Doublethink on women's security

BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today

In the two-and-a-half months since the Delhi gangrape of December 16, which shocked the nation, 65 rape cases have been reported from the national capital — an average of 26 in a month. This points to a fall in the incidence of rape as 568 cases — a monthly average of more than 47 — were reported in 2011, the last full year for which figures are available.

However, there is no room for complacency. Memories of the brutal gangrape are still fresh in people’s minds. A firm conclusion about its impact can only be drawn after watching the trend over a long period.

Meanwhile there are some disturbing signs. Many of the victims are minor girls. Last week a seven-year-old was assaulted in her school in New Delhi. Also, the government appears to have lost the sense of urgency which it displayed when people incensed by the gangrape were protesting in the streets. Its approach is marked by doublethink.

The situation calls for steps to alter the mindset which treats women as lesser citizens, but the government focuses on populist measures hoping for electoral dividends. In the wake of the gangrape, some sections had demanded that sex offenders be given capital punishment. The commission headed by former Chief Justice JS Verma, which was asked to recommend measures to ensure women’s security, did not favour it. However, the government provided for the extreme penalty through an ordinance, believing the demand has popular support.

In the budget presented to Parliament last week, Finance Minister P Chidambaram proposed the creation of a fund for women’s security and the setting up of an all-women public sector bank. He set apart Rs10 billion for each. Details are lacking because the proposals were put in at the last moment.

Some commercial banks have experimented with all-women branches but an entire bank exclusively for women is a novel idea. Criticising the proposal, Surjit Bhalla, an economist, said, “It’s the worst idea I have seen anywhere, and in any budget.” Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, differed. “The proposed bank is for women,” she said. “The focus seems to be to fund women entrepreneurs and give them encouragement. And if it is an all-women bank, it’s going to be very efficient.”

Justice Verma saw the bank proposal as one of tokenism. “Such tokenism will not deliver if it is not backed by a complete change in mindset, both in government and in civil society as a whole,” he said.

The political leadership’s preoccupation with populist ideas to the exclusion of core aspects of women’s security stems from its ambivalent attitude. While committed to equality of sexes, it is weighed down by paternalistic traditions and is unable to ensure gender justice.

While making a statement in Parliament last week on the rape and murder of three minor girls in Maharashtra, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde mentioned their names in utter disregard of the law which prohibits identification of sex crime victims. When opposition members drew attention to the impropriety, he withdrew the statement and the chairman ordered that the names be expunged from the records.

Ministers make statements in parliament on the basis of drafts prepared by senior officials. The inclusion of impermissible information in Shinde’s statement indicates lack of sensitivity and respect for legal provisions in the Home Minister’s office.

As many as 162 of the 552 members of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, had declared in affidavits filed at the time of the elections that they were facing various criminal charges. The charges against some of them included rape, molestation and other crimes against women.

Among the politicians hauled up in connection with crimes against women across the country is a former Haryana minister, Gopal Goyal Kanda, who has been charged with abetting the suicide of an airhostess.

Often powerful politicians escape prosecution. The names of two Kerala leaders, PJ Kurien, currently deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, and PK Kunhalikutty, a senior minister of the state government, have come up repeatedly during the past one-and-a-half decades in cases of rape of minor girls. The investigators kept them out of the lists of accused claiming lack of evidence. However, material casting doubts on their version continue to surface from time to time. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 5, 2013.

Civil Society activists endorse Shinde's statement on Hindutva terror

A host of civil society activists have come out in defence of Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's statement on the terror links of Hindutva organizations and called for effective action against communal elements.

The following is a statement issued by Asghar Ali Engineer, Mahesh Bhatt, Praful Bidwai, Sandeep Pandey and others:

We the undersigned are concerned by the developments in Andhra Pradesh following the alleged hate speech by Mr. Akberuddin Owaisi recently. Many groups and organisations including many of the undersigned had condemned the speech and demanded action and also against members of some Hindutva organisations who were engaging in similar activities.

There were many instances of hate speeches and communal instigations by leaders and members of different communities in the past but the government had failed to take appropriate action in time and thereby encouraged such behavior by these divisive groups.

Even in the present case of the speech by Mr. Akberuddin Owaise, the government did not act immediately and when it did act, a number of Sections including a very grave charge under Sec.121 that deals with sedition against the state and can result in death penalty or life imprisonment were booked against him.  It is unwarranted to charge him under such very serious sections. Further, Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi, MP, has also been arrested in an old case dating from 2005 and his bail plea has been rejected twice.

The total silence of the government for years in these matters and the sudden action in bringing up old cases and slapping of serious charges, especially in the context of the recent withdrawal of support by MIM to the Congress Government in the State is sending a very wrong message to the people that this is going beyond the requirements of justice and is being influenced by vendetta politics.  The matter becomes more sensitive when they are representatives of the people elected through the democratic process.    

We urge that any action by the government in all such matters should be immediate, impartial and commensurate with the aberration committed, otherwise it will be seen as victimization, spread disenchantment within the affected communities, polarise people and could result in social unrest and violence.

