WHY HAVE STRINGENT LAWS FAILED TO INSTILL FEAR IN RAPISTS?

Has Indian judiciary failed our daughters? Why do Indian daughters continue to face violence despite the government framing tough anti-rape legislation? The laws do not seem to have any deterrence for the rapists as the numbers suggest. A woman is raped every 16 minutes in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) 'Crime in India 2019' report, the country had recorded 88 rape cases every day and 32,033 in the year. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh top the shame list with 6,000 and 3,065 rape cases last year respectively.

But the situation is far more horrible as the figures are gross underestimates. These are just the cases that have been reported. Majority of the crimes against women are committed by people known to the victims such as close family members, neighbours, employers and friends. And in many cases, the victims either remain reluctant to report crimes or they are coerced by their families to keep mum due to stigma attached with it. India’s deep-seated patriarchy is largely to be blamed for this sorry state of affairs.

The government was forced to pass a tough anti-rape law in April 2013 following a massive outcry over the brutal rape of Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a moving bus in New Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The law made stalking a crime and introduced death sentence for convicted rapists. But has it brought about any positive change in the society? Young girls and women continue to fall prey to the rapists. In several cases, the accused get away with minor punishments due to lack of evidence and they are also protected by police and politicians. The misuse of police in destroying evidence is not a hidden secret.

The shoddy police investigation in the latest Hathras rape case also raises several questions.  Why were samples of the 19-year-old Dalit girl taken on September 22 when she was admitted to the hospital on September 14? Why did it take three days to send the samples to a lab in Agra? The lab received the samples on September 25. The vaginal swabs in rape cases should be taken within 72 hours. In fact, according to the guidelines & protocols for medico-legal care for survivors/victims of sexual violence by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, “the likelihood of finding evidence after 72 hours (3 days) is greatly reduced; however it is better to collect evidence up to 96 hours in case the survivor may be unsure of the number of hours elapsed since the assault.”

Why did the hospital authorities delay in taking samples?  Was it an act of gross negligence or it was purportedly delayed? Now the UP police is claiming that the victim was not raped as the forensic report, which was received by the Agra lab 11 days after the crime, has found no evidence of rape. It is also banking on the post-mortem report issued by Safdarjung Hospital which does not mention rape. The post-mortem report says there were “multiple old healed tears” in the private parts of the deceased. Certainly, there will be very little chances of finding any evidence if the samples are collected beyond permissible time limit.

Why were samples of the 19-year-old Dalit girl taken on September 22 when she was admitted to the hospital on September 14? Why did it take three days to send the samples to a lab in Agra? Why did the hospital authorities delay in taking samples?  Was it an act of gross negligence or it was purportedly delayed?

The decision of the local authorities to cremate the victim in the dead of the night and that too in the absence of her family members also raises several doubts. Why was the family denied a last look at the body? Why did the district officials not permit the body to be taken home for last rites? What was the urgency? The UP police and the local administration need to answer these questions.

Now that all the four accused have been arrested, the case will be heard by the Fast Track Court (FTC) after the police file the charge sheet. The problem is that most of these FTCs in several states have the same drawbacks as the district courts. Improper infrastructure, inadequate staff, frequent adjournments continue to dog these FTCs. As of 2019, there were more than 1.66 lakh pending cases of crime against women and children in the FTCs across the country.

Even if the FTC completes all the legal formalities and passes its judgment, it will not be a final closure of the case. The accused have every right to challenge the FTC decision to higher courts and finally the Supreme Court.  The case in point is the Delhi medical student rape case, when a fast-track court was set up on January 17, 2013 a month after the crime.  The court wrapped up the proceedings within eight months and sentenced the four surviving convicts to death in the case. The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty on May 5, 2017, but the convicts were hanged on March 20 this year after they took time exhausting all their legal remedies.  It took more than seven years before the convicts could be sent to the gallows despite having been sentenced to death in a fast-track.

The unusual delay in closure is also traumatic for the rape survivor as she is haunted by the flashbacks, nightmares and upsetting memories. Moreover, as the case drags from one court to another, she is subjected to the same rigmarole of answering uncomfortable questions which may prove to be very disturbing for her. In some cases, it is observed that the survivors end their lives due to the stigma attached with the incident of rape.

There is an urgent need to fast track justice also. If  justice is prompt, it will certainly act as a deterrent and instill fear among the people who entertain any such wicked thoughts. The criminal justice system should be such that it is not seen as failing to deliver justice after rape. For, justice delayed is justice denied.

