In the last couple of weeks alone, there have been several instances of grisly violence against young women, with and without cause, some resulting in fatalities. We don’t know how many such incidents go unreported but there’s no doubt that murder, rape, acid attacks, ‘dishonour’ killings, doctored pictures on the social media, and other such acts by young men are on the rise. Why are young Indian men so angry? Why the extreme aggression? The recent murder of a woman in Chennai should be a wake-up call. Clearly, there’s a social and/or psychological problem underpinning this and other similar incidents. We cannot be sure, but frustration, jealousy, competition, social pressure, lack of direction, immaturity, dissatisfaction, unrealistic aspirations, revenge, masochism… all this and more appear to be at play. We can no longer blame a lack of education because the facts prove otherwise. Is it the influence of movies, then? Money? Competition? Too many dogs fighting for too few bones? The dogma of custom and ritual? Caste tensions? Or have we simply degenerated into a sick society?

The pressure to perform at various levels — social, professional, economic, academic, sexual — is becoming too hot to contain. Something goes wrong, leading to inexplicable, inexcusable, illogical actions in which young men take the law, and harmful instruments, into their hands. Introspection may provide clues and corrective actions. Meanwhile, what’s obvious is that such deliberately deviant behaviour is in itself a cry for help. And if we don’t respond swiftly and appropriately to these tangible signs of trouble in society, we will end up perpetuating the crimes. After all, terrorists don’t always come wielding assault rifles and carrying IEDs in their backpacks. They come with troubled minds.

Editorial Consultant

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