We all need a Citizens' Charter

I belong to a very interesting Whatsapp Group, that was formed to debate issues important to the Indian Nation, and to share ideas and suggestions on Policy that could work towards the betterment of some aspect of public life. 

This group called Illuminati, had tasked me with the drafting of a Citizens Charter, which would list out some critical behavior expectations from an enlightened citizen, which all the members would debate and adopt or revise as per majority vote. I reproduce the first draft here, and I would love to receive comments and suggestions to make the same more useful or robust.

Illuminati Citizens Charter

We, the members of this movement to encourage an ever increasing number of Indian Citizens to agree to voluntarily submit themselves to a Citizens Charter defining the ideal standards of Ethical, Democratic and Egalitarian behavior expected of a Citizen of India. 

I, the undersigned, having appended my signature to this Charter, do pledge to abide by this Citizens Charter in letter and spirit, and shall do my utmost to encourage my family and friends to similarly abide by the same. 

1. Franchise. 

I solemnly swear that I shall always exercise my Right of Franchise. I shall unfailingly cast my considered vote for the most suitable candidate in all elections that I am eligible to vote in, whether they be for the Local Body, the State Legislature or the Parliament. I shall do my utmost to encourage such Candidates who I sincerely believe support Meritocracy, are Patriotic, and place the Nation and the Indian Constitution above narrow Self Interest and abhor considerations of Caste, Creed, Community or Religion based politics. 

2. Abhor Corruption. 

I pledge to do my utmost to discourage corruption in public life in any form. Whether it be a low level act to escape a traffic infraction or a high level one involving Corporates and Governments and, everything in between. I promise to never be personally involved in any corrupt act and also counsel others to abhor such practices if it comes to my knowledge and information. 

3. No Discrimination.

I will never practice discrimination of any sort and I will oppose, with all the vehemence at my disposal, any discrimination on the basis of Religion, Caste, Gender, Color, Race, Place of Origin or Sexual Orientation. If I come across anyone indulging in discrimination in word or deed, I promise not to be a mute spectator, and shall endeavor to educate and prevent or report such individuals. 

4. No Animal Cruelty. 

I shall never indulge in any act of cruelty towards animals and undertake to actively work towards the prevention of any act of cruelty to animals, whether they be pets, beasts of burden or wild animals. If I do consume animal products, I shall restrict myself to food products and avoid fashion and Fur products that are obtained by inflicting cruelty. I assure that I will make every effort to ensure that the products I consume are obtained humanely and I shall restrict my consumption to only permitted animals and avoid products obtained from Protected, Exotic or Wild animals and Birds. 

5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

I swear that I shall responsibly consume scarce resources or products that have a deleterious effect on the environment. I shall be prudent in my use of Electricity, Fossil Fuels, Disposable Plastics and products manufactured using fuels and methods that add large quantum of carbon into the atmosphere, such as burnt bricks, etc. I shall actively promote the planting and nurturing of trees and prevent any wanton or irresponsible tree felling. Thus, I shall strive to minimize my Carbon Footprint and aim to achieve a Carbon Neutral existence for my family and myself. 

6. Civilized Drivers. 

I undertake to always drive my vehicles in a responsible and courteous manner. I promise to follow all the traffic rules and also adopt a civil and the Right-of-Way principle of driving, and strive to drive on public roads causing a minimum of inconvenience to other users. In the event that I am involved in any accident, I promise not to bolt from the scene, and shall make every effort to provide medical assistance to anyone injured in the accident. I also promise that I will report all accidents to the jurisdictional Traffic Police and undertake to assist them in their investigations. I shall endeavor to be a Good Samaritan on the roads and offer assistance to victims of vehicle accidents, and inform the authorities about the incident and assist them in their attempt to provide Medical Attention and to bring the guilty party to book. I will never permit my under aged children to drive a vehicle, and shall inculcate the highest standards of safety and courtesy in my children who are licensed to drive.  

7. Local Body Rules. 

I promise to help make my city, town or village more livable by following all the Bylaws and Civic Amenity Rules. I promise not to deviate from Sanctioned Plans and default on Setbacks and FSI regulations, and ensure that Light, Ventilation, Privacy and Safety are not denied to my neighbors due to my transgressions, as I expect my neighbors to care for my hygiene aspects. I undertake to also not tolerate others for their deviations from the bylaws and shall bring such deviations to the notice of the concerned authorities. I also promise to practice all mandated aspects of Good Urban Citizenry like Rain Water Harvesting, Waste Segregation at Source, Not Dumping of Waste in public areas and Never Littering or Spitting on the streets of my city. 