(The article first appeared on Wionnews.com)

WHY CHINA WANTS TO IMPOSE WAR ON INDIA?

WHY CHINA WANTS TO IMPOSE WAR ON INDIA?

There seems to be a method behind China’s renewed bellicosity towards India which has been in the making for the past several years. Behind the charming façade of bonhomie was hidden a sinister design to downsize India. It was never ever at ease whenever the world linked the two Asian giants through a hyphen. Given the size of its economy and its influence well beyond South Asia, China found it increasingly difficult to digest the world’s view of the two Asian countries which put them on equal footing. The rise of the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi was another sore point as Prime Minister Narendra Modi government sought to deal with Beijing on equal terms, which was certainly not digestible to it as it was keen to play Big Brother in the region.

China was also miffed with New Delhi as it sought to deepen its relations with the Trump regime at a time when the relations between Washington and Beijing started worsening from 2018 onwards when both the countries resorted to tit-for-tat tariff war.  The Corona pandemic further dented the already-strained ties. Originating from Wuhan province in China, the pandemic has derailed the world economy and Trump has squarely blamed Beijing for its spread. On its part, China tried to give a new spin to it by pushing a conspiracy theory that it was the US military personnel who could have brought the corona virus to China. Angered by China’s insinuation, Trump started dubbing Corona virus as Chinese virus rubbing salt into its wounds.

A suspicious China viewed the growing bonhomie between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi as a conspiracy against its interests. As angry exchanges between the US and China escalated, President Trump’s seemingly shift towards India further piqued Beijing.  In fact, many in the Trump administration had been favouring prioritising ties with New Delhi in a bid to counter Beijing’s growing influence in the world. The Ladakh incursions by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came at a time when several countries, including the US, were fuming at China’s continued muscle-flexing in the disputed islands in the South China Sea. China says it has “irrefutable” sovereignty over the islands, also claimed parts of the sea by Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei.

The Ladakh incursions do not seem to be a sudden move. It all began in June 2017 when the two countries were locked in a military standoff as China attempted to extend a road on the Doklam plateau southwards near the Doka La pass. Satellite images and intelligence reports are proof that the Chinese have been building several permanent military posts, a few helipads and new trenches not very far from Doklam. Doklam was just a prelude. Since then, China has been surreptitiously fortifying its positions along the LAC.

Notwithstanding its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, it has been blaming India for the current tension. It has put the ball in the court of New Delhi to take steps to ease the situation by withdrawing its forces from the region, while reiterating that its territory (read occupied territory) cannot be lost.

China’s game plan is to impose war on India. Even though Chinese officials have been maintaining that their country will never be the first to escalate the situation, their actions prove otherwise. Notwithstanding its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, it has been blaming India for the current tension. It has put the ball in the court of New Delhi to take steps to ease the situation by withdrawing its forces from the region, while reiterating that its territory (read occupied territory) cannot be lost. The statement that Chinese military is "fully determined, capable, and confident to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity" sums up its intentions.

China is eyeing one wrong move from India that will give it the sanction to escalate the situation along the border further. More than the military damages, China wants to impose a heavy cost on India so as to wreck its economy, which has been severely hit by the lockdowns imposed in the wake of the Corona virus. With Indian economy shrinking badly and the fastest of all the countries, any escalation of the situation will deal a body blow to New Delhi.

If that happens then once the world’s fastest growing economy, India will certainly slip into a mess and the recovery will take several years.  With economy in tailspin, India’s influence in the region and beyond would also diminish. There would be immense pressure on the Indian leadership to take some harsh steps to recover from the economic costs that would accrue due to escalation of the situation. And this is what China wants. It wants to mute all the voices that speak of China and India as the two giants of Asia. Just like India does not want Pakistan to be counted its equal, China detests granting India any status at par with itself.

(The article first appeared on Wionnews.com)

CONGRESS LOSES SCINDIA; PERHAPS MP AS WELL

The tell tale signs were visible to all, except the Congress leadership which was either unable to read the writing on the wall or lived in a denial mode. Prising out the wicket of Jyotiraditya Scindia is a major victory for the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as he was one of the very few leaders within the Congress party who could swing things in the party’s favour as seen during the last elections in Madhya Pradesh about 15 months ago. Scindia had played a key role in snatching win from the BJP which had a 15-year uninterrupted run in the crucial state.

