Women’s Safety in India Should Be Beyond Politics

Indian women walking in front of a graffiti image

Recently, a slew of rape cases have emerged in Delhi. It made think – can we, collectively as women, demand better protection for Indian women from governments across the political spectrum?

Rape cases in Keralam (where I am from) are also increasing each year. This year, up to July, Kerala Police had recorded 1538 cases. Even little boys are being sexually assaulted.

But somehow, no one seems to take sexual violence seriously enough.

This is not a political game where we pull out data to show that only women in BJP-ruled states are getting raped, or that only women in Congress-ruled states are getting raped. Rape is a serious issue that needs to be addressed in India, regardless of which state it happens in or which political party is in power.

I’m sure there isn’t a single woman in India, even in Keralam, who hasn’t had some kind of bad experience.

And I’m not saying India is the only place where this happens. I have had bad experiences in other countries too, involving locals.

Change Should Happen Within Families First Before Society Adopts It

I think my most mind-numbing experience happened when I was 16 or 17 because it involved someone I considered my own brother.

I used to be very comfortable around him and quite physical in the innocent way you can be with someone you completely trust. I would hold his arm, playfully hit him and behave as I normally would around someone I considered family.

Until one day, he crossed a line and groped me.

I know the feeling of shock that goes through your mind when something like that happens. You can become completely paralysed for a moment because your brain simply cannot process what is happening.

But I somehow found the strength to push him away and get out of the situation.

After that experience, I became much more conscious about physical contact with men. I only touch someone if I feel completely comfortable around them. Otherwise, I instinctively recoil.

Another experience happened when I was learning to drive.

I remember the man teaching me repeatedly placing his hand on the steering wheel right next to my breast. At the time, I thought he was doing it accidentally. So I would simply place my hand there to prevent it from happening again.

Looking back now, I realise how naive I was. I instinctively believed that people were good and that there had to be an innocent explanation for their behaviour.

And that’s the thing about sexual harassment and sexual assault. Sometimes these experiences don’t happen with strangers. They happen with people we know. People we trust. And sometimes, even people we never imagined we would have to protect ourselves from.

Women’s Safety Cannot Be a Political Game

Ideally, I would love to see women in every state demand better protection from both the central and state governments. This is something I feel very intensely about.

There are already stringent laws against rape in India. But having laws on paper is not enough. Their implementation remains a problem in many places.

The central and state governments need to work together to ensure that existing laws are properly enforced and that survivors have access to justice and protection.

Unfortunately, sexual violence has also become another opportunity for governments and political parties to blame each other in India.

But what does that achieve for women?

How does it make a woman feel safer?

And how do we prevent sexual violence when there are still people who believe that a woman’s body is somehow their property?

Sex Education Is Part of the Conversation

Society also needs to change, and one way to start is through proper sex education.

Yet even parents in my age group sometimes respond with, “Cheee, little kids don’t need to know all that,” whenever sex education is mentioned.

Many people seem to think sex education means teaching children “how to have sex” or something. I’m not joking.

But age-appropriate sex education is also about teaching children about boundaries, consent, inappropriate touching, body safety and the fact that they have the right to say no.

If we struggle to have these conversations among relatively educated urban families, imagine how difficult it must be to introduce them in more conservative or rural communities.

This is exactly why conversations about sexual abuse and women’s safety in India cannot be limited to one political party, one government or one election.

Change is needed from so many different sides if we genuinely want to reduce rape and sexual violence in India.

It’s not easy. But it should be done.

Delhi’s Reputation for Women’s Safety

Delhi also has a very bad reputation when it comes to women’s safety, regardless of which government is in power.

There seems to be a sense of status quo around it, both among some people and within the political system: “It’s unsafe, and it will remain unsafe.” If that attitude didn’t exist, wouldn’t there be a much stronger public reaction every time a rape case occurred?

I was recently watching a YouTube video of a Nepali woman visiting Delhi. The comments were overwhelmingly along the lines of, “Be careful, Delhi is not safe,” instead of simply saying, “Enjoy your trip.”

That is a shame for India as a whole. Shaming one place in India is, in a way, equivalent to shaming the whole country for me. I have never once thought, “Oh, she should visit Keralam instead because it’s safer.” Instead, I feel bad that anyone visiting India might have to worry about their safety in the first place. I want India as a whole to be safe.

