Last year I was on an official visit to Scotland. There I met another architect who was on a short visit with his homemaker wife.

A small note on colleague's wife: Let's call her X. She was a typical small town Indian lady, very conventional. Though a graduate, she found It hard to speak In English. So, being the only other lady In the group, I had to act as her mouth piece!

The place where we were staying had a creche nearby, within the premises. When we were busy with our official work. Lady X spent her time walking around the premises. One day she asked me to accompany her to this creche. She was acting so excited about those children like wow they look like porceline dolls. Sooo cute..soo chubby..their skin is so soft...their eyes are in different colors..blue, green, grey she was going on and on. My suspicion levels were raised.

"How did u get to see them at such close quarters? they were Inside the creche..right?" I asked her.

"The caretakers bring them out daily at 11 am for playing "

I: How do u know that?

X: I go there daily..watch them playing In the open ground from afar.

I: Started feeling uneasy..

I: Did u talk to the caretakers?

X: No. I tried..but they hurried away.

I warned her not to approach those children In any way spent my precious time in explaining why. Still..she had this obstinate look on her face. 

One day..after our sight seeing trip we decided to shop at Tesco for some essentials. It was early evening..around 5p.m. We 6 of us were in the group. We decided to split..agreeing to finish our shopping in 2 hours and meet at the entrance. We 4 of us left Mr & Mrs. X alone to their shopping and went on our way.

Since we were in a hurry to return to London on the same night, we hurried through our shopping.

There was one tea shop In the entrance lobby and we all gathered there for our much-needed tea!

We were sitting kinda scattered ..enjoying our sandwich and tea..when 2 policemen decended on us!

They cornered Mr& Mrs.X and started firing questions.

Most of the Scot men are tall.. but believe me...Scot police men with their enormous height and tank-like build, their long and short guns dangling, they easily put fear in one's mind.

The scene was quite grim..with people watching from a safe distance..one policeman was talking on a wireless...the other one Still talking to Mrs. X with a stern  expression on his face !

The problem was..

On Seeing a cute little girl wandering nearby, Lady.X threw all my warnings in the air, picked up that kid and cuddled her..it seems! Adding more Injury. Lady X asked her husband to take a photo of her holding that cute girl!

What she didnt know was all her actions were being watched through CCTV! Even Mr.X was ignorant of this fact !

Within five minutes..the father of that kid made a complaint of this objectionable act of Mr & Mrs.X and Boom!! The policemen were on X couple in a jiffy!

Even after seeing Lady.X's trouble In speaking English..they continued their interrogation relentlessly.

The problem was the father of that kid refused to let go off this Incident as an accidental one. He was hell bent on putting the suspicious lady X behind the bars!

Even after showing all the valid documents, he was not relenting. Another big problem was..Mr.X himself was just an acquaintance and we didnt know much about him to vouch for him. The police asked the rest of us to leave..but we didnt feel like leaving Mr.X in that strange land all alone facing the music.

After an hour-long explanation on culture-differences coupled with our local Scot friend's phonecall, the father finally relented with an assurance of X couple leaving Scotland for good!

When we came out, it was 12 ..midnight !

This incident may sound absurd to many of us.

But...Child abuse is verymuch real In this world. Western countries are aware of this worrying situation and act accordingly. They dont allow strangers near their children. Even a harmless smile at their children can cause suspicion. Everyone keeps away from children unless they have their parents' approval.

Here in India, awareness is almost nil. A recent survey says that sexually abused children are more in numbers Iin India!! High time we wake up to the wicked ways of human perversions.Just because our population is racing towards a new record doesnt mean our children are less precious.

Most of the Parents think that the threats come only from the outside..

But, In today's fast paced life with both the parents working, the child is often left alone in the care of neighbours, servants and relatives. Children are the most vulnerable target and sexually abusing them is the cruelest thing.

Seeing the number of child abuse cases escalating every minute, it's high time, NGOs and Govt generate more awareness programs on this Issue.

PS: One Interesting factor was through out that interrogation Lady X remained unruffled!! For a lady from a small town with little exposure, she projected an unconcerned attitude like "what I did was damn right and u better accept it" !!

At that time ..her obstinacy irritated me a lot! But at the same time, it also provoked a thought..with better education and lot of exposure, are we turning into wimps???

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written by Pavalamani Pragasam, October 24, 2009

mmmmm...very thought-provoking! Our own scenario juxtaposed with a western scene presents a glaring contrast! High time something is done to create a better awareness about the matter. And, the different perspectives and attitudes among ourselves!!! Weilding our country and tackling its problems are indeed Herculean tasks!

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written by Santosh, October 25, 2009

Good thought Umbs!!
Legislation is meant to make life more secure and easy for the people and enforcement agencies should carefully consider the basic motive behind their (law) introduction. While reprimanding any act of non compliance the intent of the law breaker needs to be examined in detail before he/she is meted with the customary police brutality.
We would be living in a indifferent,insensitive world if law abiding men / women would have to make an effort to comply with the laws of the land.
Regds

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written by Domarp, October 25, 2009

I agree child abuse is rampant in India and much of it never comes in picture since people are still fear about their repercussions and facing the society..it is high time through education and awareness policies they are addressed...we India take lot of things for granted...though this event has put a question mark about our awareness and their sense of vigilance...

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written by umbrella, October 26, 2009

@PP
U r right . It's indeed an Herculean task. Thank you for ur input, Madam.

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written by umbrella, October 26, 2009

@ Santosh
I agree with ur words "the intent of the law breaker needs to be examined in detail before he/she is meted with the customary police brutality". But When it comes to innocent children, sparing no one is the best way to eliminate such evils from society. Thanks for ur input.

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written by umbrella, October 26, 2009

@ Domarp

Yes..need of the hour is to spread awareness. Thanks for ur input.

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written by IdleMind, October 26, 2009

I know Western countries are quick to slap child abuse charges at the drop of the hat. The problem is the moment you implement this in India, our children will be equipped to call police even if their parents give them a scolding. I know of a case from US where the child dialed 911 (police) after he was beaten by his Indian father for not doing homework. Do we tolerate that?

Being conscious is good, but being overtly conscious invites chaos. Our lawmakers need to understand that first. what say?

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written by Anuradha Banerji, October 29, 2009

hehehe... Indians have a disposition to kiss and cuddle kids and ma'am X gave the best example. well, it is good that children are under strict supervision. an important step towards protecting children from child abuse.

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