B L Saraf
Manipur is in the news for nearly three months .The state has been burning in sectarian violence since May and the orgy goes on unabated. Over 150 persons have been killed and thousands displaced since the onset of madness .The worst sufferers have been the women folk. Irrespective of caste, color and creed, they have been subjected to worst kinds of sexual crimes .The tragic part of the story is that, by and large , people in the mainland haven’t shown commensurate indignation , as if Manipur was not part of the country. The lack of sensitivity on the part of people matches only with the callousness of the state and central authorities displayed by not addressing the issue .It took a disturbing video clip of two women from the Kuki-Zomi community being striped naked and forced to walk naked, allegedly, by Meiti men for country to shake up. Even PM Narendra Modi was moved to come out with a strong statement.
It has become the most disreputable tale which political parties of all hues make us – the miserable mortals – hear every day. And, the tale is “Your crime versus my crime.” The parties waging the battle are, BJP (NDA) on one side and the Congress) I.N.D.I.A on the other. This has turned into a competition in absurdities which we have been witnessing for quite a time now. Three years back it was the ” Hathras Shame ” where a 19 year old girl of the village Hathrras, in State of the UP, was allegedly raped and then murdered by some young men of the locality. Her dead body was surreptitiously disposed of in dead of the night. The heinous act caused a widespread anger among the countrymen. UP C M Yogi Adityanath and his administration came in the firing line. Finding itself cornered, the BJP soon shifted the scene to Rajasthan where, incidentally, the graph of crime committed against women was also on the rise, as it is today. So, then INC and CM Gehlot had to face the music. Today again CM Rajasthan and his administration is in the dock on similar kind of charges The Congress and I.N.D.I.A cannot be selective in showing indignation. They too will have to answer some unpleasant questions.
Similar pattern is revealing. When asked to explain the worsening Manipur situation the BJP spokesperson bring in West Bengal, where violence broke out in run up to the latest local body elections and in the aftermath .True, Kolkata has done no good to its name when it comes to stem crimes against the women. Mamata Didi must explain .She should be reprimanded on her laxity to curb incidents of sexual assault on the women .Centre must instruct state Government to enforce law and order, strictly. Who is stopping them? But, given the humongous nature of the death and destruction it would be wrong to draw parallel between Manipur situation and that of W Bengal. Women in former case have become an easy object to settle the sectarian and political issue .Rape has been weaponised and, in away , used to subdue people of a particular sect in the state.
Leaving party politics apart, the question begs answer: will a crime committed against women in one state, ruled by one political party, get condoned by a commission of similar kind of crime in other state, ruled by other political dispensation? Does it behove great nation like India to see crime of rape through a politically colored glass? Be it Manipur, W Bengal, UP or Rajasthan -these are the Units which together with others make India a great nation. Therefore, these petty minded politicians must understand that, no matter, wherever a crime against women takes place it brings shame to the whole country. Manipur incidents have, indeed, invited world attention to the sordid happenings. And when an element of caste and class is interjected in the sordid drama the society at large gets lacerated. We have been repeatedly saying that a rape is not only an assault on the physical body of the victim but also it totally destroys her emotional and psychological being.
There should be no hesitation in accepting that ours has become a decadent society. Such abhorrent crimes don’t prick our conscience, anymore. Some people tend to find comfort in commission of a crime in one state only to set off the hue and cry generated by the same kind of crime in other state which is liking to their preference. It is vice-versa for others on the same perverse reasoning. Parallels are often odious. Perhaps, that explains our indifference and shrug off attitude towards these diabolical offences: with the result the perpetrators walkout scot free with a sense of impunity .
Our moral fabric has worn out, thanks largely to a cunning and manipulative politician. The most shameful side of the story is that in order to evade responsibility and accountability we tend to draw false equivalences even in the commission of crime.
A present day politician doesn’t see anything beyond his narrow interests. That is why rather than discussing the humanitarian problem of Manipur in the Parliament some archaic Rule is resurrected to play adversarial politics and scuttle the debate. In this sordid drama of one upmanship every political actor plays a role which suits his own and his party’s script. These days men in politics do not rely on agenda of social reconstruction, or for that matter any agenda, except the manipulative one which ensures their hold on political and administrative power. Political parties believe in event management and distraction from the real issues confronted by the people. Someone has very aptly said that people get what they deserve. What we have been witnessing since decades on the political theatre, the adage rings true in our case.
(The author is former Principal District and Sessions Judge)
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