A heinous crime

The rape of a paramedical student in New Delhi is a shocking slap on the face of the nation's conscience. It may happen, that in our constant quest for up-to-the-minute headlines, this may disappear in a few weeks, or even in a matter of a few days.

There shouldn't be any question that the culprits should be given the maximum possible sentence, but isn't this also a time to reflect on ourselves? Where we stand as a nation? What out collective conscience as a society is?

Much is made out of India as getting to a "developed country" status. Yes, our economy is growing. People have better living conditions. But then, aren't our values as a civilized culture on a conflict course with most of the things that even a generation before us held as sacred?

Isn't it time that we stopped viewing women as a "commodity"? Somehow a weaker, inferior, lesser human being? Isn't how we treat women and children, and their safety and freedom, an important indication of a developed mindset? For, finally, isn't it the mindset of the people that determines how developed we are as a country?