Questioner (Q): Sir, first of all, thank you for taking out your time for this discussion. A few days back, the nation somehow woke from its sleep, when a case happened in Hyderabad—a woman was brutally raped and murdered. People started asking for justice in their own ways; somebody for lynching, somebody for hanging, somebody for several other kinds of brutal ways.
I find that rape is considered as something which is done by an individual and which cannot be solved by just punishing the individual. When such cases happen again and again, even after stricter laws are passed, even in countries where laws are far stricter than in India, it is clear that there is something wrong.
I wanted to ask as a common man, what exactly is the cause behind this and what is the role of the society, the education, the entire entertainment industry, and how these crimes are taken into account via the rule of law and justice? I want a total view of this, a holistic view of this entire crime which is happening at a very rampant scale. What is behind this?
Acharya Prashant (AP): It depends on the depth to which you want to take your inquiry. If you want to keep things superficial, then the fellow who committed the act is the one behind the act. You could say just that much and close the file. You could convince and console yourself that the problem has been explained and the culprits have been lapped and punished. And it's not that you would be wrong. It's just that such an approach would not take you very far in the direction of really solving the problem. Unfortunately, that's the approach most people want to take. It seems to be the easiest and the most hassle-free approach. A crime takes place, name the individuals, hunt for them, and punish them. This is the most superficial and hence the least effective way of looking at the problem or solving the problem.
