Friday, December 28, 2012

Brave Rape Victim dies after 13 day struggle




The above news item currently is the most important event in India as of December 2012. On 16th December, 2012, a middle class girl after watching a movie in prominent Shopping mall was returning home with a male friend for which they took a private bus. The Bus was not a regular mass transit bus but it is common in Delhi’s unregulated roads for such private buses to ferry passengers.  Facts known now say that the Bus was being driven with a premeditated intent of picking up a girl for  “Rape”. The Bus was occupied by 6 people including the Driver and Conductor and these six people brutally raped the girl . The violence committed on her is unimaginable and too horrific to write.  Both the girls and her male friend who was also beaten brutally, were tossed out in the road after the event.

Delhi particularly is known to be a very aggressive city, Fights happen, turn violent and lead to deaths. Delhi is also particularly unsafe for women and in the recent past there have been incidents of women being picked up even as early as 9 PM and raped in moving vehicles.

The horrific nature of the above rape incident outraged the sensibilities of the youth and from 18th December onwards protests starting building up with increasing momentum. Most of these protests took place in the Central Delhi in India Gate and on Vijay Chowk, less than a km from the Parliament and the President’s house. The ferocity of these protests can be gauged from the fact, given the security climate in India, it is near impossible for protestors to gather in this central area but the protestors broke security cordon and protested in this high security area.

The Government in retaliation used force on the protestors ( lathi charge – hitting the protestors with sticks, and water canons) . Many people likened these protests to Tahrir Square. The Government shut down Rajpath – the central road connecting the President’s house and India Gate and 7 Metro Stations to stop the Protestors from gathering in the Central Area.

Today early morning hours , the girl has succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital. Most people are feeling a sense of personal loss as if a family member has died. 14 of my 250 connections on Facebook have posted condolence messages . There is an expectation that this death will prompt the Government to act tough against sexual offenders.

The Government anticipating protests has once shut down 10 Metro Stations. Security has been beefed up in the central area around the President’s house and India Gate. Section 144, which bars assembly of more than 5 people in a place, has been clamped in the central area of Delhi.

The incident has also brought out the fact that the current Government is out of touch with the public sentiment.    





No comments:

Post a Comment