The Warping of Indian Conscience
The
events surrounding the brutal rape and death of a young woman in Delhi last
month have raised some serious questions on the moral conscience of a nation
considered to be a peaceful ancient civilization. It is not just the terrible
deeds of a few criminals that have come to question, but the actions and
inaction of different constituencies of people that paint a worrisome picture
of a nation.
Second,
this terrible incident took place in public transport – a bus – that was used
by its driver during off-hours for extracting large sums of money from
unassuming passengers and for criminal acts for pleasure. There was no
accountability on the part of the transport department in the use of the bus,
and no background check of the driver.
Third,
the two victims lay naked on the roadside after being thrown out of the bus for
nearly forty-five minutes before police arrived. Passers-by slowed down their vehicles to look
at them but didn’t offer any help for fear of getting involved and the police
implicating and accusing them of the crime. There was no Good Samaritan who was
prepared to rush the bleeding couple to a hospital.
Fourth,
the policemen who arrived in their vehicles argued for a long time on who had
jurisdiction on the matter to transport them to a hospital. There seems to have
been little or no concern about the terrible condition of the victims. Nearly 2
hours passed before the victims arrived at a hospital.
Fifth,
the hospital health workers took their time to administer proper aid to the
victims. The young woman was bleeding
profusely and had by then lost most of her blood, and yet, it took considerable
time before she was administered the initial blood transfusion. As for her male companion who had serious
injuries from being beaten by the iron rod waited until his relatives arrived
at the hospital and demanded immediate attention.
Sixth,
when the public heard through the media the news of the rape, there was
considerable outrage among some groups, especially among women, who took to the
streets to protest. It was mostly women activists who led those protests (where
were the men?), and the rest of the nation waited to see what the government
would do. In the mean time, several political
leaders blamed the young woman victim for traveling late evening – 9.30 pm –
instead of staying home. Some accused
women of “flirting and tempting men” to commit rape.
Seventh,
the national discourse turned to the demand for death penalty for the alleged
criminals. One of the cabinet members
suggested that a new law should be passed to deal with crimes against women,
such as rapes, and it should be named after the victim. There was very little
public discussion of what the law should be all about.
Eighth,
recognizing the potential for serious public agitation, the national
ministerial cabinet met to decide how to prevent any widening protest by the
public. Without consulting the parents
of the woman victim, the cabinet decided to immediately fly her to a hospital
in Singapore to “receive organ transplant” – to replace the entire intestine.
By then, the young woman was in precarious physical condition from loss of
blood and the resulting cardiac arrest and stroke, at the verge of death. She
was in no condition to travel and receive an organ transplant for no less than
three months at the earliest if she were to survive, according to medical
experts in the hospital.
Yet, a political decision was made to ship her; passports and visas were issued overnight and she was put into a special plane to Singapore. During the flight she underwent another cardiac arrest, and there were no proper medical equipment or expert doctors in the plane to handle the easily predictable deteriorating condition. Within two days of arrival at the transplant hospital in Singapore, the young woman died.
Yet, a political decision was made to ship her; passports and visas were issued overnight and she was put into a special plane to Singapore. During the flight she underwent another cardiac arrest, and there were no proper medical equipment or expert doctors in the plane to handle the easily predictable deteriorating condition. Within two days of arrival at the transplant hospital in Singapore, the young woman died.
Ninth,
the alleged criminals were brought to a court in Delhi for trial, but the Delhi
lawyers’ association declared that none of its members would represent the
defendants in the trial. The lawyers rendered their judgment even before a
judge could hear the case.
Tenth,
there has been little or no open national discussion on what new laws are
needed to protect women in public places, the controls to be established by the
public transport system, how the police and medical authorities are expected to
respond in similar situations, and how the general public can be motivated to
come to the aid of victims without worrying about harassment by the police.
Instead, there are plenty of public pronouncements on morality, restricted role
of women and defense of government actions in this matter.
The
Delhi rape case occurred almost at the same time as the school massacre took
place in the United States where more than two dozen children and staff died
from gunshot wounds. While the nation was in grief and shock for several days
following the incident, the national discourse was mainly on how to control the
use of guns, prevention of such incidents in the future, detecting and
identifying individuals who might be potential threat to society, treatment for
mental illness, and assistance to families who need help. The U.S. legal system and
process were expected to render justice to the alleged perpetrator of the crime
in normal course, and hence, there was no public discussion on what punishment would be
appropriate. The need of the moment was to find solutions that would prevent a
repeat of similar incidents.
In the
Delhi rape matter, it is terribly sad to see so many constituencies acting in a
far less moral fashion than would be expected of a great nation. It is not hard
to say who all contributed to the suffering and death of the young woman -- the
rapists, the passers-by, the police, the medical establishment, or the
authorities, or all. I leave that judgment to the moral conscience of the
readers.
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