Foreign firms in India cut corners & we let them: Gul Panag on Uber

Foreign companies in India often cut corners says and India let's them says Gul Panag in an interview with SheThePeople.TV.  That may have hit the nail right on the head. The Home Ministry in a rushed move issued an order banning every single web based taxi service operating in the country. Mumbai too has ordered a massive census of all its taxis. The most recent case highlights how the system has malfunctioned while the cab companies have failed to do appropriate checks.

Gul Panag expresses her disdain over Indian policies and standards of quality control. “Foreign companies in India often cut corners - and if they do, it’s because they can and our regulatory system allows it. We don't consider or value 'compliance' in the framework. And it happens across the spectrum from automobiles to chemicals to services. Further, the companies believe Indian consumers have lower expectations since they are used to below par standards. Below standard operations are most visible in service industry.”

    Uber has given all of its drivers GPS enabled phones, as a measure to ensure safety. The driver simply switched off his phone and went off the grid with the girl. In a series of further probes, it was discovered that the driver, as well as the company, both have a past criminal record.

Gul, one of the stalwarts of the battle against gender inequality and crimes against women in our country, goes on to explain how the driver’s actions are representative of the cultural resonance of the entire land. “It's not about mindset of a particular city or region. There exists in majority of India, a few exceptions notwithstanding, a very deeply patriarchal attitude sometimes bordering on misogyny. This attitude almost justifies women being second rate citizens and crimes against them brushed under the carpet. Lastly, sexual violence is as much about depravity as it is about asserting power-the latter being more dangerous.”

The question is when will India change its strategy from corrective to precautionary governance? In a country where rape happens every hour in one city or the other, safety of women remains a big concern. Despite what happened in Dec 2014, the Nirbhaya case, India has failed to create an environment for safety for women. Rape is a real threat. And an everyday threat to the country's female population. What's worse that it actually takes something tragic as rape to put the spotlight on a system that has been weak and allowed others to flourish in the loopholes it offers.