Even Justice Becomes Political

There is another problem.

Even when someone is found guilty and strict punishment is imposed, activists and people from Opposition parties often come forward questioning the evidence or saying, “There’s no proof.”

Then the government, whoever is in power, ends up caught in another political battle.

And when everything becomes a political fight, governments become reluctant to act decisively because there is no obvious political “win.”

This is precisely why the Centre and the states should work together on women’s safety and tackling sexual violence.

Let the critics say whatever they want.

Let political parties argue about everything else.

Some things are bigger than politics.

The safety of women and children should be one of them.

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Photo by Shiva Kumar Reddy

3 Body Problem: An Alien Show That Isn’t Just About Invasion

I loved 3 Body Problem on Netflix. It’s not a newly released series, but it was on my watchlist for the longest time.

The series follows the familiar trope of everything bad originating in Asian countries, while the developed countries work extra hard to save the world, even if it means resorting to some questionable measures.

But putting that aside, the show is incredibly engaging and entertaining. It keeps you hooked with its stunning visuals, innovative presentation and constant sense that something bigger is happening beneath the surface.

As someone who has watched quite a few shows and movies about aliens, 3 Body Problem felt different from the usual, sudden and direct “We are here to invade you” storyline.

There is much more going on here.

The show brings in politics, science, religion, human psychology and, most interestingly, people who believe that humanity cannot be saved from itself. It presents different viewpoints on human tragedies without dehumanizing either side. Each side believes it is right in its own way, something that feels relevant to the world we live in today, where nuance hardly exists anymore.

And then there is the alien question.

I, for one, find it almost impossible to believe that we are the only intelligent life in such a vast universe. The universe is simply too enormous for me to accept that humans are the only beings who have somehow managed to evolve, survive and become intelligent.

Why haven’t we encountered anyone else yet? There could be countless explanations. Maybe intelligent civilizations are too far apart. Maybe they exist at completely different points in time. Maybe we simply haven’t developed the technology to detect them.

Or maybe, as the show suggests, we have no idea what we might be dealing with.

I also find the idea that an extraterrestrial civilization could be far more intelligent than humans completely plausible. We tend to assume that because we are the most technologically advanced species we know, we must be at the top of the intelligence ladder.

But we only have one example to compare ourselves against: us.

What if something else has had millions of years more to evolve?

That possibility is one of the things that makes 3 Body Problem so fascinating to me.

The series is definitely worth watching if you enjoy science fiction and alien stories. Just don’t expect the first season to answer every question. There is a lot more to come, and a new season is on the way.

Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes: 8
Runtime: Approximately 50 minutes per episode

Gen-Z Men Pursuing Older Women: What Is Going On?

One thing I have noticed about Gen-Z in India is that they are unhinged. I am not sure if it is the same case with Gen-Z around the world, but the ones in India truly seem to be. And no, I am not talking about student protests or anything political. I am talking about something much more personal.

As a 40+ unmarried woman, I have found myself being stared at by boys in their 20s while I am simply out and about. And interestingly, it is not the older men who are doing it. It is the younger ones, making their best attempts to lock eyes with me.

Apparently, according to what I keep seeing on social media, this is becoming a thing. There seems to be growing interest among younger men in dating significantly older women. Maybe it is a genuine preference. Maybe it is a fantasy. Maybe it is simply curiosity. From what I have read, many of these relationships don’t necessarily translate into long-term commitments, but the fact that younger men seem increasingly comfortable making their interest obvious is interesting in itself.

This changing scenario has resulted in books and movies exploring age-gap romances where the woman is older, like The Idea of You, as well as One & Only. One thing I’ve realised is that my mind is still not fully adapted to the idea of an age-gap romance. So when the lead characters make out, my first reaction is always, “OMG! But he’s just a kid!” Even when he’s actually a full-blown adult.

Now, getting to personal experiences. Recently, I mentioned my age to a boy in his 20s who simply wouldn’t look away.

His response?

“Age is just a number.”

So, apparently, that’s where we are now. Of course, this does not apply to all, because society at large age-shames women and finds older women unsuitable for relationships. But there is another part of this that I find much more interesting.

There is a very common, and frankly somewhat misogynistic, term for women who date significantly younger men: cougar.

