Alia And Ranbir Tie The Knot: But Here Are 5 Issues That Need Our Attention More

My social media feed is brimming with people’s reactions to, and obsession with Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s wedding. Even influencers who used to talk about other issues are focusing on festivities surrounding this celeb couple's nuptials. Why are we so obsessed with celebs and their personal lives? What are we going to gain or lose if Alia and Ranbir get together? Are we invited there? Why can’t we just let the couple have their privacy and their private wedding? Meanwhile, the nation is burning with numerous issues that could use our attention.

We are not going to earn anything by obsessing over Alia and Ranbir’s wedding except for two minutes of rush. But it is surely gonna cost us something. Wondering what? Our lack of attention to the issues that are more important than two people consensually marrying each other. Many problems are disturbing the social peace and our lives but it is sad that we don’t care to focus on them more. Just imagine if harrowing issues like lack of women’s safety would get equal attention as celebrity weddings! If people would have focused on rape statistics more than the dates of Alia and Ranbir’s pre-wedding rituals, we would be a safer society.

I am not saying that one should not think about celebrity weddings at all. Everyone has their own definition of fandom and like to express it in different ways. But then fandom should not blindfold us to the issues that are rising simultaneously in our society and demand our equal attention.  We just need the same kind of eagle-eyed devotion to these issues as we give to celebrity weddings, so that we don’t get devoured by problems happening in our own lives while we devote our attention to that of others.

Here are some issues that demand our attention over Alia-Ranbir wedding:

1. Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave out a shameful remark on the gangrape case involving a minor girl. She went down the road of victim-blaming the deceased minor for allegedly having a love affair with the main accused. Banerjee also gave political colour to the incident by prioritising her party over taking strict actions against the increasing crimes against women in her state. If a female leader of our country believes in victim-blaming the girls who are wronged, what can we expect from male leaders?

2. A saffron-clad priest in Sitapur of Uttar Pradesh openly delivered rape threats to Muslim women. He said that if any Muslim man harassed any Hindu girl, then he will kidnap Muslim women and rape them publicly. Even though the priest has been arrested now, shouldn’t this make us worry about the safety of women in our country? Shouldn’t it make us question why are women subjected to violence and rape threats in the name of religious, caste and familial conflict?

3. According to the latest survey by LinkedIn, seven in 10 working women in India quit their job or are considering doing so due to a lack of flexible policies at the workplace. 88 percent of women had to take pay cuts to work flexibly. Many women were held back from promotions and were treated unfairly by supervisors. Why are we not talking about the unfair treatment working women endure at work, simply because the chores at home all fall on their shoulders and their employers couldn't care less?

4. In 2020, 19 women died every day in dowry death cases in our country according to NCRB report for 2021. Even though dowry practice was banned and criminalised in 1961, it still manages to be one of the top reasons why women in our country lose their lives. Why doesn’t this make us question the prevalence of crimes like dowry? Why don’t we raise questions on whether a marriage is about buying and selling grooms and brides or about equality and love?

5. In JNU women students were beaten up for consuming meat on the eve of Ram Navmi. Moreover, on the occasion of Ram Navmi which also clashed with Ramzan, Bengaluru and Delhi administrations banned the sale of meat in the cities. These incidents are just parts of the saffronised India that otherises people with different choices and religions. Why should a festival that one doesn’t even follow force one to stop consuming meat? Why should the state administration value the preferences of those who observe Ram Navmi over the needs of those observing Ramzan? It is high time we question the saffronisation or Hinduisation of India and vote for a country that believes in unity in diversity.

Views expressed are the author's own.