Dec 02, 2024
Dec 02, 2024
Growing up in Bihar in the 90s
Self defense is a very valuable skill. Unfortunately, I don’t have any myself. But what I do have are skills to be on my guard. Not impressed? Believe me, being on your guard might even be more useful than self-defense many a time.
And just what might my qualifications be, you indignantly ask? Well, I’m quite the expert! I grew up in Patna, Bihar during the infamous “Jungle Raj” of the 90s.
Jungle Raj — A rule where corruption is the law, where people in authority are in cahoots with the criminals. The common man is as helpless as a deer in a jungle where predators abound.
If you lived in India in the 90s or the early 2000s, you might remember hearing the horror stories of Bihar in the news. You might have debated over cups of tea on what could spiral a state that quickly into utter chaos and lawlessness. You might have wondered at how one man and his flock of relatives could drive the entire state down the drain but still be in power election after election. You might have commented on the mentality of people who voted for such a government and how they deserved their fate. While you were busy doing all those things, back in Bihar, we were living that life.
To be honest, I was one of the lucky ones. Unlike many other teenage girls in the state, I was fortunate that I didn’t get kidnapped or raped or murdered. I was only leered at, whistled at, molested in auto rickshaws or crowded train stations, followed on lonely roads by mentally sick middle aged men who would expose themselves to young girls. Very lucky indeed!
And today, I will tell you how to be on your guard every moment of every day if you happen to be a young girl or a young woman who is dealt a bad hand by destiny and finds herself trying to survive in a Jungle Raj.
All right! Tighten your seat belts! Lesson begins…
All right my friend! You’re all set. But before you go, I have a wish for you — May you never need these lessons! May you be safe, may you feel safe! And may we one day live in a world where we don’t have to worry about being safe from one another!
20-Aug-2022
More by : Priya Khanwalker
Great and informative read! Thank you for sharing your experience! |