Last one week has been so unreal. Monday brought the news of #DelhiGangRape, where 6-odd people unleashed unspeakable savagery on an innocent 23-years old girl. This incident demolished all established notions of safety. I mean - the girl was not alone, it was just about 9 PM and they apparently took public transport from one of the highly-crowded areas in the capital of a billion-plus people’s country. And the perpetrators not just violated her; they almost killed her – in most inhuman way thinkable.
It becomes a non-statement to say there is no fear of Police or Law among criminals. And a direct corollary is common man’s lack of faith on these institutions. But why are we destined to live this life where every moment we feel insecure, and without any recourse. Zammrs.com – an online platform for public discussions and opinion making - ran a ‘Speak-up’ campaign in Delhi to ask people what needs to be done to make Delhi safe and ensure such incidents are not repeated. More than 5000 people spoke their mind and gave their suggestions in writing. So, what do we get out of this?
This is certainly not a trivial problem to solve and people understand there can’t be any quick fixes. This is not entirely a law-and-order problem and it also has to do with fast-deteriorating human-values in our society. This is also a Social problem, a Psychological problem, a social-economic issue. There is need for inculcating human-values and there is need for inclusive economic growth. There is no getting away with these problems without attacking the roots…… BUT
BUT ….. while these long term steps are certainly necessary, there is a real need of urgent steps. The justice not only need to be done but it also must be seen as being done. And this is where the government and administration is greatly lacking.
There is unprecedented fury out on the streets, and whole nation is feeling let-down from powers-that-be. There is no reason why the Government, Bureaucracy and Judiciary could not come on a common platform to address people’s concerns and emotions. If it’s an unprecedented crime – followed by unparalleled public-protest, why can’t the government make an exception and attempt to address people up-close? Why does a Home minister address a press-conference only after so much of public protest? And most importantly, why does an elected government fail to gain people’s trust. Both Centre and Delhi state are being governed by Congress. How can they afford to be so out-of-touch with people’s sentiments? It’s either ‘Arrogance of power’ as media is putting it, or their smug belief they don’t need these people to win elections again.
I would conclude with the single most-heard message yesterday at India Gate. We need swift and decisive punishment to be given to the culprits, ASAP. This punishment has to be of comparable proportions to what victim is suffering and will likely suffer for the rest of her life. And this punishment has to be a credible deterrent so as to stop the all-too-frequent cases of rapes being reported hourly from across the country.
PS: Whole social media is abuzz with how political masters used their favorite pets to sabotage largely peaceful public protest. I was personally at India Gate whole of Saturday and know it for a fact that most protesters were not trouble-mongers but average aam-aadmi that are really feeling the pain of rape-victim. And the government had been trying to derail it since early morning today. Having miserably failed in dissuading people to come for protest, they resorted to this third-rate tactic. It’s no wonder people have absolutely no faith in them.
To voice out your opinion and give this movement a direction visit ;
http://www.zammrs.com/saveDelhi
