By Salil Gewali
In a remote village called Muchumarri in Andhra Pradesh (India), a harrowing tragedy came to light a week ago. The news pierces the very fabric of social morality. What is so outrageous is that three minor boys, aged between 12 and 14, gang-raped an innocent eight-year-old girl from their own school. To cover up their heinous crime, the juvenile perpetrators murdered the girl and threw her body into a nearby canal. Viewed from any angle, this barbaric act is not just a crime against a tender girl but a glaring reflection of the moral decay that has plagued modern society.
Well, if an elderly person lethally harms someone, we can blame that person individually. However, when a 5-year-old boy pulls out a knife and goes stabbing others, the parents need to shoulder the blame. How could a boy as young as 12 rape an 8-year-old girl, and murder her, unless he had fallen prey to harmful influences earlier? Have the parents deliberately exposed the boy to such influences? Are we raising our children in a society and environment that are “severely unhealthy”? Given the increasing cases of crime against women/minor girls, the time has come for dispassionate introspection. One concerned teacher in the town laments, “the cell phones the parents give to their children these days for school projects could potentially expose them to harmful images and videos. Under innocent searches lie rabbit holes of perversion, which many of our children might also slip into. Children's exposure to explicit content has become a serious concern these days.”
I don't want to mince words; please dive deeper and know for yourself what all Mr. Google and Mr. Meta also shower upon internet users as their choicest blessings, (pun intended). Simply click on a few sensual images of Kim Kardashian, who was a special invited guest at Ananta Ambani's wedding ceremony in Mumbai (India), and you will be served with a countless number of explicitly shocking images, videos, including semi-porn clips. One wonders how Kim Kardashian could be a figure of “inspiration to children”, particularly girls, and what message we want to send to our society. Kardashian rose to prominence since her pornographic video leak in 2007. Logic dictates that the stream of shocking posts by Kim Kardashian and similar celebrities on social media has, in fact, corrupted the minds of innumerable masses, especially our children and youth — a reality that the entertainment media and capitalists bury under the cover of glamour, name, and fame.
Thanks to the media's overzealous shower of praise on celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Rakhi Sawant, Sherlyn Chopra, Poonam Pandey, Urfi Javed, and Sofia Hayat, many of our youngsters are now copying their outrageous fashion, titillation and nudity without a hint of guilt. Furthermore, let's not overlook the fact that, inspired by these so-called celebrities, innumerable people and channels have become 'emboldened' to produce 'scandalous content' to earn millions of likes or quick money from YouTube, Meta, and TikTok. You can verify this on the internet. Well, hundreds of millions, including our gullible teenagers, quickly consume this content through various social media platforms—a feast for the senses, a famine for morality and social values! Nothing is more detrimental than the fact that our new generation is idolizing such celebrities as their role models, leaving many others feeling confused. What is more, influential people often invite these celebrities as special guests for major events, even paying them to add a special attraction to auspicious occasions.
One strongly believes that, in this depraved situation, if we do not speak out, we ourselves will be held complicit. Our deafening silence will only encourage the "insane lust" of even immature boys, like those in Andhra Pradesh, leading them to take our beloved daughters and sisters' lives.
Isn't it our duty as conscious parents and responsible citizens to fight for decent lives? Shouldn't we uphold family and social values over the mindless chase for 'likes' on shockingly perverted online content, which is virtually driving society towards moral and social degeneration?" Our silence could indeed be a crime!