Nirbhay was raped in December last year in Delhi. Indians poured on to the streets and thought they had beaten back the gang rapists. Now a photo journalist on assignment has been gang raped in Mumbai. In the eight months between Nibhay In Delhi and the journalist in Mumbai thousands of other rapes have occurred. The debate once again is intense and furious.
In the last two weeks there have been at least two rapes involving police officers. In one some police officers in civilian clothes gang raped a woman in a village. After a complaint was filed the same officers ,now in uniform, showed up with some others to investigate. They were identified as rapists. The people were horrified and reacted with anger. In the other case a female police officer was gang raped by some gangster robbers. These two cases happened in two different states.
The Mumbai victim has been defiant. She wants to get back to work. She is asking the book to be thrown at the accused; that the judiciary should lock them up and order the keys thrown away. The police have acted with speed. My namesake Ujjwal Nikam of the 26/11 prosecution of Ajmal Kassab fame has been asked to be responsible for prosecuting the accused. Because the system of justice in India grinds ever so slowly if at all, most Indians have asked for the case to be tried in what is called a fast track court. The journalists all over India have been discussing the incidence of rape in India, in interviews and panel discussions. The political class has also been quick to condemn, express concern and horror. So far so good.
But for the purposes of full disclosure I must admit some disappointment for I have not seen the media and the political class tear their hair out over the thousands of other reported rapes in India between those of Nirbhay and the photo journalist. I have not seen the angst or the outcry much in evidence around the two specific incidents mentioned above involving the police personnel as perpetrators in one and victim in the other. Perhaps the political class in India do not see what the real significance of these two cases is. Here you have the protector preying on those he is charged with defending and the gangsters raping the protector with a sense of impunity.
Rape happens in all societies and we are still far from the ultimate goal of a misogyny free world. What happened in India in December in response to the rape of Nirbhay or the show of anger and defiance in response to the Mumbai rape are encouraging signs. But there are a million reasons to worry. let me mention just three.
I watched with horror many panel discussions where the politicos essentially engaged in political rhetoric and recriminations rather than collective soul searching to assess what is going wrong. Something more serious is amiss than simply this party or that party or this law or that law. If laws were the solution, India has far too many already and it should already be heaven on earth for women and all others. We know that is not the reality. I hold no brief for any political Party in India but if different Party or Parties being in power was the panacea , all ills would have been cured by now because most of the Parties have been in power at various times in different permutations and combinations.
Then there was Raj Thackeray of Shiv Sena being interviewed by a channel on what the solution was to the horrific crimes such as the journalist's rape. I watched for several minutes. The interviewer tried and failed to elicit a cogent response other than Thackeray decrying too many others(read outsiders) coming to Mumbai without informing someone or being registered somewhere with some authority. He was not very specific but clear on one thing: Crime would disappear or diminish if the 'outsiders' stopped coming to Mumbai; or were slow in coming to Mumbai; or were registered as they entered Mumbai. I changed the channel in disgust. I was reminded of who registered the 'others'. It was Hitler in the second world war. He registered, numbered and killed several million Jews and several hundred thousand Roma, the people of Indian origin in Europe usually known as the Gypsies. For those that do not know the Roma are the descendants of the slaves brought out of North Western India by Mehmood of Gazhni and others as they repeatedly invaded and plundered India and took the booty and slaves out of India about a thousand years ago. They are still being persecuted in many parts of Europe. So the xenophobic madness is not a solution for Mumbai. As an Indian who grew up in India , I believe every square inch of India belongs to every Indian. The right to free internal mobility in any free and democratic country is an inalienable right that no one should be able to take away.
The third and most serious issue is the focus on better sensitised and better resourced policing and the demand for the fast track courts. This focus is legitimate in so far as it goes but it demands deeper scrutiny. No one can argue with more sensitivity training or resources for police. That may help in a highly publicised Delhi or now the Mumbai case or even in other cases. But for all cases India needs more. It needs a police force that is impartial and just. It needs a police force that is fair and equally fair to all , rich or poor, powerful or the not so powerful, the Prime Minister or the person on the street. Every person high or low should have this fear in his/her mind that if he/she commits a crime, full force of an honest law enforcement machinery will be brought to bear upon them without fear or favour. How is that possible? That is only possible in a society that prides itself on the ethics and integrity of all its citizens including police , politicians , bureaucrats and judiciary. Is that possible? There will always be criminals in a society. But in a healthy society they would be few and far between; easy to apprehend and punish because the majority would be ethical and honest; the politicians will not interfere with policing; the police will investigate all crimes without fear or favour; the judges even in the lower courts will decide cases quickly and on merit , not based on the cash that may be available or under pressure from politicians. The people will ask for justice and get it.
Can this happen in India? Yes , it can! The moment all Indians are honest with each other. Honesty needs to begin everywhere. Honesty was missing in the debate in the last two weeks. It was missing in the TV studios. It was missing too in the political class. Everyone wanted tougher laws made on the fast track; the police better trained on the fast track; the case tried on the fast track. But there was silence on the elephant in the room. There was silence on the moral, ethical, financial and political corruption ailing India. If India does not deal with this problem, the country and its institutions will continue to suffer from the 'garbage in ,garbage out 'phenomenon. So, please do put ending corruption on the fast track. That will take care of most things. It won't be perfect but it will be a good start. For the sake of the idea of India ,it is a must