Wish you all a very regretful New Year--Part 2

The Pain, Protests and Politics 

Pain

The rape of 23-year old physiotherapy student was a wake up call to all of us. This incident questioned the very basis of women empowerment for which we have been striving hard for decades. Though rape cases are reported almost every other day, this incident struck us hard in the sweet spot. It might have been because it happened in the Capital or the gruesomeness of the crime. However, the entire nation was mobilized to protest for harsher punishments and stricter regulations that can ensure safety of women in our nation.

A report by the United Nations had pointed out that India is the most dangerous place for a girl to live. This statistic was based on several factors such as female infanticide, rape and its subsequent conviction rates, etc. In a nation where women are respected to such an extent that even the nation is fondly called "Mother India", this report forces us to introspect ourselves and ask the question "Are we respecting the women in reality as much as we speak"? 

The Delhi rape case is one such incident which defames India in front of all the nations. All the countries are now having a keen look at the developments of the case. With this, the onus is on the government to ensure deserving and timely justice to the woman who left the world mourning on 29th of  December, 2012.

Protests

The entire nation had voiced in unison demanding stricter punishments for crimes against women, in order to make the streets safer for women. The protests were on in almost all the major cities in the country. The capital, however had witnessed the largest number of crowd that thronged for the protests. India gate and Jantar Mantar were the two venues, where the protests were carried out. Later, section 144 was imposed near India Gate following a riot like situation which had injured many innocent protesters and also resulted in the death of a constable. Many protesters were detained and there were also reports of harassment of a few detained women by the police. Political outfits, such as AAP( Aam Aadmi Party), ABVP( Akhil Bharathi Vidhyarthi Parishad) and the student's union of JNU(Jawaharlal National University) took part in the protests which was not comfortable with many protesters who were apolitical. There were various demands put forth by the protesters. Some demanded capital punishment to the perpetrators, some pressed for castration of the criminals, in order to ensure deterrence of such crimes. 

Minus the political parties, the group of protesters lacked a leader. This has now turned out to be a big problem as the strength of protesters is getting smaller by the day and they are unsure of their course of action, except that they are preparing to give suggestions to the 3 member Verma Committee, which is working on a report for the steps needed to strengthen legislation and the further course of action. This committee has invited suggestions from various political parties regarding the punishment and legislation that needed to be drafted for stricter norms.   

Politics

As with all the issues and protests in India, even this case was played around in politics. The protests were joined by the newly self-acclaimed alternative "Aam Aadmi party", ABVP (Akhil Bharathi Vidyarthi Parishad) and the student union of JNU( Jawaharlal National University). Clearly, it was visible that sympathizers of the rape victim who had gathered for protests were not comfortable with the political parties joining in. A few political leaders had tried to make a mark on the media with their "opinions" to curb rape. One of the most embarrassing would have to be a remark by the President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee's son, Abhijit Mukherjee, a serving MP who commented on the protesters. His comment " Walking in candlelight processions, going to discotheques, we have been students. I well know what the character of a student should be", triggered a series of accusations for his sexist comment. "Though he gave an apology, it was very vague and not unconditional, he added if's and but's to it" was the view by communist leader Brinda Karat. Later, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, sister of Mr. Abhijit Mukherjee rendered an apology on behalf of her brother.

There were a few other politicians who blamed the girls of today for wandering out in the nights and for wearing provocative clothes. Such remarks by these political leaders could have been either for creating a publicity for themselves by capitalizing this sensitive issue or they might have been still an "old school" type who are phobic to progressive development of women.

There was one very embarrassing incident regarding the recording of the victim's statements. The Sub-divisional magistrate in her report had mentioned that the Delhi Police had tried to interfere with recording the victim's statements. The police chief however, denied it. The Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit had demanded from the Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, an inquiry regarding the alleged "interference" by the police chief. The Delhi CM demanded the resignation of police chief, but the Union Minister and the Congress defended the police chief, stating that there had been no interference. This issue created a ripple in political circles in Delhi.