What was most surprising and unbecoming of the watchdog was the gender bias in favour of abusive women. Sambhavna Seth is a feminist who had abused Rahul Mahajan earlier on the show and as well showered expletives on him and his family. But that matter was settled amicably. But when Raja Choudhary objected to Sambhavna’s male abuse, she started shedding crocodile tears and complained to Bigg Boss who without listening to Raja, nominated him for eviction.
It was then that the 3,000-odd warriors of the Save Indian Family jumped in and voted continuously for Raja – this was in addition to his other fans, which loved and adored him. Finally the verdict came on Friday (September 19, 2008) - when Raja was saved from eviction thanks to the tremendous support that he received not only from the Save Indian Family but his other fans as well.
Though Raja won this testimony and was back on the show, this again gives rise to the concept of men’s rights and their despicable position in society. Was the tension that Raja underwent plus the stigma of nomination for eviction that he carried, really worth it? The answer from a logical standpoint would a big ’no’ without attaching any significance to undue sentimental balance in favour of any gender. Moreover, for how long is the society going to put unnecessary pressure on men to accommodate bad and abusive women? For how long sexists like Bigg Boss are going to annihilate men’s rights to satiate their own personal desires?
One may argue Raja was abusive towards Sambhavna but so was Sambhavna towards other males. Abuse of a man by a woman is women empowerment and abuse of a woman by a man is crime? Is it not double standard at its best? The answer to the above again from a logical standpoint would be a very acceptable ’yes’. And such double standards may still be acceptable from a layman but not from someone like the Bigg Boss who is not only watched by millions around the world, but is also expected to be fair in his approach. Against this parameter, the Bigg Boss fails miserably having ignored material facts and failed in providing an opportunity to Raja to prove his innocence.
The need for such a requirement also arises from the fact that the Indian diaspora is heavily influenced by celebrity behaviour and showing abuses against men as acceptable sets an undesirable precedent and poisons the society. It jeopardises the social position of both men and women in society.
The Save Indian Family Foundation, Bangalore, is one of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) strongly campaigning for the Save Indian Family. It urges the Bigg Boss not to repeat such incidences of sexism and gender bias to prevent further damage to an already-deteriorating society. This note ends with a feeling of relief at Raja’s victory.