Why this fixation?

Yet another discussion in Twitter made me realize that the media fixes our focus on certain issues, states etc. It all started with the BBC article on Haryana and "Why rural sexual violence remains rife in India"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20003610 … The reasons for the same has been blogged, discussed fought over upteen times by many. The following are some of the reasons that we have been hearing and is reported by BBC.

"I'll tell you the main reason for these rapes," explains Suresh Koth, one of the elders.
"Just look at what's in the newspapers, on television. Topless women. This is what's corrupting our youth. After all this is India, not Europe."

One council elder was reported as saying that girls should be forced to marry young to protect them from rapists. Others routinely blame Western influences.  

But when I tweeted that topless women are elsewhere too but why rape happens mostly in Haryana, I was asked if there is a basis for "rape happens mostly in Haryana".  This made me check into existing reports and the result was scary. Haryana is behind some other states! Please have a look at the following chart:

This means that while the nation focus on Haryana, rapists in other states are getting away. What attracts the media towards Haryana? The Khaps?

Now if you are wondering like my friend if MP has more rapes due to to it's high population then why not Punjab (479)  and Chhatisgarh (1053) which is similar in population to Haryana (733) ?  

When it comes to major cities Delhi (453) is a hopeless case and Mumbai (221) comes second in the incidence of rape.

And if less women are reporting to the police in Haryana, the media should be picking up even less. So are the women in MP least bothered when they are raped? Or is the local and national media hesitant to print it? If so why? 

Ahmedbad in Gujarat, Asansol in WB, Dhanbad & Jamshedpur  in Jhakarnd, also Bangalore in Karnataka were the  best cities for women and children during year 2009 since no rape was reported. Unfortunately it has changed drastically. I have added the 2009 figures later.

But why is our media fixated on Haryana?  To shame someone? The government in power? But whatever, it is good if authorities compared such data to see why rapes occur in some states/cities and not in others. What are the factors that aid the rapists? The media did report in general about but when it comes to individual incidence the readers as well as the media seem to prefer Haryana. Until I looked at this report I was under the impression that there is no state worse than Haryana. Also I was under the impression that Bombay is a women friendly city but although it is not as bad as Delhi, it still comes second. 

As for Kerala, it is worse. It has also become number one for overall crimes. But I do wonder if it because crimes are reported without any fear in Kerala unlike some other states.

The original reports can be downloaded from this site and the following is a copy of the discussed matter.

Incidence of Rape in Year 2009 - State Wise

Incidence of Rape in Major Cities - Year 2009

Is the Metro Man E. Sreedharan arrogant?

A few in the media and others seem to be trying their best to make him so.

Who is E. Sreedharan? Why should he be arrogant? I think he is not a man familiar just to the Keralites but to the majority of Indians.

Konkan Railway ( A Forbes article on him)

The managing director is 77 years old, spiritual and is laying tracks like there's no tomorrow.

On a recent Saturday morning Elattuvalapil Sreedharan arrived at a dusty construction site on the outskirts of Delhi to check on the progress of India's first high-speed airport train. In spite of round-the-clock work, progress on boring a huge tunnel into the earth was not up to mark.

"This we discussed. I gave them guidelines," says the soft-spoken 77-year-old engineer who is managing director of Delhi Metro, the capital's gleaming subway system. After finding out that a contractor was stymied by a cash flow problem, Sreedharan freed up Delhi Metro funds to pay for materials so work could continue.

This is the kind of no-nonsense, bureaucracy-busting efficiency that is Sreedharan's hallmark. It helped him to accomplish what had seemed impossible in India: finish building the initial $2.3 billion subway system in 2005 under budget and almost three years ahead of schedule.
 

Main article: Konkan Railway

 

Though he retired, the Government needed his services and he was appointed the CMD of Konkan Railway on contract in 1990 by the then railway minister, George Fernandes. Under his stewardship, the company executed its mandate in seven years. The project was unique in many respects. It was the first major project in India to be undertaken on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) basis; the organisation structure was different from that of a typical Indian Railway set-up; the project had 93 tunnels along a length of 82 km and involved tunneling through soft soil. The total project covered 760 km and had over 150 bridges. That a public sector project could be completed without significant cost and time overruns was considered an achievement by many.

Awards and accolades

• Railway Minister's Award (1963)
• Padma Shri by the Government of India (2001)
• Man of the Year by The Times of India (2002)
• Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award for professional excellence in engineering (2002)
• CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Juror's Award for leadership in infrastructure development (2002–03)
• One of Asia's Heroes by TIME (2003)
• AIMA (All India Management Association) award for Public Service Excellence (2003)
• Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from IIT Delhi.
• Bharat Shiromani award from the Shiromani Institute, Chandigarh (2005)
• Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France (2005)
• CNN-IBN Indian Of the Year 2007: Public Service (2008)^[7]
• Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India (2008) 51525
• D.Lit. By Rajasthan Technical University, Kota, Rajasthan, in 2009
• Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) from IIT Roorkee, 2009.

Pampan Bridge



Konkan Railway Bridge

Does he have a right to be arrogant? Of course yes! Who has a problem with it? Not the ordinary Keralites but a few with vested interests. While the Kerala ministers swear to the Keralites that they need him, behind the curtains they are doing their best to keep him out of the Cochin Metro project. If he is there how shall they benefit from this big project. Right now there is a lot of confusion and one is made to believe that DMRC itself does not want him!

Nothing good comes to Kerala, not even the service of an exemplary man who belongs to the state of Kerala.

I pray that Keralites protest hard and make sure this man heads this project else the project is doomed... only cash shall flow.