Lessons from ghastly murder of Shraddha Walker

The ghastly murder of Shraddha Walker of Maharashtra by her live-in partner raises many uncomfortable questions about relationships built over the virtual world. How this will play out in the “future” in modern societies is unpredictable yet ominous. As usual, it is the woman who is at the receiving end. It is shocking that a person with whom one had shared everything under a single roof could turn into a predator and hack his female partner into 35 pieces and keep her body parts in the fridge for months together. This is how heartless, and satanic humans in this digital age have become. I hope this frightful incident sends a message of alarm to millions of parents across the country. They should not sit back in complacency any longer. I hope it has also “alerted” our gullible adolescents who are tempted to look for partners through misleading apps on the net where males/females are assessed in terms of their external oomph instead of the human qualities they possess. What is disgusting is that such “devious portals” are allowed to do business. Amidst our “silence”, they are carrying out their immoral business with a vengeance, thus misguiding our youths.

These applications/sites might even pop up with obscene images of females as advertisements on our Facebook pages while checking emails or even visiting news websites. The deeper we delve, the dirtier they get. These portals/apps all portray women as commodities to be preyed upon. Only a few women’s organizations have taken note of these apps, but without a concerted effort across the country, it is difficult to fight these app honchos.

      Look at another news carried a few days back by INDIA TODAY that a boy from Kanpur has threatened to cut a minor girl into pieces if she would reject his proposal for the marriage. The boy was later arrested. 

Who disagrees now that “lust” without “ethics” is not a severe threat to humanity? If a sense of morality were ever present in Aftab Poonawalla, he would not have pulled the dagger to take Shraddha’s life. Was it a crime for a female to implore the male partner to marry her after having lived together for over four years? It is understood that Shraddha’s insistence on marriage touched Poonawalla’s raw nerves. While the way girl’s body was chopped and put into a freezer and then thrown away part by part, it takes great courage, which Aftab did with all care and ease. Nothing is more terrible than the fact Aftab has no “regret” in killing Shraddha. In the meantime, he instead showed his beastly audacity to entice many other girls into such a relationship. What is so disquieting is his “targets” were all Hindu girls. This clearly shows his ulterior motive, maybe driven by wrong conviction and ambition.

Another concern is what things have “misled” the increasing number of young girls who easily fall for the wrong persons. Also, what do those things provoke the males to commit such heinous crimes without regret? However, let’s go by the reports or cases being handled by lawyers across the country these days. There are endless cases of “rapes followed by brutal murder/torture” of defenseless females, particularly Hindus. In some instances, the perpetrators, with evil intentions, have been suspected of having been encouraged by specific sinister forces.

Nevertheless, was the Court of law in India wise in legalizing live-in relationships in 2006? Could it not foresee that that “lust-driven relationship” without “ethics”, which is so prevalent now, might also end up in anger and bloodshed? It appears that the ruling has only widened the “credibility gap” of the judiciary. Of course, there is also “uproar” in society against the various “female-centric laws” which are willfully misused by females bringing “untold grief” to countless males. It urgently calls for changes in judicial interpretation and a “flawed proposition” that women can’t go wrong.

The sanctity of marriage should not be trivialized. This will quickly lead to social “degeneration”. I don’t think the police investigations and fact-findings alone will make the people any saner. The government must list the leading “causes” and adopt all corrective measures against social values eroding, with easy marital break-ups and bad relationships. The government should consider banning all obscene representations of females and filthy videos and apps on the internet, degrading and corrupting people’s minds, especially younger children.

Yes, all these concerns and challenges should be taken on a war footing for the future of our vulnerable girls/boys, including married women and men. Lastly, one wishes that no grown-up child leaves their parents’ homes today to live with a heartless live-in partner to face nightmares tomorrow. We need to wake up before humanity is cut into pieces.