8. Athithi Devo Bhava. 

I promise to make my country welcoming to tourists and visitors both from within India and from outside. I will try to be Pleasant, Warm, Helpful and Accommodating of the needs of our guests and will try to ensure that all others do so too. I will try and prevent anyone from taking undue advantage of our guests in any manner and do my utmost to present a positive picture of our country and culture that expects us to treat our guests like God. 

9. Taxes and Duties. 

I solemnly pledge to truthfully and dutifully pay all the taxes and duties that are payable by me towards the Local, State and Central Governments. I will not take recourse to any illegal or questionable methods for assessing my taxes and undertake to do so only by using the legally permitted provisions and exemptions in a fair and transparent manner. I realize that taxes are my way of contributing to the development of my nation and I shall do my utmost to get everyone I know to similarly comply and contribute.

Place:                                                Name:

Date:                                                 Signature:

Lift the ban on India's Daughters. On the documentary too, of course.

"India's Daughter". A Documentary made by a sensitive and concerned film maker, who herself is a survivor of violence against women, Ms. Leslee Udwin, produced by the BBC and promoted in India by NDTV. The background of the documentary is the horrific gang rape of a bright and promising medical student in a moving bus, at an 'earthly' hour of 8 pm. Her male friend was also thrashed and immobilized while four animals and a juvenile took turns to rape her, while 'punishing' her for resisting. Apparently the punishment included biting, beating and violating her with an iron rod, which resulted in catastrophic injuries including the separation of a portion of her intestines, which a juvenile perpetrator pulled out and threw away. Chilling.

The documentary attempts to study the incident and understand as to what kind of criminality and social conditioning could create such despicable monsters in India, and the resulting status of women, and their safety in society. The film maker conducted a series of interviews with the accused and their lawyers, experts in criminal mentality and women's groups to present a balanced report on the macabre truth about the status of women in some regions of India. Instead of applauding the efforts of the film maker, the Government in an ill-considered move, decided to ban the documentary!

I'm really amazed how any sensible Government can ban a documentary as important as this one? I sincerely believe that the documentary is actually performing a great service to our nation, by exposing the disgusting underbelly of gender issues in India.

Well researched and immaculately presented, '‪#‎IndiasDaughter‬' must in fact, be made compulsory for every Indian to watch and introspect about. The status of women in the minds of the 'poor and marginalized' males is apparently not even worth feeling any guilt or remorse, after brutally gang raping her, physically assaulting and disfiguring her, and throwing her out of the bus naked on the street. The most poignantly shocking being the patriarchal and misogynistic views of the so-called educated Lawyers. It is simply shameful, and shatters the image I had about my country and it's people who are descended from a 5000 year old civilization. "So, where is this civilization that everyone speaks of? I wonder."

In any event, why is the Government making such a concerted and yet ham-handed attempt at preventing me from seeing this documentary? I cannot think of any conceivable reason for them to do so. In the form of an apt analogy, I am reminded of a story in which an incredibly stupid person refuses to get treated for a dog bite on his butt because he was embarrassed to show it to the doctor. Mr. Home Minister, the country will fall victim to this 'rabies' if we do not choose to wake up and start doing something by way of changing mindsets. Please stop this silly retrograde action and permit Ms. Leslee Udwin to hold a mirror to us, and show to us Indians our warts, as it were. We need to see them, and hang our heads in shame. Hopefully, it will help change the mindsets of millions of people who treat their daughters as less than equal, and do not have the basic parenting skills to teach their sons the difference between wright and wrong.

India always touts the fact that we have the youngest and most productive population in the world, and this Human Capital is verily treated as primary equity that will help take this nation to the top of the comity of nations. I shudder to think that untold millions of this 'human capital' would be possessing such a warped and retrograde outlook of life. Forget taking us ahead, they will condemn us to the medieval age if we do not root this virus out. 

I strongly urge everyone to see the documentary from wherever they can access it. We need to be shocked when faced with the truth. We need to introspect and change. If we do not, we have no hope of becoming a modern and developed country and an egalitarian society. As the Government has gone to the Courts seeking a ban, I still see a glimmer of hope, that the enlightened in the Judiciary will throw out the undemocratic ban, and set a positive precedent.

My heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Ms. Udwin, @BBC and @NDTV for the documentary. @ArnabGoswami I really am a Big Fan, but you were horribly wrong on this one. If you ever read this, I hope you will be able to tell us "what the hell were you thinking, when you launched so silly a tirade against the making and telecast of this important study"...

Rape the girl and hang her by the neck?

In the background of the news of several rapes taking place in Uttar Pradesh, recently, a lady friend of mine shared a picture on Whatsapp, which showed that crimes like rape are handled with alarming deftness and shocking brutality is some Middle Eastern countries, where a rape accused is variously beheaded, stoned to death, shot by firing squad or finished off using other such methods, within a time-frame varying from a day to a week. My friend was asking the question that every woman is asking today – what needs to be done in India to ensure that women feel safe in this country? Why not take a leaf out of these Middle Eastern examples was something that was begging to be asked too.

Considering the fact that current DNA Mapping methods impose a typical two-week window before they can be used as evidence, the summary executions apparently practiced by our Middle Eastern friends will thus be based only on circumstantial evidence, something I believe that the Indian legal system would normally not permit. Further, I'm also not sure if the research on that Whatsapp picture was really credible, and even if it is credible, should we as one of the finest model democracies; make the mistake of benchmarking ourselves against medieval autocracies like the countries mentioned?

However, I do agree that the situation in India is alarming, with a daily update on news of rapes, rape & stripping and parading the victims, rape & acid attack to deface the victims and the most gruesome of all, rape & hanging in public of the victims. Watching the news has become simply depressing. What kind of male psyche is it that not only sexually violates random women and young girls, but also makes them want to mutilate and kill their victims? The killings are not even hidden or masked in any manner, but are instead, displayed in full public glare like as though they were trophies on a hunter’s wall? That is a level of mental illness and depravity that I have never seen before.

It is quite sad to say that one gets an impression that some of these rapists have no doubt, been emboldened by the unknowing support some politicians seem to be giving them, by questioning the victims’ antecedents, dressing and intent (what was she doing walking on the street at 8pm?). Now that the perpetrators know that retribution is weak, and that a whole gaggle of paternalistic politicians would be happy to wink at their crimes with a 'boys will be boys' homily. The politics of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should not define our approach to this problem, and India needs a very harsh and fresh look at the Law that should aim to prevent such crimes by changing the mindset of the male population. Of course, in this context, genuine social change will take generations to come about, hence the only viable near-term alternative is to instill fear. We have to make this crime inconceivable to each and every male. Period.

Name-Shame-Defang. There is little doubt that we need to speed up the legal process by quick and conclusive investigation using scientifically proven methods. The Perpetrators have to be named and tried in public, while the victims must be kept totally anonymous and under protection of the state. The current practice of calling the victims to the witness stand, where then an attempt is made to tear her credibility to shreds and also call to question her personal life must be done away with. Rape investigation that is proven by scientific methods should require no cross examination by a sleazy lawer, and any woman, regardless of the fact that she may even be a prostitute, possesses an inalienable right to safety and security and not be raped! Social ostracization of the perpetrator needs to be ensured, not of the victim.

Finally, as the act of rape is considered as measure of one’s manhood in some society’s in India, all such men must be made to understand that it is just not acceptable behavior, and if they do indulge in such a criminal act, the State, in addition to the normal imprisonment and fines, will ensure that they can never do it again, with the introduction of new punishments like medical castration for proven rapists. Deterrent harsh punishment - Democratic process. That is the key. Especially, if the so-called masculinity of the rapist, something greatly treasured and protected in feudal India, is taken away from him and he is neutered and shamed in front of his society, I dare say that younger wannabe rapists wouldn't ever dare try it.

The Death Penalty, of course has already been provided by the new law for rape-murder cases (post the Delhi gang rape & murder case), but it should not apply to the ‘rarest of rare’ cases, but should be applied to each and every case of rape-murder. The choice of punishment and sentencing should not be left to the social construct of a Judge, but predetermined by law. Case proved? – Apply this punishment:

• Molestation or Eve Teasing if proven in a first offense – Imprisonment for the maximum term and maximum fine. Repeat offenders will need to be prosecuted for rape, or the next more serious offense.
• When rape is proven in a first offense – Castration, Life imprisonment and maximum fine. Repeat offenders will need to be prosecuted for rape-murder, or the next more serious offense.
• When rape-murder is proven, on the very first offense – Castration, and Death Penalty. We need to ensure that there is no chance of Repeat offenders.

