Shining India:  How to Control Rapes & Killings

By Zaheerul Hassan

On 9th March 2013 United States has honoured the Indian23 year’s old psychotherapist who was brutally murdered after a gang-rape in a bus in New Delhi in December 2012.  The young student, who has become known simply as “Nirbhaya” or “fearless,” was awarded the US International Women of Courage award posthumously. At this occasion US Sectery John Kerry told the participants of the ceremony that bravery of the lady student inspired millions of men and women to come together with a simple message ‘No more,”. “We never imagined that the girl we thought was our daughter would one day be the daughter of the entire world,” her parents wrote in a message to the ceremony that was read out by Kerry.

In fact, awarding nine women for their courageous actions is not the solution of curtailing crimes against women till the time organizations of human rights and supper power do not condemn and force Indian rulers to stop state terrorism and violence against women in Kashmiris, Maoists, Tamils and Nagaland.

On 31 December 2012, Annie Banerji also mentioned in Reuters’ Rape Report that in this year on average every 20 minutes in India. Annie further added that just 26 percent of the cases resulted in convictions, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, which registered 24,206 rapes in 2011, up from 22,141 the previous year.

Ghaziabad police chief Nitin Tewari  also confirmed that on 7 March in the  latest case of sexual violence has a 19-year-old woman was abducted by three men in an auto-rickshaw, robbed her cash, cell phone  and gang-raped in New Delhi's suburb of Ghaziabad.  The woman said she yelled for help as auto drove through several police check points but no one helped. The suspects threw her out near a highway after assaulting her in a secluded area, police said.

Media have compared the incident to the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student in December that sparked massive street protests and demands for stricter laws against sexual assault, which has a high incidence rate in India.

According to the NDTV, report in the same week ,  three-year and  12 years old girls were l was kidnapped and raped in the southern state of Kerala and  in a school in the central city of Nagpur.

Notably, in most of the cases girls under 18 have been raped and assaulted sexually just in India capital in the last week of February 2013.

On 10 February 2013, New Indian express initiated a very alarming picture of Indian society. The report reveals that domestic, local intellectuals and writers, the Western media has almost declared India as a semi-barbaric society. And now the world is asking whether India is a nation of rapists and killers of women. Only facts, not words, can answer this question. The report further states, “ What a certificate for a rising India that the National Intelligence Council of the US in its report released four days before the Delhi rape had predicted India to become one of the three world powers by 2030”

In fact, Indian society is probably devoid of senses of cultural society and Western Media has opined that rapes are something that only happens in India. In this connection, BBC reports is also very shocking in which statics shows that a woman is raped in Delhi every 14 hours, which equates to 625 a year, in England and Wales which has a population 3.5 times that of Delhi, the proportion is four time larger: 9,509 against Delhi’s 625.

On 5 August 2012, Gitika Sharma 23 former air hostess has committed suicide by hanging herself at her residence in Ashok Vihar in North-West Delhi. According to the reports late Gitika Sharma has named Haryana minister Gopal Kanda in her suicide note. The police confirmed in their investigations that allegations leveled against the minister. According to the Gitika friend, she has been even asked to establish sexual relations by the minister. The girls’ family too alleges that she was mentally and physically tortured by Mr Kanda.

It is mentionable here that very sexual harassment has become a very common phenomenon in India as compare to others Asian countries.  24% self staff of female gender has carried out suicide because of sexual abuses.

The Indian Army too has been rocked by series of corruption and discipline cases in recent years, with land, liquor, sex, and other scams involving General officers. Even females working in armed forces have been sexually assaulted. In this connection, numbers of cases have been registered by their seniors and colleagues.

Indian media reported that females along either side of Indo-Myanmar, Indo- Bangladesh and Indo-Nepal borders are also victims of forced rapes by frustrating Indian soldiers. It is high time that over 20 senior officers (Brig or above) faced charges of corruption, moral turpitude in past 4 years.

Maj Gen AK Lal, dismissed after proven guilty of sexually assault a junior woman officer. In Jul 09 Capt Poonam, ASC, has alleged 3 officers for mental sexual harassment. But unfortunately the same lady has been thrown out of army. Again  on 03 Jun 10, Engr-in-Chief Lt Gen Nanda, was asked by Indian Army chief to quit on molesting the wife of his Tech Sectary but Gen has been made clear through local type inquiry .

Analysis of above mentioned cases reveals that so called pro-westerns minded scholars and pundits of bollywood  are promoting violence through screen, print and electronic media. Poor people and young generation get impressed from the violent actions and adopt shortcuts for improving the life style and ill satisfactions. Robberies, fraud, sexual harassment against female employees and raping young girls have become the common features of degrading Indian society.

Increasing crime ratio can be controlled if Indian government is willing to pay heed to the actual problems of the society rather than posing glorious picture of Indian masked society. There is a need to take ruthless actions against corrupt mafia of armed forces, intelligence agencies and political elite. Global associations of human rights should condemned ruthless brutality against women and should launch an organize campaigns for protection of women rights in Kashmir, Tamils, Maoists’ territory, border areas, and rest of India.