Hardik Pandya’s interview on the cringe show, Koffee with Karan, has left almost all the audiences and cricket fans disappointed and disgusted. There have been incessant comments, tweets and trolls about him almost daily on social media. The pressure has been so immense that BCCI had to intervene, and also, it is likely that Hardik Pandya may not even play the IPL 2019. But going beyond the outrage, isn’t his mindset a reflection of the majority’s thinking?
The way Hardik Pandya said, “aaj main karke aaya”, is not something really new. Considering the fact that sex has been a taboo in our society, and also the fact that women are projected as sex objects, it is common among boys to boast about their sexual lives, in a stupid attempt to get an edge over other guys. More the number of girls the guy associates himself with, the more the world treats him like a stud. Hardik Pandya just spoke aloud, by and large, the actual mentality of the rest of the society.
He had made a lot of other comments like he likes to watch how girls move, and how he has had affairs with cheerleaders, in a very degrading way, like they are no human beings, but just toys made for his pleasure. But this thinking is also reflected in the item songs made by our very loved Bollywood industry. Lyrics like, “main to tandoori murgi hun yaar, gatka le saiyan alcohol se”, “tu cheez badi hai mast”, “abcd padh li bahut, thandi aahein bhar li bahut, acchi baatein kar li bahut, ab karunga tere saath gandi baat”, the list in endless. Ironically, these numbers top the music charts, they are played at parties, and some women enjoy them too.
A ‘highly educated’ professor of Jadhavpur University, Kolkata, compared women with sealed cold drink bottles and a packet of biscuits, which need to be sealed before consumption. And many people had supported the professor, forgetting the concept of consent and free will. The ‘covered vs uncovered candy’ argument has existed for years, diminishing women’s status to mere objects made for consumption. On top of that, our politicians make horrendous statements like, “ladke hain, ladkon se galtiyan ho jaati hain” on rape, or “if I come to power, I will ensure there’s no police intervention in child marriages”, on revoking child marriage for votes. Stalking is normalised, and it is, in fact, shown as the first step to ‘procure’ a girl in the movies. So, why were we so shocked when Hardik Pandya said that he stalks girls on Instagram. After all, this is all so deeply entrenched in the society that it is accepted as the norm.
So before we further make troll videos, poetry slams or abusive comments, let us ask ourselves, aren’t we propagating the same things, indirectly? Haven’t our attitudes always been condescending towards women? Then why do we feel bad, when someone just says the same thing aloud, condescendingly? Instead of a hypocritical outrage, let us take this time to think and ponder over ourselves, and make the world a better place for all the sexes.