Hence, in the interest of justice and prevention of further polarisation that could have disastrous consequences for social stability and proper inter community relations, we urge the government to desist from any actions that appear vindictive and unjust or directed only against a particular community and undertake all and only such actions that are impartial and appropriate to secure justice. All people, irrespective of the community to which they belong would also welcome and endorse such actions and there would be no danger of any social disenchantment.   

Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer- Mumbai

Mahesh Bhatt- Mumbai

Praful Bidwai- New Delhi

Dr. Mazher Hussain- Hyderabad

Dr. Ram Punyani- Mumbai

Javed Anand- Mumbai

Jeevan kumar- Hyderabad

Dr. Sandeep Panday- Lucknow

Irfan Engineer- Mumbai

Bro. Verghese- Hyderabad

Jatin Desai- Mumbai

M.J. Vijayan- NewDelhi.

The foillowing is a statement issued by Manisha Sethi, Shabnam Hashmi and others:

While one may or may not agree with the terminology employed by the Home Minister in his recent speech at Jaipur, we feel that for long prejudice has ruled investigations, obscuring the role of organizations and their multiple affiliates in planning and executing of attacks and bombings in the country. The veneer of 'nationalism' -- narrow, exclusionary and based on hatred for minorities as it is-- cannot hide the violence that Sangh and its affiliates beget and peddle. 

Civil rights groups have been arguing for long that the investigations into bomb blasts and terror attacks have degenerated into communal witch-hunts. Bomb blasts are followed predictably by mass arrests of Muslim youth, raids in Muslim-dominated localities, detentions, arrests and torture; media trials, charge sheets and prosecution based on custodial confessions and little real evidence. It has been assumed, and accepted widely, that no further proof of guilt need be offered than the fact that the accused belonged to a particular community. Leads which pointed to the hands of groups affiliated to Sangh organisations and their complicity in planning and executing acts of terror were ignored, never seriously pursued. The agencies, showing their abject bias, instead chose to pursue the beaten track of investigating Islamic terrorist organizations such—despite clear evidence pointing in the opposite direction. This was true of Nanded blasts in 2006, as well as of Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Sharif bombings.

The only exception was Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who had, as far back as 2008 conclusively brought into the public domain the nefarious designs of Abhinav Bharat and its foot soldiers of hate: (Sadhvi) Pragya Singh of the ABVP, serving army officer Col. Purohit, and Sunil Joshi, Indresh and Swami Aseemanand belonging to the RSS. Karkare had communicated to the Hyderabad Police the sensational claim by Col. Purohit that he had procured RDX from an army inventory when he was posted in Jammu and Kashmir in 2006. The Hyderabad Police however ignored his messages, having already detained close to 70 youth belonging to the Muslim community.

We demand that:

·         Although the Indian government has belatedly acknowledged the heinous terrorist acts of the Sangh groups we feel that a genuine probe must also perforce encompass a thorough enquiry into the terror nexus straddling Abhinav Bharat, RSS, VHP, BJP and Bajrang Dal leaders together with sections of the Indian intelligence and security agencies who deliberately subverted the probes as well as the due process of law.

·       It must also be investigated whether the network of Hindutva terrorists have been provided not just political but also financial and logistical support by various governments

·         There must be a thorough investigation into the foreign sources of funding of the Hindutva organizations.

We hope that the acknowledgement of Hindutva terror will not remain a statement only but that the investigations will be seriously and sincerely pursued. 

Signatories

1.      Manisha Sethi, Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association
2.      Shabnam Hashmi, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD)   
3.      Mahtab Alam, People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL)
4.      Mansi Sharma, Activist, Delhi   
5.      Subhash Gatade, Activist and Author, Godse's Children: Hindutva Terror in India
6.      Rajeev Yadav, Adv. Mohd. Shoaib and Shahnawaz Alam, Rihai Manch, UP
7.      Amit sen Gupta, Senior Journalist, Delhi
8.      Abu Zafar, Journalist, Delhi
9.       Harsh Kapoor, South Asian Citizens Web
10.   Seema Mustafa, Senior Journalist, Delhi
11.  Ram Puniyani, Activist and Author, Mumbai
12.  Sukumar Muralidharan, Senior Journalist
13.  Syed Zafar Mehdi, Journalist
14.  Dr. John Dayal, All India Christian Council

15.  Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, JNU

16.  Navaid Hamid, Member, National Integration Council, GoI

17.  Prof Anuradha Chenoy, JNU

18.  Saba Naqvi, Senior Journalist, Delhi

19.  Wilfred Dcosta, Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
20.  Harsh Dobhal, Human Rights Law Network (HRLN)
21.  Kavita Krishnan, All India Progressive Women Association (AIPWA).   

