RAPE MENACE:

Wholesale change and transformation of the system in its entirety will take much time and the intensity and urgency for immediate action to assuage the anger would be lost. Government keeps ordering commissions of inquiries which dilute or put the issues in cold storage. That they have done in this case also. People whose daughters and sisters are not raped would sit in such commissions and decide to frame moderate laws keeping human right activists in front to save the rapists and murderers sitting in the governance. They can not realize the trauma that the victims and their families go through. Govt. must give a try to include victim’s relatives in such commissions.

All this system reforms can take time. When medicines do not work surgery is required. An ordinance can be passed now announcing capital punishment for rape to assuage the anger of the public at large and as a concrete step to stop this menace. “Rapists will be hanged” should be given wide publicity like tobacco ads against cancer are being given these days. Fear of loosing life would control the lust. Nothing less will do as we have seen during all these years after independence. Fear is to be created in the mind of such criminals who are a negligible percentage of the population spoiling the society and can be written off. Mad dogs are not and need not be treated. They must be eliminated. Our government should take lessons from the countries where such offences are nil or negligible.

The spree of rapes and molestations is not stopping even when country wide protests and demonstrations are going on. Fifty two rapes have been reported since 16 December and we do not know how many have gone unreported. Even after government’s assurances that necessary steps would be taken, the protesters in large numbers are marching towards India Gate on 27^th December. This is because the public has lost confidence in the governance and fed up with the assurance and promises. Some abroad may be wondering Delhi is the rape capital of India or India is the rape country?

Govt. has done one good thing in sending the victim to Singapore for treatment along with her family. It is high time for the government to restore public confidence and give commitment in the form of an ordinance or announcement by the PM about exact actions they are going to take and stop being vague. Meanwhile let us keep praying for the safe recovery of the brave girl.

Wing Commander Vishnu Singh (Veteran)