113. Delhi students take to street demanding justice for the dead girl. P S Remesh Chandran

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Delhi students take to street demanding justice for the dead girl

P S Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum
 Article Title Image By Autthaporn Pradidpong. Graphics: Adobe SP.

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The last time the student community of India took to the streets was in the 1970s when, inspired by the very old Jayaprakash Narayan and his fight against the corruption in India, students in Universities from Kashmir to Kerala left classes for weeks and weeks, many of them never to return, and took to the streets to protest against the corruption of the congress government. This student community of India which did not get mesmerized by the brilliant speeches of the young Turks in the congress party or by the magical eloquence of the socialists going after a grand old man, obeying his instincts and words, was a great wonder in those times. What happened next, we all know. The largest people’s movement in India against governmental corruption since the time of the Indian Independence Struggle followed, at the end of which Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as advised by Brezhnev, declared national emergency to curb the unrest, Jayarakash Narayan was arrested with all opposition leaders and tortured in jail, she and her party was thoroughly defeated in the next parliament election, every atrocity and corruption conducted by Sanjay Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi, V.C.Shukla and a multitude of others exposed in the Justice Shaw Commission Trials, Indira Gandhi arrested and put in the Tihar Jail by the Morarji Desai administration, the sequence of events running till militant Sikhs took her life, ‘in their opinion’, for past crimes. It was a simple students’ struggle that originated as a protest against corruption and culminated in all these political and historical events in India. As it was in the past, the seed has been sown. Now again the student community of India, presently in the national capital New Delhi, is in the streets, protesting against central government’s inaction, even after hundreds of girl rapes having happened in New Delhi each year, the Chief Minister of Delhi having had a long time at her disposal to stop this criminal rapes, the woman Chief Minister moaning about her inability to either act or resign, the central government and the prime minister eagerly awaiting the signing of defense deals worth billions with Russian president in the midst of this mayhem, and supportive struggles starting in several state capitals. What we now see in New Delhi and in many other state capitals in the form of student agitation is an indication of how the future Indian citizens are going to think. They do not fear, they do not need a leader and they do not need a conventional medium to communicate, the actual warning to all Indian politicians and leaders that they are not at all qualified to lead them or govern the country for them. Intelligence Quotient proven in national open competition alone will determine the future prime ministers, cabinet ministers and parliamentarians of India. This young generation exactly resembles the zeal and modus operandi of events which shook the world recently and brought about the fall of governments in many countries.

Article Title Image By Michelle Ding. Graphics: Adobe SP. 

Delhi’s Chief Minister, her cabinet ministers, their senior bureaucrats, party supporters and sympathizers did a silent march in Delhi streets, with full state security and protection, demanding justice for the dead girl. This incident was what startled the nation more than the actual brutal incident. Everyone who never cared to do anything against rapists assembled at one place! The Who is Who of Delhi, who remained immobile during the months and months of Delhi crimes, with rape cases and women molestation cases being reported almost every day. During all these months, not one of them found it their national duty and responsibility to respond to the atrocities against women in the capital city of India, now parading through the streets, supposedly protesting, with state protection and security of course. Protection against whom? Demanding justice for the victim of a heinous crime which the state’s vigil could easily have prevented from happening. Demanding justice for whom? With this much intelligent and highly paid politicians moving around and working in Delhi, it is inconceivable to believe that their collective knowledge bank does not have relevant knowledge on the identities of Delhi’s main sexual crime perpetrators. We know, to win elections, they all essentially have to seek the vote and help of every decent and crooked voter in Delhi. No corner of the city is unknown to them or their supporters and followers. Why didn’t they during all these years report the activities of at least one women molester whose activities they or their party men came across through these years? Where a beggar comes to possess ten more rupees above his daily average earning, where a money lender is able to squeeze a hundred rupees more from a borrower, where a merchant sell fake and dubious things and makes a thousand more rupees as profit, and where a company operate profitably without obtaining any licenses, these dignitaries are there, asking for more money for their party collections. How will they omit to notice the names and identities of women molesters alone in Delhi? We know, the bus involved in this crime had tinted windows in spite of the new regulations. How many of these persons who paraded in this official charade of a protestation knew or knew not why authorities permitted this bus to run with tinted glasses? Was this bus regularly used by powerful people, powerful politically and economically, to abuse women, if not how will they dare operate unauthorized transport services from a public bus stand in India? Was this the only activity of this bus: are many other buses like this in our country’s capital? Instead of revealing answers to these questions which every Indian who caste a vote in the election asks, they parade the streets, demanding justice! Are they demanding justice for the offenders before they speak and call out names? This is the first time in India that a state head takes to the public road to demand justice for a raped and mutilated girl. They all divide parliament seats based on which religion each candidate is born into. They divide state cabinetships based on the strength of each religion in their won party. Can anyone of them say publicly which religion’s justice they demand, Christian, Muslim, Hindu? Moses set the rule in such a way that it will have to be one eye for an eye, one hand for a hand, one life for a life. Muslim and Hindu sets of rules also are not different or gentle either. What troubles them most is not any of these, but the most ridiculous problem of what can be a new law against rape named after!

[In response to news article ‘Delhi students take to streets for the dead girl’ on 14 January 2012]


Article Title Image By Micheile Henderson. Graphics: Adobe SP.  

