Anger, anguish , shock , pain, shame and what not ! The unfortunate gruesome
incident of gang rape in Delhi , in a moving bus on the night of December 16
gave me another reason to be ashamed of being an Indian ! With all
the culprits in custody now, and the trial already begun, one hopes that the culprits
are brought to justice as early as
possible through a speedy trial. One
shudders to think or visualize what Damini or Nirbhaya went through
at the hands of criminals .The
fact that there were protests, and
candle marches across the length and
breadth of the nation can hardly wipe out the insensitivity shown
by the passersby in vehicles and onlookers ( including women) who did not even
bother to cover the naked bodies of two victims – the condition in which the criminals had thrown them on the road and to take them to the nearest hospital at least for first aid , badly and immediately
required ! Much of the time was wasted
in waiting for the Police, who on
arrival at least bothered to cover the bodies and took the victims to the hospital. The 23 year old brave heart
succumbed to injuries and
hurt after struggling for life for quite a few days, raising questions about the safety of women and the law & order
situation gone in shambles. In the
aftermath there have been various debates and discussions on TV channels. One is about reducing the upper age cap from 18 years to 16 years for
adolescent criminals
euphemistically called wrong doers. The
name and identity of the seventeen- plus perpetrator of the crime has not been disclosed , while as per reports it was he who beat the
victim most mercilessly. On a personal note ,
I am not in favour of any leniency being
shown to him simply because he happens to be or rather supposed to be a ‘minor’ and as such required to be dealt in
accordance with the Juvenile Justice
system. His name and identity should be disclosed so that along with
others, people come to know this ‘dharti
ka lal ‘ as well . These days kids
become mature much earlier – especially those
who are exposed to the rough and tumble of life
early , forced by circumstances or otherwise. I see little hope or
redemption for this guy , who if let off
without punishment may be goaded on
to go for the bigger kill !
While no amount of tears can bring back Damini , India has woken up to a
reality and the situation , women in
this country face. The punishment for rape has to be deterrent as even after
December 16 , incidents of rape and molestation have shown no let up and
are continuously being reported from various parts of the country. The
10 year sentence passed by a Hoshiarpur
court on a rapist after a trial lasting only 7-8 days does bring some hope . One hopes for a similar quick justice in the Delhi gang rape case also !
