Political Diary
New Delhi, 22 December 2012
National Outrage
Over Rape
NETAS OUT OF SYNC,
WHITHER INDIA?
By Poonam I Kaushish
Where is my India?
Where is it going? Most important, where are our leaders taking it? To hell it
seems.
I agonise over these questions after returning from India’s seat of power, New Delhi’s Raisina Hill, where an
unprecedented demonstration of thousands of young students aged 15 to 20
protest against the heinous gang rape of a 23-year-old medical intern battling
for her life in the ICU in a hospital. Standing shoulder to shoulder these
youngsters have been lathi charged,
over 80 rounds of tear gas lobbed, water canons sprayed to deflate the swelling
crowd and 10 injured girls rushed to hospital. Yet they hold steadfast. Like in
the rest of the country
Arguably, it’s not a question of protesters alone which
worries me. What one is concerned about is whether this brutality has stirred
our netas conscious? Or will it be
wished away as a bad dream? An issue which will die its natural death within
days. Have we decided to surrender shamelessly to horrendous criminalization?
Said goodbye to the rule of law?
The tragedy of it all is that not only have our leaders lost
the plot but worse they are so out of sync of what the people want and what our
leaders think is best for them. Alongside with civil society groups taking law
into their own hands the State appears to have lost its legitimacy and
sovereignty.
The anger and indignation coursing
through the streets of India
is palpable but their
plaintive cries for justice boomerang as our netas ensconced in their fortified houses care only for themselves.
Moving around in lal batti cars with
stengun-toting security. Avers Union Home Minister Shinde, “I too have three
daughters… justice will be done”. Really? When? Is that his badge of honour for
the increasingly unsafe environment wherein young girls are mince-meat for male
lust who strut around as human animals?
Asserts, Delhi’s
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, “Girls should not wear jeans and exposing
clothes, instead wear salwar kameezes.
They have no business to be driving around at 2 am in the morning.” What about
making the city safe for the aam aadmi? Amidst this, most scandalously the Union Home
Secretary praises the Delhi
police, calling their handling of the case “outstanding”. Sic
More. In an era when political image is branded like
detergents, MPs voiced their fake manufactured grief over this dastardly crime
in both Houses of Parliament. The Government once again
offered nothing but empty rhetoric, completely
disregarding the fact that it has failed miserably time and again in making our
cities safe.
Think. If they could pass the FDI and quota in promotions
Bills why not strengthen our policing laws? Remember, it took a young Indian
mother’s death for Ireland
to change its abortion laws and legalise it. What stops our Parliamentarians
from doing the same to ensure criminals will not be spared? Justice which would
deter men to think thousand times before they commit crime? But first they have
to acknowledge that the country is unsafe.
Sadly, such is
the state of affairs we are immune to women being snatched off the streets and
gang raped in moving cars. In
a survey conducted by a London firm of 150 safe
cities, New Delhi
and Mumbai are ranked 139 and 126 at the bottom of the heap.
Turn to any mohalla,
city, or State the story is the same. Be it a minor offence or major
crime. From molestation, rape, bride burning, road rage
to out-of-court “settlements”, fake encounters and torture deaths. It has
trapped all with bullet-proof precision. Sending petrified shivers down one’s
spine. A jungle raj. And we call
ourselves a civilised society!
The fault rests squarely at our leaders doorsteps. Scandalously,
according to the Police Research and Development Bureau, in 2010 50,059 police
personnel were deployed to protect 16,788 VIPs across 25 States including
Ministers, MPs, MLAs, babus and
judges. While there is just one police constable to every 1,037 residents,
below the Asian average of one officer per 558 people and global average of 333
people
The world's biggest metropolitan police force, Delhi Police
with over 83,762 personnel has less than 30% staff available for general
policing as all are on “VIP duty”. Over Rs 1000cr of tax-payers money is spent annually on the security staff
involved in such duties
More shocking, is the
findings of the Association for Democratic Reforms which shows that two MPs,
one each from AIADMK and Trinimool have serious rape charges against them. Worse,
in UP 8 MLAs (3 SP, 1each from BJP and BSP), Orissa and West
Bengal seven MLAs each have rape cases pending in court. In all,
360 MLAs have confessed to charges of outraging a woman’s modesty. Salute our
law makers or law breakers?
What of the police? Alas, eight committee reports set up to
spotlight the unsafe environs and offer remedies have been dumped in raddi and merrily forgotten. Why? At the
crux: Who should control the police? The
Government or an independent body? A Catch-22 question for our power-greedy
polity to honestly answer and for us to stupidly expect.
Even the Supreme Court landmark 2006 judgment directing
drastic changes in the police to make it more accountable and protect it from
political interference came to nought. Recall, it called for overhauling the
145-year-old Indian Police Act and ordered the Centre and States to implement a
7-seven-point directive to prevent politically-engineered mass transfer of
officers on change of a Government.
Arguably, is the police more sinned against than sinning?
Are the main culprits the politicians? The truth is midway. Both work in tandem
in furthering their own self-interest, with the result the system becomes
self-perpetuating. Where criminalization of politics has given way to politicization
of crime and political criminals. We
have come a full circle. Resulting in the complete brutalization and
dehumanisation of the polity and the police. Earning them the nick-name of police-neta-saath-saath.
Where lies India’s salvation from this leech-infested
politico-criminal-police nexus? It is imperative we get our priorities right. The
Government has to tackle the basic issue first: honest and effective
modernization of the police. Which, will have to change radically in order to
become people-friendly.
The goal should be to reinforce the Rule of Law. Law and
Order should be divided into two separate departments with a separate police
force for each. The police should be guided by the law only and not take instructions
from politicians. After all, it exists for the citizens not to pander to
worthless power-drunk political VIPs.
Our leaders had better pay heed before it is too late. Tough
times call for tough action. A revolutionary change is needed. Merely mouthing
platitudes will no longer work. The strength of democracy and the quality of
life enjoyed by citizens is largely determined by the ability of the police to
discharge its duties honourably and independently.
Will the aam aadmi
continue to rot at the hands of the policewala
goonda whose slogan of being “with you, for you” is a chimera! A time to
ponder and introspect --- Apradhikaran
akhir kab tak? ----- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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