Protests against ourselves

Met Divya, a friend, after so long.. It was 4 in the evening. She said, "After so much buzz around the bus gangrape case, I need to be home early. People really don't care about crime happening nearby." I instantly replied, " you are safe till people around do not forget the incident and are protesting, so you can roam freely atleast for a month.”

This made me think why did people need to protest so heavily this time. Why was it assumed that police will not act? I mean, no influential persons were involved in the aforesaid case unlike Jessica Lal case. Those involved in the shameful act cannot influence the legal procedure in any way. The police would have eventually done what it did now.

Further, protesters demanded a change in the law so as to increase the punishment for the wrongdoers. It was asked to change the punishment to a death penalty or atleast castration. Here too, why would a government not change a law so popularly demanded. What self-interest would the government serve in not amending the law. Rather, It’s in the interest of the government to appease its voter. More so when the elections are to held next year.

Let me think for a second from a rapist's eye. After raping someone, what would I do to avoid a punishment? Will I kill the victim for nobody will get to know what I did? No, that would be too risky since the punishment for murder is a death penalty and that for a rape is just ten years of imprisonment. And what would happen if the punishment for rape is same as that of a murder. I will have in incentive to kill the victim since that would reduce my chances of getting caught without any increase in the risk involved. Now what do you think, Should the punishment for rape be a death award? I guess not.

Now talking about castration .i.e. to perform surgical or chemical procedures whereby the operatee is no more in a position to have sex anymore. Castration as a solution misunderstands the nature of rape as a crime. Rape is not just about sex. It’s much more than that. It extends to exertion of power and violence. It aims at inflicting damage, both psychological and physical. To punish with castration would narrow the rationale of rape to only sex.

I think thirty years of rigorous imprisonment (which is ten years as of now, but the government will be making it thirty soon) is not less if sentenced timely. I think we lack in implementation, not in coding the laws. The implementing agencies i.e. the police and the judiciary both needs an overhaul.  For example, Fast track courts, Strict timelines for filing of charge sheets, ban on two finger test etc. There are lots of legal and medical amendments to be made, to make the system fair and fast.

Coming back to the protests, what I realized is that people just wanted to show their anger against the brutal wrongs done by some psychic members of the society. The protests were not against the government. Those were against the society by the society so as to improve the society. This was a kind of introspection.

The protests did make a positive impact. It made everybody think and talk about the issue. People, who used to flip channels when such incidents are being aired on news, for sex (even if forced) is not an issue that is discussed openly atleast in our society, now openly discussed it. Everybody was discussing it with everybody. Autodrivers were discussing it with their passengers, teachers with their students, godmans with their disciples, and bosses with their subordinates. These discussions further refine the views of society as whole against this crime. For It is actually the society and not the laws, that actually make the change happen...