Anyone who, like me, finds themselves doom-scrolling through Instagram will have noticed the uproar surrounding the RG Kar Medical College sexual assault incident. The outrage is understandable, perhaps even necessary. But what troubles me is the direction this fury has taken—ranging from sweeping condemnations of Indian men to questioning the very worth of celebrating India’s independence. Why is this happening? Can anyone explain? Shouldn’t our focus be on the actual perpetrators and the alarming administrative inaction that seems to be aiding a cover-up? There’s something unsettling about this entire narrative. Am I the only one who feels this way?

"Urging media to be responsible while reporting."

"We are in total solidarity with the outpouring of real grief and fear on the streets . But it is necessary to separate facts from false propaganda."

"In case anyone feels they have been blocked unfairly - sorry- please drop a tweet to @NilanjanDasAITC & will forward to team to fix."

#GemsofMahua

Source:

https://x.com/MahuaMoitra/status/1824362503238808044

https://x.com/MahuaMoitra/status/1824109264077512712

https://x.com/MahuaMoitra/status/1823699873549488499

I am from Kolkata. The mood in Bengal is very different from the rest of the country. Whereas the rest of the country is treating this as a generic issue of women’s safety, patriarchy and doctor’s safety, the people here are specifically viewing this as a planned killing (and subsequent coverup) of an honest girl student who tried to blow the whistle on multiple scams in the hospital, where the TMC involved. There is a lot of focus on the allegation of the student’s parents that there were told to accept it as a suicide and offered money. In other words, the rape and murder was a means to a larger end: to cover up a humongous scam. The Bengali media says that the scams allegedly involve cash for grades, sales of fake medicines, sex trafficking and organ trade. I must stress that these are still allegations and leaders like Mahua Moitra have dismissed them as rubbishy and false propaganda, ie it was just a straightforward rape and murder out of lust and misogyny, not the targeted assassination of a whistleblower.

Another point to note: the educated middle-class in Bengal has always been against Mamata, and she is opposed by the Left, the BJP and the state Congress. She has always been winning on the strength of the rural vote and slum vote (through various doles) and the Muslim vote. But now the feeling is that these votebanks may gradually abandon her.

This statement struck a chord with me profoundly. A college friend's wife (a working woman) recently posted that she wouldn't trust her daughter with "any man." Considering the depth of our friendship, her statement left me pondering. If her standard is so absolute—excluding "any man"—who then, in a critical situation, qualifies as a trustworthy guardian for her child? Does this imply that any woman would inherently be a more reliable custodian than any man? This broad generalization is troubling, and as an Indian man, I find this pervasive negativity exhausting.

Well the issue is people like you only taking away the crime from the incident. Perpetrators ko arrest karo, convict, punish. Done?. Okay wait for another incident another year.

Not to mention the medical report stated it was a gang rape and only one guy has been caught. Also vandalism by state goons. Well documented.

We women have been facing probably less heinous sexual offences on a daily basis in India. Catcalling, harassment, touching, even in our so called NLUs. The thing to take away is the general disrespect of women's boundaries, which is definitely a global thing, but noticeably lesser in other countries like the US and UK. Having been there, there is a little more respect and less sexual offences. Also victim blaming by authorities and refusal to register cases is also way lesser (corruption). There are CCTV and way other protections there, missing in India. Imagine a hospital ward not having a CCTV lol.

OP’s question: “Why Trash Instagram, Hate on Indian Men, & Diss India on Independence Day?”

My answer: Because that’s easier to do than attack Mamata Banerjee and the TMC, or call out the hypocrisy of her celebrity, cocktail party circuit MPs like Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghose.

Ten men raped a woman doctor to death and then tried to cover it up. Hundreds more wish they’d been doing the raping. Sorry if I’m not feeling particularly fond of Indian men or particularly proud of being in a country where this sort of thing still happens.

This is not - boyfriend and girlfriend had sex and there was an awkward moment of miscommunication. Ten people don’t get together and rape a woman if they aren’t all sharing in the vilest misogyny imaginable. And no one is covering it up if they care about women at all. And no one should be celebrating that if rape culture isn’t real- but here it is.

OMG you guyzzzz….. this is a WHISTLEBLOWER CORRUPTION case first and foremost. Yes, male toxicity and misogyny are major national issues, but this case is not the best example of it. If a guy student had protested against corruption he would have met the same fate. And why aren’t you guys talking about the fact that goons entered the hospital and tried to destroy evidence??? There is also a theory going around that she may have been killed first and then the corpse was raped, to distract from the corruption issue. Let’s wait for the CBI to weigh in on this.

Don’t blame men here but a woman: a cruel and insensitive CM who has politicised this rape and is trying to hush things up.

Why the hate against NUJS?? Why should NUJS students copy other colleges and protest about this??? There is no need to get on the bandwagon. We are LAW students. We can contribute better by writing about women's rights in blogs and spreading awareness, or by interning with Lawyers Collective or human rights lawyers like Karuna Nundy and Prashant Bhushan. This can have much more of an impact than a random candlelight march. What did the candlelight march achieve? Please tell me that!

You’ve clearly rattled the woke brigade with those 43 downvotes—looks like they’re gathering steam! 😂 But let’s get serious for a moment: not every feminist is a man-hater, just as not every man is a predator. The problem is, it’s the loudest, most extreme voices—whether they’re toxic feminists or the worst examples of men—that end up dominating the conversation and distorting the reality for everyone else.

Now, here’s a thought worth pondering—next time a self-proclaimed feminist demands you drop the “not all men” defense, consider how their toxic male counterparts love to generalize women with a slew of derogatory adjectives. In the end, these two groups are cut from the same cloth, each perpetuating the very divisions they claim to oppose. It’s a maddening cycle, isn’t it?

Let me correct OP and others: it's only elite, English-speaking social media that is trending this #IndianMenAreToxic bullshit. The real story is in Bengali social media -- there everyone is giving the REAL reason for what happened, i.e. a big criminal racket and corruption scandal. Also go to the page of the popular Bengali YouTuber Roddur Roy (who was arrested by Mamata a few years ago). He is saying in unfiltered, uncensored Bangla what the problem is.

https://www.youtube.com/@RoddurRoy