If Scindia has walked out on the Congress, the blame squarely lies with the party which mysteriously failed to accommodate him, who was a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi, in a manner which was due to him.  He had high hopes that the party could reward him with the chief ministership of the state, which ultimately went to Kamal Nath who commanded the support of a larger number of elected legislators in comparison to about two dozen MLAs who were rooting for Scindia. Though a temporary truce was brought about by Rahul Gandhi after days of intense deliberations, Scindia felt sidelined as he was neither given the presidentship of the state unit of the party nor a berth in Rajya Sabha.

The Congress has not only lost Scindia, but there are chances the party losing out the state to the BJP as well. It remains to be seen how many of the 22 Congress legislators who resigned return to the party as not all of them seem to happy with Scindia’s decision to join the BJP. But as things stand today, it is unlikely that the Congress will be able to weather the storm. After netting Scindia, it will not be that difficult for the BJP to catch some small fish who were not part of the Kamal Nath cabinet to switch sides after the fall of the government.

In Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Congress has lost a performer, an orator and above all a charismatic leader who could steer the ship of the party which is sinking rapidly.

Even though some of the 22 Congress legislators decide to return to the party fold, the strength of the house will get significantly reduced giving an edge to the BJP which has 107 MLAs. The Congress had seven more MLAs than the BJP besides the support of two MLAs of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one MLA of Samajwadi Party before the revolt. So, all eyes will be on the rebel Congress MLAs and more importantly the role of the Speaker. The BJP would like the rebel Congress MLAs to tender their resignation to the Speaker first so as to bring down the Kamal Nath government to escape the Anti-Defection Law. 

Once the Congress loses power in the truncated assembly following the acceptance of the resignation of the rebel party legislators by the Speaker, the BJP can move fast to stake its claim as it would have the magic number to form the government. The rebel Congress MLAs can be accommodated by the BJP later when they would be allowed to contest fresh elections in bypolls that would have to be held in a few months from now. In any case, it would be naïve to think that BJP strategists would have been eyeing only the disgruntled Scindia.

There is an urgent need of retrospection for the Congress if it fancies any chances of revival, which at present looks very gloomy. In the past, the Congress has lost several leaders who went on to chart their independent course after coming out of their parent party and are doing well as regional leaders. And the BJP has been successfully tapping on the performers of the Congress who were denied their rightful due. In the recent memory, one such sulking leader was Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam who not only plotted the fall of the Congress but helped the BJP to come to power in the state as well as several other states in the North-east. 

In Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Congress has lost a performer, an orator and above all a charismatic leader who could steer the ship of the party which is sinking rapidly.

(The article first appeared on Wionnews.com)

DID BJP READ THE DELHI PITCH WRONG?

A VICTORY OF WELFARE POLITICS OVER NATIONALISM

On a flat electoral pitch which offered no turn, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lived up to its performance and raced to a comfortable victory in Delhi. The results should ring alarm bells for the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which decided to stump the incumbent AAP government through its high octane nationalism pitch. Once again, the BJP became victim of its over dependence on national issues in a state election where people were more concerned about the pressing problems being faced by them. Sadly, the BJP, which tasted defeat in five of the six state elections which went to polls last year, refuses to learn from its past mistakes.

pix courtesy: siasat.com

The BJP should realise that one size does not fit all the time. What may work on a national scale does not necessarily mean that it will also work in a state. The party will need to differentiate between the two and accordingly plan its strategy. Like in a cricket Test match, political parties have enough time to revisit their strategy after the first or second round during national elections. But the state election does not offer such an opportunity which is akin to a 50-50 match.

Unlike the BJP, the AAP decided to bat straight. It kept its campaign simple by seeking votes on the work done in the last five years. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal to people not to vote for his party if they thought that the AAP had failed to meet their expectations resonated well with the electorate. The seven-year-old start-up party was smart as it either ducked or left the bouncers and outswingers by the BJP over Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and refused to be drawn into any controversy by popping it back on the principal opposition party which it claimed is entrusted with the law and order situation in the national capital.

Once again, the BJP became victim of its over dependence on national issues in a state election where people were more concerned about the pressing problems being faced by them

The BJP was also guilty of launching a vicious and personal attack on Kejriwal over the Shaheen Bagh protests and was penalised by the Election Commission which barred some of its leaders, including a union minister, from campaigning. This certainly did not go down well with the masses which punished the BJP. In the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi benefited largely when the opposition parties, particularly the Congress party, launched a vitriolic attack on him.

