A few years ago, when i was working for Zee – I was working on this TV series on the internet. Needless to say one of the key instruments at my disposal was a modem. It was my first series as an independent producer/director and I was completely immersed in the project. Working day and night, holidays and weekends to get the project off the ground

One morning when I came into work, the Modem had disappeared. We searched high and low for it but it couldn’t be found. We had to follow procedures and call security. Security made its inquiries adn they zeored in one two boys (boys because they were barely 20). One was a director called Raj, one was a graphics guy called Nitin. Now all of us who knew Raj and Nitin, spoke up for them – said that we knew them, they were good boys and not capable of this kind of stuff – but it was of no use. The security called in the cops and the cops marched these two boys to the nearest station to book them.

I went to the station to find out what could be done. I met the sub inspector there who said to me in a very matter of fact way – after we belt them twice, they will tell us all that we want to know. I created a ruckus – called in the entire high command – and the “boys’ were released. the next day the modem was found in the CEO’s secretary’s desk. She had “borrowed” it to send some mail.

The reason that this comes back to me almost after a decade is the casualness with which the police talked (and still talk) about using third degree to get results in India. And the casualness with with which we, the people, accept that such goings on are part of the course. There is no outrage, no concept of civil liberties – apart from a few who shout themselves hoarse, no buring rage. When we read about POTA being applied indiscriminately there is a similar silence. When our soldiers are accused of human rights violations – there is not even a murmur of protest.

We as citizens have become immune to other people’s miseries. So long as it does not happen to us or our loved ones’ it does not happen. Thus, when our glorious Government keeps quiet on Gujarat or explains it in terms of Newton there is silence. When Narendra Modi and Togadia’s goons dye Gujarat with blood, there is silence. And when occupation troops commit the worst kind of atrocities in Iraq – it is dismissed as an internal matter. And no one has even protested at the home minister’s dissmisal of the tortures as an internal matter.

The silence on individual rights is deafening. And it leads me to ponder on a philosophical question:

If a person is tortured in jail, and no one gets to hear of it – has he been tortured?