A new department tasked with the Protection of Women’s Rights and Safety similar to the National Human Rights Commission, with suo-moto powers to initiate investigation and manage the prosecution needs to be set up and they need to automatically take up the investigation and prosecution of all women's protection cases. The investigation needs to be predetermined in terms of the steps to be followed and the precautions to be exercised, so that the evidence can be collected flawlessly and scientifically. The local police will then not be able to demonstrate incompetence (willfully or otherwise) or gloss over the case and protect the perpetrators. I would love to see Ms. Kiran Bedi head such a department.

Here are some of the distressing stories that made the news recently (story courtesy NDTV):

The tiny village of Karta in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, woke up on Wednesday morning to the chilling sight of two teen girls hanging from a tree in an orchard. The girls, cousins aged 14 and 15, had gone missing from home the night before.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/two-teen-sisters-allegedly-gang-raped-hanged-from-tree-in-up-532605

The horrific crimes against women just refuse to cease. On Tuesday, a tribal woman was allegedly gang-raped by 10 men, including her husband, in Madhya Pradesh's Bhilai Borkhedi village. She was also allegedly made to drink urine and paraded semi-naked in the village.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/woman-allegedly-gang-raped-by-10-men-including-husband-made-to-drink-urine-541646

32-Year-Old Woman Allegedly Gang-Raped in Badaun

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/32-year-old-woman-allegedly-gang-raped-in-badaun-541726

And so on the story goes. Even as I write this, there is another story about a women raped and hung in Uttar Pradesh. Do we have the will and weapons to end it?

Mahalakshmipura Police makes me proud!

I had the most amazing experience recently that strengthened my belief that there is some good left in this world yet. 

Early into the morning a few days ago, I realized that my iPhone had been stolen. I suspected a kid who used to visit us often and ask to do some odd jobs for some pocket money. As he was a familiar sight in the neighborhood, he has a free run of all the homes in the vicinity. My suspicion was confirmed when the 'Find my iPhone App' indicated that the phone was in the vicinity of this boys' home. I approached the Mahalakshmipura Police with this information and the phone was in my possession before the end of the day! Awesome Police Work! 

What really made this a happy-happy-happy day was the way this juvenile offender was treated. I was worried that he would face the strong-arm treatment and suffer a lot of trauma. Surprisingly, all the officers and staff were totally conscious of the fact that he was and underage offender, and made all efforts to treat him with compassion and understanding. Finally releasing him to the custody of an adult relative. I was happy to write them a Letter of Appreciation commending them for their sensitivity, and I hope that all police stations in the country will be as humane and professional. 

Proud to be a resident of Mahalakshmipura! I am happy to reproduce that letter below: 

In a similar vein, I should not forget Apple! What a brilliant product! You guys really made my year!! Congratulations to the entire team of designers at Apple Inc. Worth every buck I paid. 

LETTER OF APPRECIATION 

I write this letter with much pleasure and satisfaction to record my sincere and heartfelt appreciation to Inspector Kumaraswamy and his team of Offices and Staff of Mahalakshmipura Police Station Bangalore for the excellent job done in locating my iPhone in just a couple of hours. 

As you may recall, I had suspected a young boy of the theft as he used to frequent our house very often and hence had free access to the house. My suspicion was confirmed by the iPhone locator application, which indicated that the phone was located in the vicinity of that boys’ house, hence permitting the recovery of the same in no time at all. 

This was great police work, no doubt, but I write this letter to bring everyone’s attention to another issue. As this boy was a minor, I was quite concerned as how he would be treated when he was found to have committed the theft, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised to note that the views of virtually everyone in the Mahalakshmipura Police Station was that he should not be subjected to a harsh experience, and hence he was to be treated as a juvenile offender and handled in a very humane and sensitive manner. 

This is indicative of the sensitivity of the entire station to the rights of underage offenders and the approach was one of ‘counsel’ instead of ‘punish’. I really appreciate this approach of yours and I hope you will be held up as a good example of Police Sensitivity and the same will be practiced in every police station in the country. 

Do keep up the good work. 