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When we read about a very heinous atrocity committed on a woman, or when we see a television report on the same, our blood will boil and we will rush to some spot where we can do something worthwhile. That is human nature, a very desirable human nature. Rich or poor, young or old, man or woman, student or housewife, does not make any difference in this human attitude. If we come to know that a protestation is already going on in our neighbourhood, we will rush to that venue and participate. If it is in our state capital, we will get aboard the next bus and go there, if circumstances permit. But if it in Delhi that this protest is going on, we cannot all go there, but will certainly wish our hearts support go with them. This citizens feeling is what saved India from British hands. When people assembled for protests, the British loathed them and wished them death, because they knew that if people’s protests grew each day in mass, strength and ferocity, their foreign careers would be ruined, their privileges and pleasure would be taken away and they will have to pack up from India. So they moved the papas and mommies to ask British police and military to crush down people’s protestations and remove any threat to their contented and happy lives. When they look from their lofty imagination, it will appear that these people are well governed by my papa, mummy and cousin, these people does not deserve the services of such dignified people and they are committing a crime against divinity by questioning their country’s administration. These are the thoughts that are going through the minds of sons and daughters of all leaders in power. It is they who bring about the fall of their papas and mammas. India’s political history is full of such sons and daughters. Just remember the case of Smt. Indira Gandhi who was a very good prime minister indeed. One famous congress leader who very nearly reached prime ministership had a son whom he brought into politics as his successor and political heir who did not have the tact, patience and tolerance to co-exist with his father’s party supporters who sensed the danger and prevented the leader from becoming a prime minister. We cannot blame these leaders for getting into these kinds of circumstances. With politically ambitious sons and daughters, they are like swimmers who are forced to swim the seas with a rock ties down from their ankles.

[In response to news articles ‘PM Singh calls for calm after gang rape sparks violent protests’ in The Guardian on 24 December 2012 and ‘President's son terms Delhi women protestors 'dented-painted', and apologizes’ in Yahoo News]

Article Title Image By Siddhant Singh. Graphics: Adobe SP.  

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The first thing the Indian Prime Minister ought to have done was look back into the ranks and files of his own party. If every parliament member who has ever been accused of rape and women molestation were thrown out of party and parliament, how many parliament members would Congress Party have in the parliament now? One person from Kerala who has been accused as a culprit in one of the cruelest gang rapes in the state is officiating as the Vice Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Investigating officers split in their public opinions and have been constantly alleging that their subordinates and superiors did everything in their power to keep this politician out of law’s grip. Instead of resigning out of self respect or being thrown out of party by leadership, how contradictory and strange would it be he presiding over debates on enactment of new laws against rapes and women molestation! The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. Even then, the people of America did not find it inappropriate or difficult to throw him out of presidency on account of his involvement in a molestation case. America is the most powerful democracy in the world and it proved its worth and guts by showing to the world that if their president cannot protect the rights of women or even get involved in one of such cases, he would be thrown out of mercilessly, regardless of how important and inevitable his contributions and role have been in keeping the world politics and economics balanced. India which claims that it is the largest democracy in the world, not only in being the democratic nation with the largest population but also the nation where the largest number of people undergoes election process, shivers at the thought of dismissing rapists and molesters from power. So, whatever our politicians, including our prime minister, talk about actions which are going to be taken against such low-bred creatures is a farce, meant to cool things for a while. Why most politicians and bureaucrats do not want capital punishment for rapists is because of their anxiety about what would happen when their sons or they caught one day for such crimes. If one is clean and if one’s son is clean, one needn’t fear capital punishment for sexual killings. Objection to this type of punishment comes from unnatural persons with unclean past or future intentions. Those who argue for lesser punishments and ‘humane’ treatment for sexual killers are the persons who make sexual killings safe for offenders and make them happen. They conveniently make people forget the 2000 years’ penal history of India. It is they who ensure by their ‘humane’ protests that they can continue to wallow in the pleasure of reading sexual crimes till the end of their days. If we look closely and scrutinize their lives, we can see that they are perverts, caring nothing about the safety of women and children and living in isolated rich ivory towers, every one of them.

[In response to news article ‘PM calls for women safety; Delhi rape accused says had an accomplice’ in DNA India News on 21 April 2013]

Article Title Image By Alex Jones. Graphics: Adobe SP.  

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We know, the bus involved in this crime had tinted windows in spite of new regulations. How many of these persons in the Delhi administration knew or knew not why authorities permitted this bus to run with tinted glasses? Was this bus regularly used by powerful people- powerful politically and economically- to abuse women, if not how will they dare operate unauthorized transport services from a public bus stand in India? Was this the only activity of this bus: are many other buses like this in this country’s capital? Instead of revealing answers to these questions which every Indian ask, Delhi administrators paraded the streets, demanding justice! Were they demanding justice for the offenders before they spoke and called out names? This is the first time in India that a state’s head took to the street to demand justice for a raped and mutilated girl. They all divided parliament seats based on which religion each candidate is born into. They divide state cabinetships based on the strength of each religion in their party. Can anyone of them say publicly which religion’s justice they demand- Christian, Muslim, Hindu? Moses set the rule in such a way that it will have to be one eye for an eye, one hand for a hand, one life for a life. Muslim and Hindu sets of rules also are not different or gentle either. What troubles them most is not any of these, but the most ridiculous problem of what can be a new law against rape named after! 

[In response to news article ‘A year later, family of Delhi gang rape victim press for full justice’ by Betwa Sharma in the New York Times on 16 December 2013]

Article Title Image By Jesse Belleque. Graphics: Adobe SP.