What will you do, hit me?

Subhas stared at the laptop screen, the sinking feeling that had taken refuge in his stomach since morning hadn't seem to have left. He glances at the clock on the mantle and realizes that he had been staring at the same page for about three hours now and the numbers hadn't changed neither had the fact that he hadn't cleared ADVANCE. IIT had been a dream of his father's since the day he had his son, from when Subhas was a kid it was conditioned that no line but engineering even existed for him. In his middle and early high school days, he had been selected for the state cricket team but as soon as he came to tenth grade, he had been ordered to drop out as it was just another 'distraction'. He had been sent to an all boys school from the very beginning and interaction with the opposite sex had been bare minimum, his father knew all about the sort of trouble teenagers got themselves into and studies always seemed to take a back seat when it came to young love. His father had done everything he could to make sure that Subhas didn't wry away his attention from studies even for a bit, TV time had been limited to an hour a day and fifteen minutes if exams were approaching, he had 8 hours of classes and after that he had to squeeze in at least eight more hours of preparation before even thinking about relaxing. He had followed all those rules meticulously, woken up and gone to sleep at ungodly hours, sacrificed his precious cricket and never would you have heard him voice even one word of complain, some would say he was an ideal son to have but of course his father disagreed, Even Sharma ji's son beat him in every mock test conducted by their coaching center. Subhas had put in every effort but somehow it seemed no matter how many times he seemed to work out a math problem, it never made any sense to him resulting in him eventually forgetting what he learnt, same for physics and chemistry, it appeared the more he tried to run behind these subjects, further they slipped away from him. He hadn't been able to comprehend how he had managed to just about clear the MAINS exam but as soon as he saw the question paper for the next one that he knew he wouldn't be clearing it, unless a miracle happened. He fell short of only 3 marks though, that in itself was surprising and boosted his spirit a little bit but then he remembered his father's face as he left for work this morning announcing that he will come back soon eager to hear of his son'd results. "What will he say?" he thought to himself as he paced back and forth around the room, soon enough the bell rang, he heard his mother opening the door and greeting her father, and there he was peering through the door of his room but one look at his son's face an a frown took over, "Well, what is it?" he inquired. "I didn't get it." came the answer the voice a mere whisper. "Didn't get what? Delhi or Mumbai? Well that was quite expected considering you never put your head in and always seem to be sleeping or watching tv." his father said very irritably. This is when Subhas' indignation rose but he worked to keep a control on his temper and said "No, I didn't even pass the exam." he said, this time his voice stronger.
His father looked like he would burst, he took several steps towards his son and came extremely close to his face, "What do you mean you didn't clear it? I gave you everything you needed food, shelter, clothes, coaching and I just wanted one thing in return from you. JUST ONE THING." He was yelling and his wife as at the entrance of the room looking terrified and not knowing whether to step in or just watch.
Subhas for the first time in his life did not feel afraid, "I did everything i could, firstly. AND also, you don't just want one thing from me, you want me to live my whole life according to how you expect me to. You made me give up the only thing i was good at and loved. YOU HAVE RUINED MY LIFE." His father now seeing red, took a spin in his place and raised his hand to strike him but Subhas in no mood to be suppressed this time said "What will you do, hit me? well go ahead and lose the little bit respect I have left for you, Giving birth to a child and giving them food and raising them to burden them with you wishes is not called parenting, it is breeding. Race horses are bred, people shouldn't be." he had looked straight into his father's eyes while saying all this and realised he had got to him, he decided to give him some space and swiftly left the room.

It is very often, especially in the Indian society that parents get carried away and place upon their children all their dream whether or not they match their own. More than anything else, children need the support of their parents to achieve something they want to in life but of course that doesn't happen and as soon as you dare to step out of the convention, you get shunned. Oh well, as Maslow said after primary needs is the need of a human to feel loved and belongingness and that is something many people fail to acknowledge and refuse to provide their kids with.

No uterus, No opinion

She paced back and forth, unsure of what she could do. She picks up her phone and dials  in a number but hesitates before pressing the call button, what exactly should she say and why does she feel like she has committed a crime and is calling to apologize for her mistake? It takes two to tango, so it is s much as his fault as is hers. Anyways, it should have been who should have been more careful, with a sudden burst of energy she presses call and holds the phone up to her ear. "Is it important? I am kind of about to go out." says his gravely voice without any greeting so she leaves aside her customary manners and just blurts out "I... I am pregnant." "huh what? you sure?" he asks clearly not taking it seriously, "Yes, I took two tests".There is a pin drop silence that follows the revelation. After several minutes of the uncomfortable quietness he finally speaks up "Are you sure its mine?" And suddenly not being able to hold back anymore, she bursts into sobs, she couldn't believe her ears, they had been together for eight years, through out college and then they held hands as they walked into 'the real world' and now somehow one tiny mistake, and not even hers, he doubts her? what does he think she is doing? 'Trapping him'? as his mother would often imply. They had both decided to wait for a couple of years before getting married as they wanted to advance in the careers first but with that one question that he asked, she saw her whole future change before her eyes, because even if she does eventually after the whole birthing process does prove the child is his, it is her who has to bear with the pains of childbirth and falling behind at work. If he wants he can just shed all responsibility and just walk away unscathed with maybe a monthly money to be paid for child support but it will be her who will have to stay up at night taking care of the baby, it will be her who will be shunned by the society for  being a single mother who got 'knocked up' before marriage. Not even realizing the phone had gone dead after several "hello"s, she is brought to reality by the vibration of an incoming text, "I need a break, please don't contact me for a while." said the familiar number.