Niloufar Bhagat writes:

 I endorse the statement of the Union Home Minister . The truth is never defamatory, as the organizations resorting to terror did so in the name of Hindutva. It is time a spade is called a spade as it is every day for more than a decade the media and the Sangh Parivar among other organizations and parties have fed us stories about Jehadi and Muslim Terror and continue to do so through the corporate controlled media, and were not sued for defamation when an entire cultural and religious group was being defamed nationally and internationally , yet sweeping generalizations were made . Similar sweeping generalizations were made regarding " Sikh terrorism".

 

 The objective was political diversion .and divide and rule by projecting the Muslims as the real enemy when in fact global financial forces in league with comprador sections of the Indian Corporate Sector closely allied with  the corporate media were controlling the country and camouflaging policies , privatizing several sectors including health care and education and profitable public sector undertakings  , taking over land of the peasantry and the tribal people , among other policies  as a consequence of which financially once again the country is facing a downhill situation as the global recession and collapse of erstwhile financial centers was deliberately camouflaged by more than one political alliance .

 

 Jt. Commissioner of Police Mr. Hemant Karkare with his brilliant investigations exposed the real conspirators and terrorists, who are politically fascists , for which he paid with his life , we need  to honor his memory by an annual national lecture on issues vital to our Republic by  a foundation to be constituted , a fitting memorial .

 

Aseemnanda's Judicial Confessions which were made before a  Judicial Magistrate and cannot be retracted disclose a great deal among other investigations .

 

Mr. Chidambaram was similarly harassed for exposing these forces . We may disagree with these individuals on other issues ,however when they speak up in the country's interest we support them and when they fail to protect the weak and innocent  castes and classes in our society we must condemn them .

 

No organization which uses and misuses the religious card is acting in the interest of the country . This is true of the pre-partition period and true now. It must not be forgotten that the Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League had alliances in Bengal and Sind during the pre-partition period .

 

The real agenda is development , what kind of development and the priorities  ,in terms of people, classes and sectors and the issue of economic , political and social justice for all weaker sections and for society as a whole.

Attitude towards tragedy: A tale of two democracies

Exclusive to The Gulf Today BRP Bhaskar Gulf Today As the year 2012 ended, millions of Indians were mourning a young woman whom few of them ever saw. They knew neither her name nor what she looked like. Yet they had accepted her as a sister or daughter in distress and prayed for her — alas, in vain — as she bravely battled with death after being gangraped and brutalised in a bus in New Delhi. Doctors at the hospital where she was first admitted said they had never seen a patient in such battered condition before. Her valiant struggle against heavy odds won headlines on news channels and newspapers for days together, but the media kept her name out even when it became known, with scrupulous regard for the law that prohibits identification of rape victims. Even without a face and a name, she came to symbolise Indian women seeking a just place in the society. As people identified themselves with her, the state was gripped by a siege mentality. The gangrape took place immediately after the United States was shaken by the shootout at Newtown, Connecticut, where a man killed his mother and then went to the elementary school where she taught and mowed down six other teachers and 20 children. Both were senseless crimes, and united the people in grief — and possibly anger and shame too. The similarities end there. One occurred in the nation’s capital, the other in a small town with barely 500 families. One was a sex crime, the other a massacre. The starkest contrast, however, lay in the way administrations in the two countries responded to the tragedy. One was open and empathetic, the other was secretive and betrayed a sense of guilt. Within hours of the shootout the White House said President Barack Obama, as a father, felt enormous sympathy for the affected families. He told the Governor of Connecticut he would have every single resource that he needed to investigate the heinous crime, care for the victims, and counsel their families. He was seen fighting back tears as he addressed the nation. Obama visited Newtown within three days, met the victims’ families privately and spoke at a candlelight vigil in the school where teachers and children were killed. He ordered that flags be flown at half-mast, and a day of national mourning was designated. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not associate himself with the popular sentiments as protests continued for several days and the police kept pushing the demonstrators away from New Delhi’s Central Vista where the president’s mansion, Parliament House, the Secretariat and major government departments are located. When he spoke, it was too late and too little. The police in the capital is directly under the central government, and outside the control of the Delhi state government. The chief minister, who belongs to the Congress, disapproved of the police’s handling of the protests. When Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde spoke, it was mainly to defend the police conduct. The protest was largely peaceful but small groups did attempt to break the police cordon. A policeman collapsed at the protest site and died in a hospital later. The government said protesters had beaten him up but its version was disputed by an eyewitness who had provided the cop first aid. The rape victim died in a hospital in Singapore, where she was flown in an air ambulance secretly in a move which many doctors believe was taken on other than medical grounds. Her body was flown to Delhi at night and cremated early in the morning. Police barred access to the place to all except her close relatives. The prime minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were at the airport to receive the body but there was no official mourning. The media is trying to use the heightened awareness of gender issues, generated by the tragedy, to push for some long-delayed laws. The real problem, however, is not absence of laws but lack of enforcement. The nation gives the appearance of going through a process of catharsis, but so far there is no sign of the public outcry and media glare making a difference to the ground situation. Politicians continue to make sexist remarks, and crimes against women continue to be reported daily.--Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 1, 2013.