IF the gang rape of a 23-year-old girl in a Delhi bus enraged people, the treatment meted out by the government and the police to those demanding justice added fuel to the anger. Young boys and girls poured into India Gate and Raj Path, the road that houses the Prime Minister’s and the Home Minister’s offices on either side and finally leads to Rashtrapati Bhawan, the highest office of the country. They came spontaneously, without any political prod. And they were filled with rage, despair, and burning in their hearts was one question. Will the government finally take note of the increasing crimes against women and take any meaningful action?
Politicians of all hues were conspicuously absent from the scene of action. They were all issuing regular update statements, from the comforts of party offices. Each blaming the other. The youth in the meanwhile were being drenched in cold water in this winter, being attacked with tear gas shells and cane-charged till the policemen got tired. If the crowd threw stones at the police, they in turn threw it back at the crowd. They did not think, for a moment that they were returning the weapon to the children as if to dare them for more. While the police were in helmets and chest guards, armed with cane and lathis, the youth were unarmed, unprotected and yet courageous.
The Delhi Police even went to the extent of blaming the death of one of their colleagues on the protestors. Constable “Subhash Tomar was injured in the chest and abdomen”, the police claimed. Whereas the preliminary statements made by the doctors at the hospital indicated he bore no external injuries. Even the initial reports on the post mortem made public clearly stated that the constable bore no injury marks and had in fact died of the heart attack. But later the police version changed, claiming that Tomar had died of physical injuries. Such is the level of moral degradation of one of the so-called elite police forces in the country.
For nearly seven days, the UPA government looked the other way, without reacting to the shrill voices of the protestors. Why are you not talking to us, asked the younsters, who expected those in the government to react with them, on their side, against the ghastly rape incident, the latest in the series of several such crimes. This time it was barbarism at its worst. The Prime Minister condescended to address the nation only after full seven days and his speech generated more resentment instead of soothing the agitated minds. Uncharitable it may be, but the comparison between his dry, follow-the-script delivery was compared to US President Barack Obama’s address within hours of the school massacre in the US. Nobody accused Manmohan Singh of being an orator but a little amount of sincerity was definitely expected. Home Minister Shinde went to the extent of comparing the protesting kids with Maoists. For three days the government clamped Emergency-like control on the city, shutting down metro stations, imposing rule 144 in one of the busiest locations and the heart of Delhi. The overbearing number of policemen and metal barriers deployed on the road, combined with a grey, sunless winter morning reminded one very much of the dictatorial Communist regimes.
In 1978, after the kidnapping, raping and killing of Geeta and her brother Sanjay, both in their early teens, similar anger broke out. Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was then the External Affairs Minister came out of parliament. Someone threw a stone at him, which landed on his forehead. He did not order the security to run amuck in the crowd. He stood there, addressed the crowd and pacified them and assured them that the government would do its utmost in securing justice.
During the anti-Mandal agitations, when a student had attempted to self-immolate and was lying in critical condition in Safdarjung Hospital, BJP stalwart L K Advani went to the hospital, despite being advised by all that the situation was smouldering and physical harm may come to him. UPA could find not one leader—male or female—to show such stellar leadership qualities. Here we had ‘news briefings’ of the UPA Chairperson and her son meeting some protestors in her house, though no one could identify who these representatives were.
The protests continue at Jantar Mantar, a stone’s throw from the Parliament. The Main opposition party demanded the immediate convening of the parliamentary session to amend the law, to grant death sentence to rapists. But the government has turned it down. It has also refused to call an all-party meeting over the issue. No reasons given for either.
Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse in KEM hospital was raped by a sweeper and choked with a dog chain in 1973. She lies in coma even today. While the rapist, charged with robbery and assault has been released from jail after serving two concurrent jail term of seven years. Where is the justice in this? In most cases of sexual assault, the woman fails to recover, poorly aided by the society and family. Crimes against women are reported less because it is seen more a blot on the girl rather than the perpetrator. Death sentence to the rapist is only one of the few measures.
Starting with primary school level, children need to be taught to respect both the genders equally. This teaching and learning has to begin from home. The parents should stop forcing the daughters to yield the first among equal positions to sons. The society has to be sensitized. Decades ago, Guruji Golwalkar, (Guruji Samagraha, Vol IV) narrated an incident. He said there was a bike accident, in which the woman was thrown out of the vehicle and her cloth had been caught in the wheel. Even as she lay there half naked, people, including woman, peered out of their windows and watched. He remarked that not one woman came forward to offer a cover to that girl. Hearing the commotion, he came out, saw the sight, removed his dhoti and offered it to the girl and then took her to a nearby house. He narrated this to sensitize the swayamsevaks about social consciousness. The situation remains the same today. In the Delhi rape case, the boy and the girl were lying naked on the road, shivering in the night. From among the group of 50-odd spectators, not one man offered a jacket or a shawl. The police had to fetch sheets from a near-by hotel to cover them. What needs to be changed is the minds and mindset. Coupled with strict policing, a connect between the police and the people and political leadership would go a long way in bringing down the crimes against women, not just in Delhi but in India.
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