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RainbowMan: In the Face of Fear, I Wanna See You Be Brave

The most ordinary people are often the bravest! The Quint raises a toast to Neerja Bhanot and other brave souls. 

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As the effervescent Sonam Kapoor spearheaded the #FearvsNeerja Instagram campaign as a part of movie promotions for Neerja, I couldn’t stop asking myself about my greatest fears. The loss of my fur babies, my human family and friends, death, dismemberment or a degenerative disease…I’m afraid of all these things.

The most ordinary people are often the bravest! The Quint raises a toast to Neerja Bhanot and other brave souls. 
Sonam Kapoor faces her worst fears in a scene from Neerja 

A super awesome super-bitch friend quipped, “Bloody bugger you are such a shameless media whore. Imagine, if the press lost interest in you! Phir tu Rudaali raag kiske liye gaayega?True, I am what I am because of the tonnes of support I get from members of the press. Men and women who brave tear gas, lathi charges, mob molestation, death threats et all, just so that they can find the truth and share it with us. Losing an independent media should be one of free India’s greatest fears. See, journalists are like actors. People don’t really know what goes into doing their job, but everyone has an opinion (usually unfavourable) about them. They are poisoned, lynched and raped. They get bullied and trolled on social media, they get beaten up in court houses…and yet they soldier on. ‘Soldier’… yes, that’s the word.

The most ordinary people are often the bravest! The Quint raises a toast to Neerja Bhanot and other brave souls. 
The soldier in you lives on Lance Naik Hanuanthappa (Photo: Twitter/@IndianArmy)

When a soldier was buried alive in snow, we accorded him respect because he deserves nothing less. It takes a lot of courage to brave not just enemies from across the border, but also a hostile terrain and be prepared to lay down your life for your country.

But when a journalist reports the truth and has the editorial integrity to report every aspect of it, even if it means going against the establishment, we are the first to scream “deshdrohi”, “anti-Indian” and “gaddaar”. Tell me, is threatening a journalist with sexual assault on Twitter a sign of patriotism? Is thrashing news reporters desh-bhakti? Why are there different rules for those who carry the pen and those who wield a sword?

The most ordinary people are often the bravest! The Quint raises a toast to Neerja Bhanot and other brave souls. 
Stronger than fear, Malala Yousafzai (Photo: Twitter/@NatGeoEducation)

Most brave people I know are ordinary people. Malala Yousafzai was just a little girl when she was shot in the head for going to school. She survived and recovered, but her greatest act of bravery was to continue her fight for a cause that she believed in. Rosa Parks was a young woman who fought for the rights of people of colour in the US. She refused to vacate her seat on a bus for a white passenger. It was a simple act, but it wasn’t easy. It was brave. It inspired an entire generation of people to come together and demand that they be treated with dignity and respect. Princess Merida in Brave, one of my favourite animated movies, displays similar bravery by using her archery skills against potential suitors to win her own hand in marriage, thus saving herself from becoming a child bride. Every day we read of young girls refusing advances of creepy men and getting ‘punished’ for their bravery in the form of acid attacks and gang rapes.

I think members of the feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot are brave. This bunch has been fighting not only for the rights of women, but also LGBTQ people in Russia. They are known for holding unauthorized provocative guerilla performances in unsusal public locations. These performances are then edited into music videos and posted online. They are brave because it takes a lot of guts to go up against Vladamir Putin! Members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhina were arrested and charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, after a performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in early 2012. They were tried and imprisoned amidst international furore. While Yekaterina was released early, the other two women languished in prison for two years. But this did not stop them. The band performed at Sochi Olympics and members Nadezhda and Maria have been attacked and assaulted with whips, pepper spray and paint at various performances. Pussy Riot shows us that bravery and creativity go hand in hand.

My friend Suzette Jordan was brave. It was bad enough that she was gang raped, but things only got worse for her. While the Chief Minister of her state wondered aloud if the rape was even real, people cast aspersions on her character. Many thought she was an experienced prostitute because she did not turn into a de-sexualised zinda-laash after her rape, but went on to testify in court where she was humiliated repeatedly. Faceless men waited for her in parked cars in dark alleys. Some even stalked her when she went to work or just to buy groceries. But she stood her ground and testified. And though she did not live to see her perpetrators punished, she inspired millions of women to stand up for what was right. By waiving her right to anonymity she told the world that she was not ashamed of what happened to her. That her rapists should be ashamed of their behaviour.

Bravery can come in many forms. From standing up against your parents because they want to kick out your pet dog while moving to another city, and refusing to bow down to social pressure and marrying the person you love irrespective of caste, to telling your Punjabi parents that you are turning vegetarian (I dare you to try it). It takes a brave person to listen to ideas that one doesn’t necessarily agree with. It takes a brave person to speak their mind, like Sonam Kapoor always does in real life! Scope, scale and size do not matter when it comes to bravery. Bravery is accepting that fear is real and perfectly natural. Fear often prevents us from doing stupid things like sticking our hand into a fire, or eating something from a filthy roadside food stall. But there is a thin line dividing bravery and stupidity. Fear helps you see the distinction. Bravery is overcoming fear and taking necessary action. It is OK if you are not fearless. But be brave.

(Harish Iyer is an equal rights activist working for the rights of the LGBT community, women, children and animals. ‘Rainbow Man’ is Harish’s regular blog for The Quint)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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