By Sudha Dixit

I am, by nature a very gentle person if I say so myself. I am not blowing my own trumpet rather confessing that I am a coward. I can’t kill a mosquito with my hands (clapping & having blood on them). Similarly I cannot step on a cockroach. I get a feeling of revulsion. But, at the same  time  I don’t  want  to  die  of Malaria  or  H1N1. So, what a softy, kind-hearted, & mild-natured person, like me is supposed to do? Eureka! I close my eyes, keep a distance and manage to eliminate both. How! Simple! I use Hit spray–black for Anopheles, female mosquito and red for cockroach. Yes, I ‘hit’ & don’t   run (I abhor hit-and-run type). I kill & don’t even feel like a killer. While putting  my  chronically  sick  dog  to  sleep ( for the  purpose  of  euthanasia) makes  me  feel  terribly  guilty.

   We campaign for save Tiger, Peta, Ban Cow-slaughter, Ban hunting of black bucks. This ‘Save‘ has been extended to all species in  animal  world  including  snakes. But not to cockroaches, mosquitoes  & flies. Why, because they do not contribute anything   to their habitat & to the world.  All the creatures of animal kingdom, we want to preserve are   in some way or the other beneficial   for ecology.

    Coming to point, point-bank, I want  to point out  that  there  are  some, so-called  humans (sub-humans) who  are as  trivial  or  rather  as harmful to the society as mosquitoes  & cockroaches  that  they  need  to  be eliminated.

    Look at Mukesh Singh–The Rapist. He does  rape as his  birth  right; he says  that  girls  should  not  resist rape, they  should  allow  it . Wow! Like  a  thief  saying  “I have  right  to  steal, it’s freedom  of  action, so  let  me  do it.” Such mosquitoes have developed immunity to local, milder remedies. So now  the  only  remedy  remains  is  –  ‘Hit’  them  hard  and  kill them. The  juvenile  master- mind  of  Nirbhay  case  is  cooling  his  heels  in  Reform  Home, doing  painting  and  cooking. Obviously, when  he  can’t  go  raping  girls, he has  to  do  something   for  time – pass. We all know that Reform Homes are breeding grounds for criminals. The  tender  offender  goes  in  there  and  comes  out  as  hard – core  criminal. It’s  a  proven  fact , let’s  not  close  our  eyes  to  it  and  gush  with  milk  of  human  kindness. The  doctors, treating  this  Raza  Khan (the juvenile) ,while  admiring  his  skill  and  effort  say  that  he  is  not  at  all  ashamed  of  what  he  did; and  unless  &  until  he  feels  remorse, he  should  not  be  allowed  to  go  free. Mind  you, the  baby  brute  is  due  to  be  released  in  a  few  months. My  suggestion would  be – let  us  find  out  the  exact  date  of  his  release, gather  together  outside  the  Reform Home and  the  moment  he  come  out  smirking, lynch  him  a la  Dimapur  crowd. If  the  law  is  mild  for  these  insects ,we the  people  should  get  tough.

    While  on  insects, specially  the  mosquitoes  and  cockroaches, I would  like  to  mention a milder but not  very seemly variety  of  such  insects  which  does  not  cause  Malaria or H1N1 but  cause enough irritation  to  provoke  you to  reach  out  and  hit  them, may be not by ‘Hit’ but  by  Pepper spray. This  species  consists  of  backward, narrow – minded, outdated  and  misogynistic people who though do not  bite  but  create enough  buzzing  sound  that  you  feel  nauseated . These are some unethical politicians, political outfits like Bajrang Dal or Ram Sene etc.  and surprisingly  some  celebrities. They  whine  about  women’s  dress  as  if burqa – clad  women  are  very  safe. Frankly  when  music  maestro  Yesudas  spoke  against  jeans  and  advised  ladies  to  wear  Sari only,  I  had  to  retort , Mr. Yesudas,  keep  to  your Indian  music, the Jazz is not   your  forte. Also, since  he  expressed  his  unsolicited opinion  regarding our dress  sense, I too offered  him  an  advice  and  asked  him  to shave  off  his  beard  as  he  looked  like  a  terrorist with  it. Well that was only for quid pro quo.

    My point  is  that  all  talks  of  humanity, kindness  and  tolerance  etc.  is  very  well, but  death Penalty  for  some  sick   psychopaths  and  jail  term  for  whining – buzzing  insects  voicing  their  unwarranted  opinion  about  women’s  attire, is  absolutely  necessary. We too have tongue and know how to use it. So  keep  your  voice  down  mates & keep  your  dirty  hands  off  us gentlemen!

About The Author:  Sudha Dixit is from Lucknow and studied at Aligarh Muslim Univ., Lucknow Univ. and Banaras Hindu University. She currently resides in Bangalore. She writes articles, poems in both Hindi & English. Her hobbies include painting and reading.