Friday 25 January 2013

Delhi Gang Rape

The Delhi gang rape incident on 16th December has been a real shocker to every citizen of the country. The act of rape has been going on for decades in India, but only this time people came out on streets to express their anger and intolerance to such nasty events. No wonder, the government was not even able to handle the protests properly and had to end up punishing the protesters instead.

Lack of preparedness of the cops is also apparent from the 7-8 rape incidents that took place after 16 December. This is a matter of grave concern and immediate steps should follow to ensure the safety of women in India, especially in the national capital. But is anything being done after-all? I don't think so. One is amazed by the extent of insecurity among the Congress ministers in Delhi when the girl's condition worsened. All they had to do was silently transfer her to Singapore with better medical facilities as an excuse. At a time when a person has been operated thrice and is hardly able to speak, airlifting would not be a good option. There was a huge risk in doing so and it did result in a mid-air drama when her blood pressure dipped alarmingly.

Things were no different after her death. Her service was performed quietly amid tight security and ironically, the VIPs, who were actually responsible for this, were present during the service. Many areas were banned for protesters and to everyone's expectations, those areas were residential areas of MPs and MLAs. In my view, it the high security of these VIPs which gives rise to these rape incidents. The security which could have been distributed to the general public has recklessly been used in people who don't need them at all. Nevertheless, in order to make the mob happy, the idea of special "fast track" court came up in this case which has been present in India for a long time, but a few such cases actually end up in justice.

Today, the focus has shifted to the suspects who were produced before the court a second time today. The fast track plan was ruled out the fast track plan in the end as they court requires more scrutiny in the case. And so the drama continues! By scrutiny, it can only mean delay: a long long delay in justice. And I am pretty sure this case would end up like most others where the protesters ultimately have to give up and media would shift its focus to some other hot topics when this case has lost its charm to the ill-fated laws of India. The argument of the defendant lawyer  that the suspects have been tortured to a level that they are not even able to speak is rubbish as this is clearly an indication to make the case look complicated. It is obvious: who in the world would even torture such criminals to this extent when they know that the act can lead to more horrific instances of protests from the public. To make matters worse, it has also been argued that the evidences have been manipulated.

To the people of India, this all seems like a familiar story as this is the situation in almost all rape cases in North India. Court hardly provides any justice to the victim, and if any justice is given, it is too late as the matter does not make much difference to the society or the victim by that time. I am saddened by the  way the things are still going on. The big question thus remains: will India ever change (I should say Delhi particularly)? Or has the battle for a safe India already lost?

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