Need for strong deterrents to stop this shame

Nemesis seems to have finally caught up with SPS Rathore, the former Director General of Police in Haryana for molesting 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, a budding tennis player, in 1990 and systematically driving her to commit suicide three years later, thanks to the concerted campaign taken up by the media.  Rathore, who thought he could get away with a light punishment of six months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1000, now finds himself cornered with three more FIRs being filed against him by the victims and the central and state governments resolving to punish him for bringing dishonour to the police force.

The Rathore issue has brought into focus the crime against women being perpetrated by people in top echelons using their muscle and money power. Ruchika’s family succeeded in taking on him, as they could establish right contacts in right places. Although it took nineteen years to happen, the wrong done to Ruchika is now in the process of being repaired. But there are thousands of Dalit women who have been violated without any voice of protest. Nor are they fortunate enough to enjoy the support of the media in their search for justice.  Feminist writer Ammu Jospeh rightly says: “Rape is used as a weapon by perpetrators in places where there are internal conflicts.”

In fact, in total defiance of all the legislative provisions in place, the upper castes and all others sharing the distorted view continue to use rape as a powerful tool to subjugate Dalits. Surprisingly hardly any of these monsters gets punished. This has in turn emboldened them to rape Dalit women with immunity. According to informed sources, every two hours, a Dalit woman is being raped by upper caste men across the country. Only a few of these cases gets due attention, with the rest being pushed under the carpet as it were.

Take the case of the brutal attack on Bhotmange’s family at Khairlanji village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra on 29 November 2006 that put the entire nation to shame. In full view of the villagers, his wife and daughter were gang-raped, mutilated and killed. His two sons, who were forced to watch, were tortured and killed as well. Bhotmange’s family was an easy target for caste hatred because it was one of the two Dalit families living at Khairlanji. Bhotmange had moved in about 25 years ago to farm the five acres which belonged to his mother. The family and Bhotmange’s wife, Surekha, in particular, worked hard and prospered. Surekha also fought to regain a portion of their land grabbed by upper caste villagers. This, and the fact that the Dalit family dared to educate their children and stood up for their rights, incensed the other villagers, leading to the barbaric event.

In another case, a 15-year-old Scheduled Caste girl was gang-raped in Shajapur district of Maharashtra in 2007. It took three months for the police to prepare a preliminary report on the horrendous crime. Meanwhile the girl was threatened by her attackers and told not to talk about the ordeal. A police official also told her not to mention her rape. The girl suffered in silence for months but then gathered courage to take on her attackers.  

Commenting on the rape of the minor girl, Sandeep Naik, the sate coordinator for the Hunger Project in Madhya Pradesh, says, “It is seen that in most cases the police have been slow to move against the accused because of the pressure from influential people to hush up the case.” The fear is not merely of the physical assault on the body, but of the stigma associated in India with the act. This fear prevents these women from talking about their violation. In many cases the family and the villagers do not accept the victims. “In case of rape, the girl is punished for the crime of which she herself is the victim. The same society allows the perpetrator of the crime to lead a normal life, without any stigma, after serving the required term in jail - if he is caught and prosecuted,” the official adds.

These are rather exceptions, as most of the rape cases either go unreported or the victims refuse to make a formal complaint. Instead they prefer to suffer in silence. Such affected women often end up being mental wrecks because they have nowhere to go, nor anyone to turn to. And in course of time these victims resort to suicide, thus becoming non-entities of history.

“Caste-based discrimination is illegal in our country. But we see that men from upper castes always treat lower castes like inferior human beings,” says Sachin Jain, the Right to Food Campaign State Convener in Madhya Pradesh. “Gang-rape is one of the easiest means for men to attack a woman at the villages. Women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are also coming forward through initiatives like NREGA and the panchayats in the state. The upper castes take revenge by committing gang-rape. These people once referred to as ‘untouchables’ have attained positions in local governance but they are still among the poorest and most victimised people.”

Political analyst and writer Rasheed Kidwai thinks rape is, for the members of India’s upper classes, a means to show power rather than sexual gratification. “It is easy to create dominance through rape on the lower castes,” Kidwai says, outlining how a 32-year-old Dalit woman had her hand chopped off at a village near Bhopal in 2005 for refusing to take back her complaints of rape against two upper-caste men in the recent past.

If the media could succeed in bringing the molester of Ruchika to justice, it is time all   men and women, rooted in the Christian faith and committed to the cause of justice, came forward to shake the conscience of the nation. There cannot be two kinds of dispensation when the crime committed is the same. If Ruchika could get justice at last, all Dalit women who have suffered silently at the hands of the Upper Castes definitely deserve justice. As Christians, it is our duty to see that these victims get justice at any cost.
Territorial Army

It is time to have a team of committed men and women to take up the cause of these women at every level. It is like a territorial army assigned to protect the interests of the Church in general and those of the Dalits and other weaker sections in particular. For their honour is the honour of the Church. No one has any right to violate them, for when they are violated, it is equal to violating the Church. It is for these recruits to remain ever vigilant and protect them from all harm. To make it happen, these men and women should be adequately trained to fight without fear or favour. They will safeguard the interest of the Church and also protect the rights of these hapless women.

Now this could raise objections saying it is for the state to protect the rights of every citizen. If the state has been successful in playing its assigned role, all these hapless Dalit women would not have been forced to suffer in silence. When the state fails, it is for the affected citizens to stand up and boldly act.
Improved Media Network

It is highly distressing to note that the Church’s media management is pathetically dismal. In spite of the Church being at the forefront in providing education and medical care, the faithful lag behind when it comes to getting due coverage in the media. If at all there is some coverage, it is about Christian boys and girls going around breaking the law with the cross hanging around their necks. This has to change and the media should be brought around to fight for the legitimate needs of the Dalit community.  

The Church should appoint competent media professionals for proper guidance in dealing with all these elements in society that are violating the basic rights of the Dalits. Remember the media power is a double-edged sword. Before pointing out the mistakes of others, it calls for self-correction.
Concerted Campaign

There is no need for violence to correct the system, for violence can only breed violence. What is needed is to consistently build up pressure on the executive, the judiciary and all other arms of the state machinery. Mahatma Gandhi has shown that it would work. So let all the faithful observe fasts (even fasts-unto-deaths); organise protests; take out peace rallies; and pressure the authorities though letters, memoranda, representations, always refusing to give up. Let Christian lawyers file as many public interest litigations as possible so that not even one case of rape goes unnoticed and unpunished. This is what the Church has to do. This is what the nation wants. And this is what the Christian faith demands.

Last Word

The Church in India is generally described as a community of people without any backbone. It is because the faithful refuse to stand up, shying away from fighting even for their own rights. (If the Church does not fight for herself, who will fight for her?) It is time to say goodbye to timidity and embrace courage with conviction.