A Nation on Boil

A Nation on Boil

It is a cold December night and been six days since the horrible Delhi Gang rape. The protests have been going on in the capital and across country since then. But the latest turn of events, I think, have suddenly turned this Social protest into a much wider Governance issue which has tested the so called Democratic values of our nation to their limits.

The brutal crackdown on the peaceful protesters has bought anything but shame to our country’s image of being the largest working democracy in the world.

The rapes have been happening across the breadth of country for a long time but hardly have they been reported in media.

For long these culprits of these heinous crimes have gone unchallenged. The demonstrations happening at the India Gate has been culmination of long withheld public anger against the lax attitude of police and other government machinery, equally responsible is the judiciary.

Most of these rapes committed against weaker sections of society are not reported in police, those which get reported hardly see any police action due to influence of high caste people. Hardly are the charge sheets filed and even if charge sheets do get filed by police in most of the cases police makes a weak case for victims. The very abysmally low conviction rate in such crimes also fails to deter the possible perpetrates.  The lower judiciary is also at fault for the delay caused in awarding justice to the victim. Even this delayed justice comes after lots of social stigma and trauma.

There have been 3-4 more rapes cases reported in media even after 16^th December Delhi case which reflects that there is no end to this sickness in our society.

Demand for Capital Punishment

There have been voices rising asking for capital punishment for rapes. Government has given a hint of awarding capital punishment in rarest of rare rape cases. This proposal of government raises a question, how does it justifies that a rape committed by one person is a lesser crime than the one committed by a group of persons.  

In place of Capital punishment, these criminals must be given stern social punishment and they must be made to realize their crime, capital punishment would way too easy for them.

Need of the hour

More than strict law against rapes, more CCTV cameras, more police presence on public places, better police conditioning towards women, fast track courts and higher conviction rates, what India needs at this hour is the conditioning of young children by their parents. The parents must stop giving more entitlement rights to male children thus putting the girl children at disadvantage. The male children and young boys must be conditioned in such a way that they don’t see smartly dressed modern age girls as challenge to their entitlements.

Also the commodification of the females by commercial companies has resulted in objectification of women. This lousy representation of women has to stop in commercials and popular media. The sleazy film songs exaggerate the women’s status in our patriarchal society.    

Brutality at India Gate

Coming to bigger picture, India calls itself the largest working democracy in the world and gives huge of lip service to nations across the globe for their brutal handling of protest.

However, in recent times, India, herself, has failed to come in term with protests irrespective of their nature be it peasant protest against forceful land grab by government, tribal protest against mining, demand of new statehood and countless more.

Constitution being the supreme law in our country fails in the every hands of its protector who take an oath before entering their respective offices to uphold it at all times. But time and again, citizens peaceful protesting, executing their rights under Article 19 of Constitution have been made target of state brutality citing one or the other lame reason.

The simmering public anger, in peaceful protest, has not only been result of recent rapes cases but also for the general failure in governance of the country over last 4-5 years. To put blame only on central executive would be wrong, across the country in several states common people have been suffering at the hands of incapable executive and administrative machinery. The opposition in states as well as at centre has time and again failed to raise issues and demand justification from respective governments at both centre and state level.

The headless social protest of people to impress upon the government to enact a strict law has not got any support from any of the major political party. This shows the general apathy among our political leadership across the spectrum towards issues affecting common man. No social activists, aspiring politician, aspiring PM candidate have come out at India Gate and supported the people.   We do not need a former Chief of Staff to fight for us who (government willing) would have been part of same executive or Swami whose own wealth is questionable or others.

People of India, anyway  are better off without support of so claimed champion of people’s cause and this headless movement would achieve its goal. It is the masses who make sacrifices to attain their goals and still remain faceless.

Why is the Head of State silent on this huge failure of law and order when the young and old innocent peacefully protesting people are being victimised at place which is stone’s throw away from his heavenly abode? Has he forgotten the oath administered to him to safeguard the Constitution and People of this Republic?

It won’t be harsh for me to say that the image which a Cartoonist drew of National Emblem few months back was truly justified yesterday. The protectors of public have not only turned their back at people but are also targeting them for negligence of their own.

There are reports of student wings of national party inciting violence at India Gate. At least now, at this sensitive juncture in growth of over nation, political parties must realize not to use such issues for their own political benefit.

Law and order has taken a severe beating with rising crimes, but yesterday’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protest has taken it to a new low.

It is time when people take this protest to its logical conclusion and don’t stop at anything short of a better (to say the least) governance which we deserve. Any amount of lip service by government should not be the end of it.

I hope that on Monday Supreme Court to take Suo Motto notice of this failure of law and order, make Delhi government and MHA give a suitable response to people of India.

Let us make sure that this moment in time does not end up being a small dot on larger canvass like the recent anti-corruption protests. As the preamble of our Constitution says, We, the People, are the sovereign, the government is accountable to us. It is not for us to demand safest from government. This protest should become a watershed moment in the history of our nation. 

Government must act fast stop BECAUSE BUCK STOPS WITH THE PEOPLE OF INDIA.

The Gang rape victim has given us opportunity not only to get safer India for ourselves but also to raise the long standing failure of governance issues.