Almost everyone knows the word. It has become so mainstream that you will find it casually used in movies, television, social media and everyday conversations.

But did you know there is a term for older men who pursue much younger women too?

Manther.

It is nowhere near as well known. In fact, I would bet that many people reading this have never heard the word before.

And that, in itself, says something about how we view relationships between older and younger people.

We are generally much more comfortable with men dating women who are 20 or 30 years younger, or even more. We rarely question it. “Love has no age,” we say.

Popular culture has reflected this dynamic for decades, with stories where an older man falls in love with a much younger woman being treated as perfectly normal, romantic or even aspirational.

But reverse the genders and suddenly the conversation changes.

An older woman with a younger man becomes a “cougar.” Her age becomes the focus. Her motives are questioned. She can be ridiculed, sexualized or shamed in a way that the older man in the equivalent relationship often isn’t.

And that brings me to something I genuinely wonder about.

How many people would actually be comfortable watching a mainstream movie where an older woman falls in love with a man 20 or 30 years younger than her, and the story treats their relationship with the same seriousness and romantic legitimacy usually given to an older man and a younger woman?

Would we call it a love story?

Or would we call her a cougar?

Maybe the younger generation really is changing some of these attitudes. Maybe the increased visibility of age-gap dating is slowly making older women dating younger men less unusual.

Or maybe we are simply becoming more comfortable talking about something that has always existed.

Either way, I find it fascinating that a 20-something can look at a woman in her 40s, hear her age, shrug and say, “Age is just a number.”

Perhaps Gen-Z really is unhinged.

Or perhaps they are just less bothered by rules that previous generations took for granted.

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Photo by Ron Lach

AI and Its Impending Doom (?)

Recently, Jacob Coxon, a safety researcher who resigned from Anthropic in September 2026, said that both Anthropic and Open AI were “gambling with our lives” by racing toward self-improving superintelligence. He warned that there is a strong chance unchecked progress in artificial intelligence could lead to human extinction by the end of this decade.

The “self-improving superintelligence” part immediately reminded me of a fictional story I read recently called My Friend Aaron by Rory McMeekin (Google it). It was published in August, and it has all the elements of a Black Mirror short story. After reading Coxon’s recent comments about AI safety and superintelligence, that story feels almost uncomfortably real.

As someone who has been working for 15+ years in IT and now uses AI extensively for research, work, and fun, I can understand why many people aren’t taking these warnings from AI experts too seriously. Millennials have heard similar criticisms before, although about different technologies.

A few years back, AI for me at work basically meant Grammarly. It would automatically detect and correct my grammar mistakes. But there was almost a sense of guilt attached to using it, especially with so many people online shaming those who relied on writing tools. Apparently, if we are writers, we should get everything right on our own.

But I am someone who is much more comfortable thinking quickly and writing as I think than writing slowly, consciously, and perfectly. So I found Grammarly to be the perfect companion. It would catch my mistakes when I was speeding up my writing. Yet I still felt like I was doing something wrong by using the app.

It was only after ChatGPT came along that using Grammarly somehow became the lesser sin.

Now, people say, “Don’t use ChatGPT. Use Grammarly for writing and correcting small mistakes.”

If we look at the history of technology, I think this has always been the norm. A new product or technology arrives, people criticize it, and there are predictions about how it is going to ruin society or even end humanity. We saw it with the internet. We saw it with computers. And now we are seeing it with artificial intelligence.

Then something newer and more powerful comes along, and the technology that was previously considered controversial suddenly becomes normal.

I wonder if online AI bots will eventually achieve the same acceptance when something even more advanced comes along. Maybe that will be robots that look and speak like humans. Maybe it will be something we can’t even imagine yet.

Only time can tell.

Technology is definitely moving at a pace that I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. Things that seemed like science fiction are becoming part of everyday life, and the conversation around AI is changing almost as quickly as the technology itself.

I don’t think banning AI is the answer. AI tools are helping many people, including me, speed up their work and get things done more efficiently. At the same time, I understand the criticism that AI can also make people lazy.

The problem is not using AI itself. It is how we use it. There is a big difference between using AI as an “add-on” to your work, something that helps you speed up what you already know, and using it as a complete replacement for your own knowledge and thinking.

