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Saturday, May 24, 2008

Arushi Talwar - Prelude to a Problem

Arushi Talwar was killed in cold blood by none other than her own father. No matter what the arguments are on the motive behind the crime the act of murder itself remains as irredeemable as ever. When seen in the light of the love, affection and bonding that characterizes a father-daughter relationship and the manner in which all these tenets of parenting was brutally abused it seems that bit more gruesome, heinous and repulsive. While one half of the shocked viewership demands for ‘exemplary punitive action’ the other half delves into deciphering the hints that this incident provides to ‘the bigger picture’.


The Police say that Rajesh Talwar killed his 14 year old daughter and their domestic help in a fit of rage on seeing them in ‘an objectionable position’. No father could have gone back to business after such an incident, of course, but is that reason enough to prompt an otherwise loving father to slit his daughter’s throat in cold blood. I believe not. The very fact that a 14 year old sought solace in the company of a friendly household help tells us a story- A story which is not uncommon in many of the ‘upwardly mobile’ middle class homes of Indian metros. A story of mindless ambition, aspirations, neglect and stress. A story of disintegrating families, values and morals. While soul searching in times of oppressive stress is a heck of a stiff ask but a doctor who is supposed to hold his own even at the sight of blood and flesh could have done better than murder for sure, that too in the name of ‘Honor Killing’. If ever there was a feebler excuse for murder, more obnoxious in appearance and more odious in nature I would be surprised. Why didn’t the doctor feel sorry in the first place that he was not able to inculcate in his own daughter the values of chastity, modesty and reserve that he seemingly cherishes so much? Why didn’t the fact drown him in shame that it was due to his own neglect and complete disregard for his daughter’s needs of love and affection that she had to turn to someone he would disapprove of ? Why didn’t Rajesh Talwar have the decency of committing suicide to relieve him of his failures? The very fact that he showed scant regard for such probing questions before acting in such brutal a manner shows craven escapism and irresponsibility on his part.


With further unraveling of facts Arushis’s story becomes increasingly an alarming study into the Great Indian Middle Class, its fast shifting paradigms and its associate evils. As debate rages over the more disconcerting pointers that her murder provides to our lifestyles one wonders if we need a dead Arushi every week to shake us up from our slumbers of false contentment and introspect. May be Rajesh Talwar will feign derangement or use his influence to go scot free, may be he will be nailed and punished. Whichever way the verdict turns out the collective whole of us need to think which way we are heading. And fast.



10 comments:

Saim said...

that unfortunately is what v have cum 2...as much as i wud like 2 think of this as just an aberration, it wud be benign to do so coz the reaction maybe an exception but it's causes are very much the rule!!!
and the saddest part is that it requires a 14 yr old girl's senseless murder for us to acknowledge the problem...

Anonymous said...

Based on the publicly available information thus far, it's not clear to me whether the Talwar case is a dishonor killing case.

But I hope justice is served.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"

Occasional Brilliance said...

what i dont understand is that why is the police stressing "affairs" as the only motive for this murder? there are many conflicting reports that something has been happening that the VIP patients that Talwar had want covered up... why is it that when the police are asked to elaborate, they go all cagey?

RiĆ  said...

Yes it is indeed shocking tht such a thing cud happen!! Its very disturbing coz it proves tht one shud not trust anybody but wht does one do when it comes to trusting ur own parents!? btw thts a nice blog u hav.

Anonymous said...

A new revelation has come in which explains not only the killing but also the behaviour of the mother Nupur, as also the Durranis and indeed the police.


WIFESWAPPING .

There is ground to believe the swapping extended to their social circuit.Can you think of any other reason which explians all? None.

Amazing Graze said...

If the girl was indeed indulging in unobjectionable behaviour, she was only emulating that of her parents'. Its sad to think, that even if she had been alive she wouldn't have had much of a life thanks to the "responsible adults" who brought her into the world.

What's In A Name ? said...

# C.N - It's no longer benign, my friend. remember the incident when a boy took his father's gun to school to shoot his friend ? Things are getting bad to worse.

# E.R.S- Nothings clear with our police. If they get the culprit they don't get the motive and the case suffers.
Thanks for visiting.

# BFW- look below your comment and marvel at the 'wife-swapping' angle.

# ria- Trust is fast becoming as elusive a concept as happiness. And like the latter we might soon lose it completely.

Glad that you liked the blog. Thanks :)


#rest- Thats one angle I haven't heard much of. any links ??

# AG - 'Teach what you preach' dies with Gandhi.

Anonymous said...

you seem to have already decided that he is guilty. What happened to innocent untill proven guilty?

Amazing Graze said...

corrections: it was supposed to be objectionable behaviour, cut out the "un". :P

Royal Bengal Tigress said...

Why is that Arushi has attracted so much attention? Is it because the media is essentially catering to the middle class and thus tends to over emphasize middle-class problems?