What surprises the most is that the BJP offered a free run to the AAP. Not only did the party announce the candidates very late, as against the AAP and the Congress, it released the party manifesto just a few days before the voting. Rather than making its manifesto the preamble, the party resorted to negative campaigning. It should have stuck to its manifesto and taken on the AAP on the strength of it. But none of the BJP leaders stuck to the script and buried it completely. Its failure to project chief ministerial candidate was another sore point which was well encashed by the AAP.

In the end, it was a victory of welfare politics over nationalism. At a time, when the people have been hit hard by the economic slump and are staring at an uncertain future, freebies are an instant hit. Though big ticket discounts do not augur well for the economy of the country or a state, people often fall prey to such tactics for short-term gains. With Delhi in its kitty again, one hopes the AAP government will work to fight the twin menace of poor transport and rising pollution which is choking the national capital. 

HAS BJP CHICKENED OUT IN DELHI?

In a major departure from the past, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s decision not to name its chief ministerial candidate ahead of Delhi elections betrays its nervousness. Since the BJP came to power in 2014 and bettered its performance in 2019 general elections, the party had always taunted its political rivals, particularly the Congress party, of going to the electoral battle field without a commander. The BJP, which has always claimed to be a “party with a difference” by naming its chief ministerial candidate known to the voters before the elections, has been forced to revisit its strategy this time.

Having lost five of the six states which went to the polls last year, not to speak of the near-about rout in Haryana where it somehow strolled to power by joining hands with its rival -- the Jannayak Janata Party of Dushyant Chautala – the confidence level of the BJP has certainly taken a knock. With no credible face to take on the incumbent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the BJP has once again decided to cash on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But, has it not been the strategy of the BJP since 2014 when it has repeatedly reaped political benefits in the states by piggy-backing on the aura of Modi?

But the last few state elections are a proof that while Modi remains indispensable at the national level, his magic is weaning in states where people are more concerned about bread and butter. BJP’s opponents have triumphed by harping on the people-centric issues as opposed to the BJP’s nationalist agenda, be it the revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir which provided special status to the former princely state, or the Supreme Court verdict on the decades-old contentious Babri mosque verdict in Ayodhya. Even the anti-Pakistan rhetoric, which has been the hallmark of the BJP during elections, has not resulted in political dividends for the party. 

Unlike in the past, the BJP has been way behind in declaring its candidates for Delhi polls. In fact, it waited for the AAP and the Congress before declaring its candidates. The party also suffered a setback as one of its oldest allies, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), chose to stay away from the polls reportedly on its reservations to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Though SAD failed to make a cut in the last assembly elections in the Sikh-dominated constituencies, its decision not to field candidates is also being read as a warning signal to the BJP.

Other than the regularisation of 1,728 unauthorised colonies, on which both the AAP and the BJP claim ownership, the latter does not have much to flaunt about. All the three municipal corporations run by the BJP are in a shambles with repeatedly getting flak from the apex court for turning Delhi into a garbage city. The municipal corporations of the national capital have been disdainfully pathetic to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. While smaller cities have taken a steady march on the cleanliness drive, Delhi is nowhere near the race. In a Swachh Survekshan League 2020 released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for two quarters April 1 to June 30, and July 2 to September 30 in January this year, the three municipal corporations ranked almost at the bottom of 49 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across India.

Delhi Police, which comes under the Union home ministry, has been at the receiving end for its high-handedness as well as inept handling of the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests on the campuses of the Jamia Millia Islamia and the Jawaharlal Nehru University respectively. Its seemingly preordained inquiry following the violence between two student groups in JNU is much left to be desired.

On the other hand, the AAP’s stocks are high as several of its welfare measures have added many newcomers, who have been largely benefited from the party’s largesse, to its fold besides its committed cadre.  Starting its inning as a rookie party, it has done well on its promises on education, healthcare, water, power etc, despite its failing on pollution and poor transport system.

Facing heat over CAA, price rise, job losses, rural distress and falling economy, the BJP has decided to convert the fight between two main political parties to a battle between Modi and Kejriwal. It remains to be seen who Delhi votes for on February 8 – a popular Modi or a charismatic Kejriwal.