Aamir Khan has the midas touch – anything he touches turns to gold. His films make the most money and every new launch breaks previous records. He shuns award shows, rightfully so, award shows have become ways to award film industry children more than talented actors, and anyway Aamir is laughing all the way to the bank! Any movie that has Aamir’s stamp is bound to be awesome. I think he is the most respected actor in Bollywood today, and he has successfully stayed out of controversies unlike Shah Rukh (proposing to Priyanka Chopra in an audience full of politicians and the like while married with children, mid-life crisis?) and Salman Khan (bad boy of the industry). So while Shah Rukh and Amitabh Bachchan are making money from Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to be a Millionaire), Salman from Dus Ka Dam (Power of 10), Aamir is making greater waves with his Satyamev Jayate.
Aamir launched his new show this month with Star Plus, Satyamev Jayate. Satyamev Jayate means truth always triumphs, from the inscriptions on the Ashoka pillars. I caught up on two episodes yesterday after my mother told me that he is getting Rs. 3 crores per episode ($3MM)! Every single person, adult or child, should watch this show all over the world, not just Indians. The show is doing a great job bringing awareness about age-old practices in India, and possibly worldwide.
The first episode touched upon foeticide. When the British took over India, they tried to eradicate the practices of female infanticide. Even today, 72 years after independence, foeticide is still being practiced across the country. One would think that advancement in medicine would save lives, quite the contrary. Sex is detected sooner now, hence a better likelihood of foeticide. Doctors are running clinics especially for this purpose. Despite documented proof, the government doesn’t do anything. Like Fareed Zakaria said at an event I attended, “China is advancing because of its government, India is advancing despite its government”. Its true. Indian government does more harm than good in the country. The show brings that to light since lawsuits go on for 10+ years even with solid proof.
A few women came on the show to discuss their plight. In all cases mothers wanted to keep their child but their husbands and in-laws got girls aborted, sometimes without the mother’s knowledge by taking her for “doctor checkup”. Doctors are in on it. In one case a man ate, I mean ate his wife’s face while his family looked on, she lost her child and had to get stitches. What types of animals are these men? I am filled with disgust for men and their families in general just with the thought of this. In a lot of cases, educated people do this. One woman herself was a doctor, her husband a doctor, MIL Vice Principal of school, and FIL similarly educated. Yet they practiced female infanticide and tried to kill the live daughter after she was born. Who are these people? Why kill women? Because of the dowry system. It is hard to get poor women married due to dowry demands. Population of men has exceeded women, now men are finding it hard to find women to marry. So what do they do? Buy women from poor families, sell her, or have sex with her and get others to do the same. Either way a woman loses.
The second episode was about child abuse. One guy talked about his abuse, in most cases the abuse happens at their house right under the parents’ nose without their knowledge. It was so heartbreaking. I know someone close who was sexually abused for several years and it all came out in resentment years later. It is so depressing and heartbreaking that men abuse others as young as 6 years old, innocent kids who have no idea what is going on. Who are these fucking assholes? One guy shared on the show how he was abused for years since he was 6, he tried telling his mother who wouldn’t believe it. He said he was bleeding, and she said perhaps he is eating too many mangoes! Parents cannot even fathom sexual abuse. The only person he spoke to is his German shepherd dog, who somehow sensed what he was going through as soon as he came home.
I wish the show showed photos of abusers so that they become social pariahs and everyone shuns them. There is very little awareness about child abuse in India, in a lot of cases parents cannot even imagine that people they know so well could do this. Children don’t know what is happening so cannot tell their parents. One girl came on the show to share her story, she spoke of how communication is very open in their family yet she could not tell her parents. 53% of people surveyed were abused as children. A lot of Indian men live in a repressed society where topics of sex are taboo and there are restrictions around what women can wear and do, this is how that repressed society pays.
I feel like having a Facebook page and asking all the abused to join and post photos of abusers, get everyone to shun these disgusting parasites. Despite education and advancement, instead of moving ahead India is moving backwards.
This time when I went to India, my sister shared horror stories about life in Delhi. I thought Delhi would be the safest place being the capital of India, quite the contrary. People don’t talk, they shoot. I feel so much safer being in the US. There is so much corruption in India, terrorists shoot innocent people in broad daylight yet cases continue for years. Why? I feel for the people who have to go through this. Its so terrible.
Aamir’s show not only brings about awareness, but also talks about solutions. He promotes relevant NGOs, and asks people to text their support, all proceeds from the texts will be donated to support the NGO. He conducted a workshop with kids as well to communicate which body parts others should not touch. Now if only Aamir took a portion of that Rs. 3 crore and donated to these NGOs as well, he doesn’t need the money!