 According to http://m.icma.md/country/IN/

Abortion in India is legal only up to twenty weeks of pregnancy under specific conditions and situations which are broadly defined as:

• the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury of physical or mental health, or
• there is a substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped

So just not wanting a child or not being ready for one is an unacceptable excuse. What about the fact that the parents might not be financially stable enough to provide for the child yet? What about the fact that the parent might end up resenting their child for the whole of their lives? What about how the child may never have a proper home? But no, it would be a shame if the parents were to get the fetus aborted while it is yet to form any integral organs and it would be much better for a child to grow up in unhealthy situations.

I understand that the law is there to abolish female infanticide but hey, isn't finding out the gender of the baby also illegal in India? but people who want to seem to have no problem doing it anyway the solution isn't to put bans on people but to change their mentality and it is completely unfair that the ones who genuinely need medical termination do not have an access to it due to the mistake of another. 

Marriage (The darkness hidden within)

She stared out of the window in solitude, hearing a slight shuffling sound, she turns around and sees her younger daughter coming down the staircase obviously having just woken up, she puts on a smile immediately and starts preparing the breakfast while listening to her blabber about her dreams and how didi had stayed up pretty late and disturbed her sleep. She patiently heard it all while feeding her as well as getting things ready for packed lunch. Soon, her elder daughter comes down, but she looks pretty disturbed, she looks at her mum and asks, "Mom were you and dad having an argument last night? I thought I heard you crying in the hallway but didn't get out because I wasn't sure." Slightly taken aback, Shantha shakes her head "What are you talking about? I crashed as soon as we said goodnight." Just then her husband walks in and wishes his daughters good morning. He is already in his office attire, he walks around the kitchen counter and pours himself some coffee, as he takes the first sip, he makes a face and looking at his wife, he says "Too sweet, put sugar again? GOD." He then pours it down the sink, picks up his lunch and walks out of the door without a second glance backward. Soon the kids leave and Shantha busies herself with all the work that has been pending. Evening comes, so does her husband he sits in the living room with his feet propped up on the table as he aimlessly stares at the television while randomly barking orders out loud "Bring me some water", "Give today's posts", the usual. Nothing was out of ordinary. The kids were up in their room, finishing homework or most probably stuck to their gadgets. After dinner as Shantha goes up to her room, half an hour after everyone else after cleaning the dishes and checking the locks and lights, her hand shakes as she reaches for the handle, because she knows what awaits her, the monster who won't pay heed to her no, the one who would satisfy himself and then toss her aside and treat her like a servant the next day, the one who won't bother to come out and see her when she sobs her lungs out in the middle of the night in the hallway, the one whom she had the great misfortune of calling her husband. Turns out when he vowed to protect and cherish her everyday, he forgot to vow that he would protect her even from himself.


Rape is, according to the Indian Constitution:

Firstly.–– Against her will.

Secondly. –– Without her consent.

Thirdly. –– With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested, in fear of death or of hurt.

Fourthly. –– With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married.

Fifthly.–– With her consent when, at the time of giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome Substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.

Sixthly. –– With or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age.

Seventhly. –– When she is unable to communicate consent.

Explanation 1.–– For the purposes of this section, "vagina" shall also include labia majora.

Explanation 2.–– Consent means an unequivocal voluntary agreement when the woman by words, gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication, communicates willingness to participate in the specific sexual act;

Provided that a woman who does not physically resist to the act of penetration shall not by the reason only of that fact, be regarded as consenting to the sexual activity. Exceptions –– 1. A medical procedure or intervention shall not constitute rape; 2. Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape. 
(reference: Gaur, K.D. (2009), "Chapter XVI: Offences affecting the human body", in Gaur, K.D., Textbook on the Indian Penal Code (4th ed.), Delhi: Universal Law Pub.) 

And now i want to ask you, that why is a woman's no, not a no? Just because she has legally called herself his wife does not mean she has forfeited all her rights as woman and above all a human. How is it that the government, even after 70 years of freedom, not even provide a married woman the freedom to have or not have sexual intercourse with her husband?
AND HOW ARE WE STILL OKAY WITH THAT AND WAITING AROUND TO WATCH PEOPLE GET VIOLATED OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY WHILE WE SIT AND WAIT AROUND WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO BRING A CHANGE?