When Police, Politicians, Priests Support Each Other in Rape

Rape, within family atrocities on women, sexual abuse at work places, street crimes are all extremely wide spread and, in my opinion, essentially cultural issues. They are very degrading to the society itself and have to be addressed as societal issues rather than women’s issues alone. I always feel rapes are very stark and noticeable but daily professional, emotional abuse destroy women like anything. (Please understand that this is not to belittle the effects of rape).

Sexual crimes are frighteningly heinous and are usually done towards all weaker sections of the society - women, children of all sexes, homosexuals, transgenders, coloured persons, Dalits.

However, there is culture and there are instances!

Culture has to be carefully, heartily developed and instances, having happened, have to be dealt with responsibly. Political stunts are very immature and lead to hasty decisions as a response.

Therefore, awareness about sexuality, developing healthy attitude towards sex, write-speak-discuss should be done vigilantly and always as steps towards developing superior culture. Here, we need to remember that things can revert back surprisingly quickly. The struggle is much more eternal than we may imagine it to be.

So I repeat, we need to develop culture to prevent rapes.

Even then they may take place; though the numbers are expected to go down drastically with cultural development. For dealing with instances, again, we need education of police, judiciary, media, families to imbibe proper attitude towards sexual crimes. Systems have to be developed for sane fast justice and rehabilitation of victims.

It is painstaking, requires commitment but is not difficult; many societies have gone far ahead at a very accelerated pace in this matter.

My present take on Kathua is given below; it may change in specifics as facts are revealed further but thinking and logic behind it should remain valid.

The culprits are essentially paedophiles. They had formed a secret group and were satiating their lust through the group support.

Mostly they are used to committing this type of crime regularly. Hunt out a girl (even a boy). Find out some one from neglected voiceless community. Add remote areas to this. Each one from the group has a role to play and performs that role ruthlessly without hesitation or doubt, thanks to peer support. There is ritualistic, cult pattern mostly to enhance pleasure of control during the heinous act. Got away earlier so the escalated behaviour now.

For such crimes members of influential institutions like temples (in this case, perhaps), police, political parties, etc. become convenient support to each other; they can satiate the lust together, repeatedly, without getting caught, without hampering their image in the society, carry on with normal lives otherwise. Transgressions are easily possible.

Some of them actively belonged to BJP. Their criminal behaviour became blatantly careless because BJP is in power today and they thought that they would get the political patronage and no one could touch them.

Very carefully each perpetrator, including those who knew but preferred not to look, has to be identified and punished in this case. Serious, impartial investigation with thorough application of mind is the key in this case to take our actions ahead. The case proceedings should be very openly talked about. Do not demand hasty justice, discussions around it are as much important as convictions.

BJP’s compulsion as a political party in power to shelter such criminals should be exposed very seriously, wherever applicable; not as shallow utterances that is done normally. Please take note that such compulsive behaviour can be of any political party in power.

Lalitha Kumaramangalam has abdicated her responsibility. Actually, Swati Maliwal is perfectly in the position to initiate all this. Can she do it instead of indefinite hunger strike as an action which, in my opinion, is inappropriate in this case? Let Delhi show the way?