Thanking You, 

Yours Sincerely, 

Hemanth Sharma 

Are Indians oversensitive to satire? The Assam Rape Festival

Recently on Facebook, a very good lady friend of mine from Malaysia shared an article posted in the National Report, titled “The Assam Rape Festival in India begins this week” http://nationalreport.net/assam-rape-festival-india-begins-week/ which spoke of a festival that dates back to the year 43 BC, wherein all the men in a village in Assam chase down and rape every girl in the village to exorcise their demons! 

To be honest, to begin with I too read the article with a lot of concern and decided that I need to learn more about this barbaric festival, when I started noticing some cultural inconsistencies and realized that this was a hoax. Unfortunately, many of the other readers were readily fooled by the mock seriousness of the article and had posted comments that were very critical of India and its customs. The indignation of some of the commenter’s was quite funny to me as I was ‘in on the secret’, but I felt that it was necessary for me to write to the site and put things in perspective. My comment to the site is reproduced below: 

 This article is a work of satire. It is as true as the next article in the series “The Great American Mass Shooting Festival Begins Next Week (Response from India) - See more at : http://nationalreport.net/great-american-mass-shooting-festival-begins-next-week-response-india/, which should be billed as The Great American Mass Killing Jamboree”, perhaps a more 'American' term. Even the section in which it is posted - 'Entertainment' is a dead giveaway. Poorly researched – the names used of the so called protagonists are not even culturally accurate. Not particularly funny too, one must add, but surely we need to thank this author, as all Indians really need to wake up to the problem of violence against women. Rapes do happen in India and happen too often for us to be complacent anymore. One can argue that out of a population of 1.2 billion, there will always be a few bad eggs, but that is a specious argument that we should not hide behind any longer. Many political parties and the media are constantly lobbying for stricter laws and the sensitization of the police and society at large, to make rape an unacceptable criminal act, which will be dealt with an iron fist, and each and every Indian must support such forces. 

The lady friend of mine from Malaysia, who I spoke about earlier, wrote to me and asked me if this festival news was true. My response: “Not a chance. Rape is punishable with life imprisonment. We do hear a lot of rapes taking place but they are on account of individual depravity and not some institutional or cultural sanction. India has a 5000 year old history of civilization and one of the safest places on earth.” 

What really surprises, are the indignant and sometimes vituperative reactions from some gullible readers who were fooled into thinking this article to be true. One is shocked to see how many people are ready to believe the worst of a country like India, which has been a beacon of non-violence, philosophy and ethics since thousands of years and was the cradle that gave birth to people like Gautam Buddha, Mahaveera, Mahatma Gandhi and millions of lesser known personages of the human endeavor story. 

I also read in the news today, that this article has stirred up a major controversy with the story sparking widespread protests among the people in Assam, who say it has tarnished the image of the state. I’m also shocked to learn from Yahoo News that “The Assam Criminal Investigation Department has registered a suo-motu case against the website for posting the "defamatory" article. CID Additional Superintendent of Police Nirmal Baishya said that investigations have revealed that the article was sourced from Uganda and the website is hosted in Houston in the US”. Surely a gross overreaction, I would think. 

The best response to this article was from the internet troll, Frappy the Anti-Masturbation Dolphin - "There better not be any masturbation at the festival." That is the level of seriousness that it deserves!

Support for Ms. Durga Nagpal IAS

The country is awash with the news of the Samajwadi Party's (SP) Government in Uttar Pradesh bowing to the pressures of the so called Noida based Sand Mafia and getting the officer in question, Ms. Durga Nagpal IAS, suspended on what seems like spurious charges. The powers that be in SP, must have assumed that like in the past 65 years, they could ride roughshod over this lady, and via their retrograde action on her, send out a stern message to all other officials - that they will face similar consequences if they do not toe the Party line. Being Democratic Dinosaurs, the poor chaps may have never imagined that the entire nation will erupt in anger and condemnation, as is happening now, in response to their illegal actions.

On the first hand, we understand that the Sand Mafia is an entrenched lobby with close connections to the ruling party honchos. Thus, it is quite conceivable that goons from the Mafia, who have been facing the brunt of Ms. Nagpals’ official actions, would have complained to their Political Godfathers to fix this ‘pain in their side’ Officer. After suffering the seizure of several trucks and many Crores of Rupees worth in fines for the illegally mined natural resource, the Mafia would have naturally chafed at the ‘interference’ in their activities and resented it. Naturally.

