Over the last two weeks, the country was gripped by the brutal rape and physical assault of a medical student in a moving bus in Delhi, the very capital of India. It led to widespread protests with frequent standoffs between the government and the protesters and the protesters and the police and between the police and the Delhi Chief Minister. The mainstream opposition parties were, “marginalised” in these protests near Jantar Mantar. Though new political entrants like Arvind Kerijlal and Baba Ramdev tried to earn a few brownie points by aligning themselves with the protesters, they were rejected by the crowd. In midst of all this confusion, a constable lost his life, supposedly after receiving grievous injuries during the protests. Though many claim that he had an heart attack and was, rather, helped by the protesters, is vehemently rejected by the Delhi Police.
So whose fault is it?? Well it lies with us..it lies with our forefathers. Well, more with our forefathers. The patriarchal mind-set is prominent in India… We have failed to give women their rightful place in the society. They have been, over the generations, treated as a burden by the parents and as a “bed-warmer” by their husbands. The men have always been the kings(the biggest irony is that one of the most influential persons in the country is a woman, Sonia Gandhi). Delhi, where the incident took place, has a woman Chief Minister. Now coming back to the point, other than the dominance of patriarchal mind-set, we had other social evils like female foeticide still rampant in India. What is even more surprising is that it is more rampant in the urban areas than the rural areas. So the boys group in villages with no girls of their age. They see their mothers being abused, shoved and pushed to the corner by their fathers. And then how can the society expect that such incidents will not occur.
In more appropriate terms, “there is a complete lack of gender sensitisation” in the country. The educationalists have long advocated the introduction of sex education in school curriculum, but they have been rejected time and again by the “politicians” as vulgar. The society is not healthy. It is plagued by such deep rooted evils that we don’t even realize that it is a malignant tumour embedded deep within the anatomy of the society.
So why didn’t the politicians do something sooner? Unfortunately, they did and yet they didn’t. Indian has several laws that metes out harshest of punishment to rapists(it stops just short of the death penalty) . The problem is with their implementation. The police lacks the sensitivity to handle such cases. Sometimes the perpetrators of such crime are high placed officials in the governments, either bureaucrats or politicians, who get away by bribery and political connections. And in between are caught hapless victims.
In one instance, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, questioned the character of a woman who was raped. She even went on to say that her complaint is fake and is an attempt to malign the government. She had to literally eat her words the next day when the police proved that there indeed have been a case of rape and the accused were nabbed from the city. So what did she do next? She called the investigating police officer, Damayanti Sen, and within a month had her transferred. The Chief Minister’s office claimed that it had nothing to do with it and it was “routine”, but we knew better. What actually happened we’ll never know. But her gaffe doesn’t help. And as recent as the day before yesterday, a Trinamool MLA, indulged in the worst form of character assassination by stating in public that there was no rape but a deal gone wrong. The Supreme Court, repeatedly, in its directive have stated that the character of a victim cannot be questioned during trial. But somehow, the politicians do it with impunity.
And some politicians indulge in character assassination of the protesters, like the President’s son, Abhijit Mukherjee, who claimed that the protesters are “painted” and “dented”. Then they tender a public apology. But they don’t realize that this emboldens the views of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes. They get an idea that since the politicians supports their view, they can get away with it.
Before the government drafts new legislation, they need to make a centralised authority to which all politicians, from Cabinet ministers to independent MLAs, are answerable for their conduct. It should be an organization with power and not merely an advisory committee. And it should be in fast track mode. It takes less than a few minutes to make a statement and then they shouldn’t be given one month to reply back. They should be able to suspend a MP or a MLA and impose monetary fines. And then contempt proceedings should begin in a court. The leaders, who have the means to reach the most number of people must be made accountable then and there.
And SOMETIMES the media does play up an incident. Media is one of the crucial instruments in a democracy(and again I believe India still has a democracy despite what most people would like you to believe). But poor and “inflammatory” journalism can be destructive. Though the role of media in highlighting the Delhi Gangrape Case and the Park Street Rape case is nothing short of commendable.
So what should be the ideal punishment for rape? The death penalty? I believe no… Murder is punishable by the death penalty but it hasn’t stopped murders. Castration should be the more appropriate punishment. Take the “men” out of these men. Between the awarding of the death penalty and execution of the statement, there is a long process involving the lowest to the highest echelons of power. Unfortunately amending the process would require the amendment of the constitution which is not easy. Because the matter would involve the states, the amendment needs to be passed in each of the states. It may never see the light of the day.
And I believe in humanity, We have evolved after millions of years of evolution. Let this be not undone by some people. We need to unite ourselves in this fight..make a solemn pledge.
And in midst of all this, we, as Indians need to be rational. Hard as it may sound, its probably the only way out. Emotions should drive us in working together… But let decisions be made rationally.
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