The recent brouhaha in the media on women getting equal opportunities in the Armed Forces, by gaining an entry to the National Defence Academy might pacify the feminists and the 'sensational news' hungry population at large. Does it however have deeper underpinnings that require much needed attention. The fight for justice towards parity in work, opportunities, representation, equal pay for equal work, has gathered pace in the recent past, more so after the "me too" movement gathered momentum across the world. The Indian Constitution provided for universal adult franchise much before some of the advanced western democracies. The percentage of women voting in Indian elections has seen a marked and dramatic rise, reaching a watershed moment in the 2019 general elections wherein the percentage of women voters exceeded that of the men.

It has become fashionable in the country for the judiciary to question the executive on policy implementation and the lack of involvement in services offered to the citizens of the country on issues that grab TRP and focus the attention of the people. Issues such as these portray the judiciary as the saviours of the nation, allaying the fears of the people and giving them succour. While there is truth in plenty of their yeoman efforts to dispense justice and stir the conscience of the policy makers, a little introspection would do no harm. Why doesn't the pendency of cases, representation of women in the judiciary, people languishing for years and decades as under trial prisoners, catch their attention? Why do cases of the high and mighty get listed on priority while lesser mortals with similar offences continue to wait in their unending quest for justice?

The conscience keepers of the nation must unlock their conscience and face the harsh reality that involves some soul searching because justice like the proverbial mirage is not enough to be only seen as an optical illusion, but also needs to be dispensed and earlier the better.