While I do not support retrograde action of any sort, I believe that the SP Government should have handled this with more finesse. If an officer is causing you problems by preventing your cronies from say, looting, then you would typically look for a more pliant Officer and post him / her in place of the honest and upright Officer. Such action is permitted by law and is well within the boundaries of civilized governance and decency, even if the action was contemplated for less than honest reasons. But, to give the whole issue a religious and communal color to suit their actions is reprehensible and deserves condemnation in the strongest possible language and the strongest purgatory actions permitted under the Constitution.

The Officer was just doing her job and apparently following a Supreme Court order prohibiting the sprouting up of religious structures illegally on Government owned land. Media reports suggest that she herself did not get the structures demolished, but in a most mature and sagacious manner, managed to convince the villagers themselves to abide by the law and demolish the structures in question. Even while this needs to be proven, one must express ones’ total and complete admiration for the maturity of the young officer. If this is indeed true, without doubt she needs to be felicitated and publically adored instead of being witch hunted, as the SP Government seems to be doing. Another report in the media also mentioned the fact that her superior Officers at the District level have given their reports to the Government that there was no evidence of malafide intent on the part of Ms. Nagpal, and that post her actions on the demolition of the Mosque structures, there was absolutely no evidence of communal tension or unrest, nor was any complaint received protesting her actions. All this seems to show the SP Government in very poor light, unfortunately.

Thus, for the SP Government to latch on to this flimsy excuse and accuse her of taking actions that could Endanger Public Peace and be Detrimental to Communal Harmony is just a whole lot of rot. This is Minority Appeasement and Communal Politics of the basest order, and their using it as a fig leaf to cover the disgusting naked illegality of their action in suspending Ms. Nagpal, and later serving her with a Charge Sheet, is plainly visible to every right-thinking citizen of this country.

We the people of India have to protest this illegal action and make it clear that we will not stand for such Banana Republic Politics any longer. Since the SP Government seems to have decided to brazen it out and continue with this travesty of justice, we are forced to turn to the Judiciary to set thing right, as usual. Unfortunately, the Judiciary is currently, the only arm of Democracy that still overwhelmingly stands up to scrutiny, particularly at the level of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Thus, it is inevitable that we petition the Respected Chief Justice of the Honorable High Court at Allahabad, and seek his intervention in the matter.

• The Actions of the SP Government are illegal and anti-Democratic in nature, and Bad in Law.
• The principles of Natural Justice and the Fundamental Rights of the IAS Officer Ms. Nagpal seem to have been undermined.
• The actions of the Government looks to be strongly in response to the spectacular work the Officer has done to preserve the Natural Resources for the public good, which apparently impeded the functioning of the Sand Mining Mafia.
• In smothering the faculties of an honest and upright Officer, the SP Government has verily extended its tacit support to corruption and crony capitalism, to the detriment of the nation.
• Instead of encouraging and motivating Good Governance, the SP Government seeks to exercise pecuniary control over its Officers, and encourage yes-men and pliant Officers who look the other way when an illegality is being perpetrated.

To do my bit, I have created an online petition, addressed to the Respected Chief Justice, and am collecting signatures in support of the same. Please click on the link below and sign the petition, and then share it with all your contacts, exhorting them to sign the same too. It is hoped that we can all manage to collect 500 endorsements. Thank You.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Protect_honest_and_upright_IAS_Officer_Durga_Nagpal/

Justice and Social Integration - The Suryanelli rape victim

One prided oneself on the fact that one was fortunate to be born into the worlds’ largest and arguably the freest democracy, where all citizens were assured of equality and justice. This pride has suddenly been punctured recently, as it became increasingly clear that equality and justice was available to only about half the population – the male half, that is. With depressing regularity one reads about how little girls, students and aged women are tortured, assaulted, brutally raped and even publicly humiliated to ‘punish’ their families, communities or caste. We see on TV how medieval minded Khap Panchayats ban women from wearing jeans, owning cellphones or are even ordered to forcefully marry their rapists. Disgusting. Perhaps this has been the situation all along, and we – educated India, have chosen to be blissfully unaware of it. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the Media, this sad state of affairs is now increasingly in the public domain.

A few weeks ago, I was saddened to read the article 'Trial and Error' published in the Week Magazine, in which the horrific experiences of a 16 year old victim of abduction, illegal detention and repeated rape read virtually like a sick X-Rated novel. The Magazine had started a campaign to lobby for justice to the Suryanelli rape victim - something I readily support. In fact, a lot more than just getting her the justice she deserves is necessary, and other critical actions that ensure her re-integration into a society that has chosen to shun her will be required.

