Final Blog Post: Catalyst for Change (Monica Chitre)

"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day you can hear her breathing."

- Arundhati Roy

Throughout this semester my group examined the catalyst for a national movement, the Delhi Gang Rape case, and how it has enabled backlash against permeating sexual violence within India. Our first post focused the facts of the case itself. We then went on to talk about the history of extreme colonization and the international outcry against the prevalence of rape within. Then, we connected all this information to another highly publicly visible case regarding rape in the tribal parts of India. After establishing the history, our second post then focused on the type of outcry, public demonstrations, and actual implemented effects that have emerged as response to the monstrosities. We looked at the involvement of youth within this movement, various nonprofits aimed at inciting lasting change, the issue of a patriarchal mindset pervading the nation, the lasting effects of colonialism, and current legislation instituted or proposed to combat what has been happening.

To contribute my portion, I did my research in a variety of ways. Being Indian-American, I have been surrounded by certain news sources that my parents frequently use, that I’ve seen on Indian television shows, and that I’ve been exposed to. So, for my posts I first looked at these sources which are typically written by Indians, out of India, or are recorded by members of the Indian diaspora. I then went to other sites such as BBC News from other parts of the world where the writer was not of Indian descent. I then examined these articles and discovered often contrasts in language, word choice, and content of what was included in the article. In this way I was able to better understand how different parts of the world perceive this issue in relation to what the actual members of the community are thinking and writing about. This also relates to how I contributed as part of the group. Each one of us had our own method of participating and I was able to bring my experience as a member of the Indian-American community to discuss how I’ve grown up with the issue, which sources considered popular by the people, and to add to a broader background understanding of India’s history. In this way, I feel that we were able to create a more balanced and thorough approach with hopefully less biases due to all of our unique perspectives.

Through this process, I learned extensively about the issue itself and the way it's being discussed globally. I was able to dive into and understand current legislation and progress being implemented. What I also appreciated was how we focused on the impacts of colonialism and its latent yet pervasive traits that directly relate to this issue. It truly demonstrates how we need to look at India’s history as well as current trends. Also, examining sources that are not as widely dispersed in the U.S. gave me an interesting perspective into what Delhi, Mumbai, and India in general are discussing regarding the issue of rape. In this way, my research encompassed a broader field of access by examining the issue from not just the most popular and often Western sources. From this project overall and through this experience I gained a better understanding of how to work within a group and how to integrate unique writing styles into one, cohesive blog post. To me, the group dynamic is relevant to what we’ll be experiencing in the workforce and was an aspect that promoted discussion and in depth analysis of the issue.