Where that line should be drawn is something technology experts will have to figure out. And, as ordinary users, it is something we will only understand better as AI continues to evolve.

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Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Not an MJ Fan, But This Movie Won Me Over!

Okay, I have to be honest first. I’m not a diehard Michael Jackson fan, which is probably why it took me some time to finally watch Michael. I’m actually not a diehard fan of any celebrity or public figure – you know, the kind of fan who can’t even hear anything negative about their hero without getting defensive.

I always tiptoe around such fans, concerned about whether I would offend them. This has been the case after one specific personal incident. I remember discussing a controversy with someone who was a huge MJ fan, and he went absolutely batshit crazy. He started abusing me simply because I pointed out the news when it came out.

So, in a world full of different kinds of “bhakts” covering politicians across ideologies, sportsmen, football clubs, actors, singers, influencers, religion, and everything else, I’m pretty much bhaktless. It still baffles me when people treat their favorite personalities as gods who can do no wrong or act as if they cannot be questioned.

But having said all that, I really enjoyed this movie! It was genuinely so much fun to watch.

I’m guessing there’s going to be a sequel because this movie seems to focus mainly on Michael Jackson’s troubled relationship with his father. There’s clearly a lot more of his life and career to explore.

Jaafar Jackson’s acting was phenomenal. To be cast in the lead role of his uncle might have been intimidating, but he passed with flying colors.

The song and dance sequences in the movie were incredibly energetic. The movie left me with one big feeling: positive vibes!

Michael is streaming on JioHotstar.

The Butcher of Bosnia and the Illusion of Threat

I came across a news report about thousands of people attending the funeral of the man referred to as the “Butcher of Bosnia.” His name is Ratko Mladić. The report said that he was convicted of genocide for his role in the killing of more than 8000 mostly Muslim Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He died in prison at the age of 84 in August this year.

I was totally taken aback by this information and I had to look into why such a controversial figure is being considered a hero by many. I found that his supporters remember him as a military commander who defended their community against what they saw as “perceived threats” from Bosniak Muslims during the Bosnian War, which began in 1992.

I can’t help but notice a pattern here: violence is often justified nowadays by this very “perceived threat” – the belief that another community poses a threat to our existence, religion, culture, or way of life. Maybe this pattern has always been there, or maybe social media has simply made these attitudes much more visible.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Israel’s ongoing conflict with Palestinians is framed by supporters of Israel around threats to its existence, while Palestinians and their supporters describe the consequences in terms of occupation, displacement, and violence against civilians.

Hitler is also being glorified on TikTok today, with his actions being presented through the deeply disturbing logic that he “helped eradicate” a community, Jews, whom they view as a threat to the world.

Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab are considered heroes by many because their actions are framed as acts of resistance against perceived threats or justified through a particular political narrative.

Savarkar is hated by many, even more strongly than some historical figures associated with mass violence, but he is also considered a hero by many who believe Hinduism and Hindu identity have been under threat.

I remember feeling absolute dread (a feeling of threat) when thousands attended Yakub Memon’s funeral in Mumbai.

And that is what makes this whole subject so uncomfortable.

Mourning, glorifying, or defending people who have done questionable things simply because they supposedly acted against “perceived threats to our existence” is becoming mainstream.

Closer to home, Hindus have attacked minorities in India because they believe their religion or cultural identity is under threat.

Christians in places like Tamil Nadu have also staged protests when public spaces in their area are used for festivals associated with other religions, with some viewing this as a threat to their own religious identity or traditions.

Then there are Kashmiri Pandits, who are being portrayed as a threat to the “culture” or “religion” of the land even when they are simply celebrating their festivals in a place with which they have a deep historical connection.

The circumstances are obviously different. But the underlying psychology is worth examining.

Once we convince ourselves that another community is an existential threat, almost anything can start being rationalised in the name of protecting our own.

And that leaves me wondering: who is going to do what next in the name of a “perceived threat”?

No community is completely free from this tendency, and no community can automatically claim moral superiority. Across religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, and political movements, people have at different points convinced themselves that their identity, culture, religion, or very existence is under threat.

Once “they are a threat” starts gaining ground, the question is no longer simply who is right or wrong. The question becomes how far people are willing to go to bring down or harm the people they have decided are the threat.