It is quite tragic that except for her parents and her lawyer, virtually everyone seems to have deserted her. One learns that she had been given a Government job on compassionate grounds, and recently faced suspension on account of corruption charges – which she denies. One wonders if this corruption charge is some sort of retribution for daring to appeal to the Supreme Court? The timing of the corruption charge certainly seems to be a little too convenient, to say the least. Thus, it looks like every stone is being overturned and every trick in the book is being used to subvert due process. It is absolutely shocking to learn that such concerted attempts at denying justice in this manner is even possible in this day and age, which is also denying a victim the right she has of receiving the support of society.

It seemed quite apparent to me that a 'Grade A' cover up process has been achieved, and the entire Justice System - right from the Social Worker, the Police and the Judiciary seems to have failed the victim, leaving her to battle this horrendous experience virtually on her own. What a brave little 16-year old she must have been to take on the system that cared nothing for her. From day one, the Police investigation and the judicial process seemed to have focused only on protecting the political bigwigs allegedly involved. One can understand the spineless approach of the Police, but a lot is expected from the Judiciary, as they are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring every citizen's fundamental rights. While the lower Courts may be less independent, one assumes nothing but the best support from the High Court. Despite that high expectation, it really shocked me observe the inexplicable Kerala High Court ruling that stated the victim had 'consensual' sex with her 42 rapists, and acquitted all but one of the accused! This strange ruling was given when the law is very clear on the Age of Consent being 18 years. One is no legal expert, but it seems plain as day that the judgment was faulty. As, even if the 16 year old had consented (a preposterous argument in itself) to having sex with each of those 42 men, every one of them, as adults, would have committed Statutory Rape, and should have faced the full might of the law. Instead of recognizing this, no less an institution than the High Court of Kerala has chosen to pass such a verdict. We need to hang our heads in collective shame for this. Each and every one of us – right from our founding fathers down.

This verdict has to also be seen in the context of a recent incident, the Delhi Bus Rape and Murder of a Paramedical Student. What a strange Juvenile Justice system we have in this country, that rules that a mere 16 year old child has attained the age of consent for sexual contact and ‘chose’ to be ravished and exploited by no less than 42 men, and was hence undeserving of justice, while at the same time, we have a 17-and-a-half year old Delhi rapist and brutal murder accused - an adult by any yardstick, being fed the 'milk of Judicial kindness' as it were, where he has been sent to a nice safe remand home, and is being provided every protection by law, including anonymity, and faces a maximum jail term of only 3 years if convicted. We live in a sick society if something like this can happen in our watch, and we do nothing to remedy the situation.

Our Juvenile Justice System has to be recast to ensure that never again will anyone who is accused of a heinous crime receive the safety net of society. It surprised me no end to learn that India has one of the most liberal Juvenile Justice Acts (JJA) in the world, where any person who is even a couple of days shy of the age of 18 years, enjoys the full benefit of being a minor. Both in the US and UK, on whom much of our Justice System is modeled on, have rules that exempt minors accused of heinous crimes from seeking refuge in the JJA. Children accused of Rape or Murder in these two countries face the same charges and could receive the same punishment as an adult would. Why we in India, in our JJA, choose to be so protective and nurturing of underage criminals? Of what use is our JJA that protects a sadist rapist-murderer, while failing to ensure justice to a 16-year old victim of another rape and sexual exploitation case?

Our Criminal Justice System and the Juvenile Justice System are both worthless if they cannot ensure that justice is meted out in the Suyranelli case. I sincerely hope that each and everyone accused of raping the minor victim will be soon finally brought to book and face the maximum terms of punishment. As thinking individuals, we need to also lobby for the identification of all the people involved in the alleged cover up, regardless of their position. Whether it be the policemen, the lawyers, the prosecutors, the judges or the politicians - anyone involved in a cover-up (if one can be proved) are given exemplary punishment that will deter anyone in future from contemplating such horrible a miscarriage of justice.

Finally, a concerted attempt needs to be made to reintegrate the victim into the mainstream society, and every person who chose to shun her is made to see the folly of their ways. Firstly, the victim must be suitably compensated financially both from the Government and from exemplary fines collected from each of the convicted persons. She should also be afforded an opportunity to face society with her head held high. This can be achieved by conferring on her a Bravery Award for the steely resolve she has exhibited in seeking justice - not only for herself, but for all women. She is richly deserving of that singular honor.