians actually knew that something like this existed then they might stand up and demand better. On the other hand, The Shield is aired in India, a police drama that is probably much more believable to the average Indian based on their pathetic experiences with what passes for law enforcement in this country.

For more information concerning the recent attacks on women in Bangalore you can read these accounts and read this and this and this article in the Hindu