The gang rape and subsequent death of a woman on a bus in New Delhi has created a tremendous uproar. People across the nation are getting involved fervently, vigorously protesting and demonstrating their opinions on the matter. One of the opinions most people seem to agree on is the awarding of the death penalty to the five offenders, in addition to the fact that India is a nation where women suffer tremendously. The condition in which women are treated in India has caught the focus of the masses now, with demonstrations and protests regarding this becoming widely prevalent throughout the nation. India has thus become a place of great moral debate and question.
The first issue at hand is what to do with the 5 offenders. As previously mentioned, death is widely considered as their most suitable punishment. Frankly speaking, executing these 5 men is extremely unprecedented, and without a doubt an overreaction. At the moment, in India, the death penalty is not even considered in rape cases. The protesters thus wish to change the laws of the nation just to permit the killing of these 5 men. In all honesty, the only difference between this case and countless other gang rape cases is the level of publicity. This case has caught the eye of the people, and now the people wish to give the offenders the ultimate penalty after years of ignoring like minded people and their actions. Personally, I consider this fickle, and I feel that awarding the death penalty to these 5 men would not be appropriate in any manner. Indeed, if this case was treated as any other rape case, these men would have received 10 years to life, as opposed to meeting their end at the hands of the law.
The point about countless offenders opens up discussion on the conditions of women in general in India. A survey by the Thomas Reuters Foundation in 2012 showed that India had the worst condition for women out of the top 19 economies of the world. This study showed that issues such as infanticide, abuse, and rape have been widely prevalent throughout India for the last number of years. Despite this, the people of India have neglected all these disasters in favor of pursuing their own interests and lives. Today, when one of only an uncountable number of examples reaches the spotlight, the people are diverting a portion of their time towards it. The unfortunate truth is that a majority of the people are showing support for this cause merely because they consider it a social fad. As such, the protests and organized demonstrations they are holding, even when altruistic in nature, do little to help the situation in India today. For example, candle marches are being held throughout the country, being held in honor of the woman who died and to protest the treatment of India today. While moving in its nature, this demonstration does little in actually assisting this cause in any manner. Instead, people should be trying to fix the police system, trying to convince them to be more vigilant, and more strident in the measures they take against rape offenders. In all fairness, protests are being held in favor of speeding up death penalty trials in a judicial system which can take years to commence a trial. While this is difficult to achieve, these people do have the right idea in terms of actually assisting this cause.
These facts are in no way intentioned to diminish the tragedy that has taken place. The events that have conspired in New Delhi are extremely unfortunate, but the fact is that they are only a miniscule subsection to the actual crisis Indian women face. It is essential that people start viewing this incident in context to all the other similar incidents rather than exemplifying the horror of this one alone. We the people are the only ones who can change this system today, and thus, it is our responsibility to do anything we can to assist the troubled women that undergo torture throughout both rural and urban India today.
My name is Anirudh Hungund, and I am an 18 year old currently residing in India. I have been writing for various blogs since the age of 14, and intend to do so for a good deal longer, seeing as writing is one of my most deep rooted passions. I am Indian, and feel extremely strongly about the issues I discussed in the article above. I in no way intended to belittle India through this article; rather, I simply wish to improve it.
Referring to the second paragraph of your article, you have to understand that the charges on these 5 offenders has been updated to “rape” and “murder” as the victim is dead. And India is permitted to give death penalty to anyone who is charged of murder. – Death penalty OR life sentence.
Very well written article, covered some facts I think are being widely ignored in this crisis. In particular, I agreed about the point that the candle marches are, for all intents and purposes, pointless, and we should be trying to change the system instead of complaining about it. Look forward to reading more of your work!
Actually Rahul, the candle march isn’t pointless. There are two main reasons for it. Firstly, the candle march is for respect, and in memory of the victim. It is to show that, in death, there are thousands of people by her side. It is showing their EQ levels, which you and the writer seem to lack. Secondly, it is also a means of bringing people together. The more people that see an event like this take place, the more they want to join and the more are the number of people willing to fight back against the system, which obviously can’t be done by a single individual.
Actually, the author himself never said that the candle march was pointless. He said that it was a wonderful gesture, and an extremely moving one as well. However, he stated, and I concur, that the abundance of these candle marches doesn’t directly assist the nation in improving itself. Instead, the time spent towards these activities could be better spent directly attempting to protest against the government to fix the issues. Overall a nice article, well done!
Personally,
This article is complete bullshit.
Vishal
Bullshit is a vague word.
Clarification necessary.
I think the fact that so many men are responding to such crisis in an externally negative manner, does in fact indicate that there is something being done to improve the condition of women.
Whether you choose to accept it or not, awareness of such an incident is the first step to fabricating a solution.
You could not not treat AIDS without knowing that it exists could you?
I didn’t write that, I’m thinking it’s Ronak.
Also, I think the article is very well written, addresses key issues, and discusses points that many people fail to see.
Well done Anirudh.
Yet the current protests may turn out to be a turning point, for while much of the media reporting has focused on spontaneous demands like the death penalty or chemical castration for rapists and sex offenders, the recent developments may well mark the emergence of a massive militant mass movement in India that will focus on confronting head-on the patriarchal norms propping up the social subordination of women that is at the root of much sexual violence. This avenue is yet to seen. As movement continues, yet questions looms to my mind, how long can the movement sustain its fervour? I still feel that you need a a strong middle class to support such movement and a country to back up such change. A culture of change will not happen overnight as long as you have politicos who are broadly, misogynist and has patriarchal attitudes who resist stubbornly.
I agree with many of your points, a lot of things have been addressed here that have been ignored by most people. However, I do feel that the candle marches could play a role in the unification of the people; this may not be necessary due to the widespread awareness of the incident already, but in an case couldn’t hurt. Nevertheless, great article Anirudh!
A Well written article Anirudh.But i do have my reservations on some of the points you mentioned.Nevertheless, great article.Look forward to reading more of your work!.
Just like to say that men that raped that girl,should be killed in front of the public,the pain she went through,raped by six men and the iron rod that was used ripped her internal organs out no justice for that,police that attended them should sacked as why it took one hour before taking her to hospital,while she is losing pints off blood,police coulnt even cover the girl with a blanket or a jacket busted watched her naked and bleeding and a male friend,too much police corrupution in India they should be helping the public, no wonder people get away with rape ,killing,robbery,drugs because police are with them give money case dropped,DEATH PENALTY FOR THEM ALL FINAL should fast track this case so it doesn’t happpen again
I am impressed by the ‘reasonableness’ of the views expressed by the writer, specially due to the fact that he is just 18 years old.I wish him every success in his future career bcoz such justice seeking people have the potential to steer the society in the right direction. Well done, Anirudh Hungund, keep it up!
The comment above was not me.
This article, although extremely controversial in its topic,does a spectacular job of addressing a touchy subject in a sensitive manner without sugar-coating it.
It expresses a very powerful opinion without getting out line.
Like you once told me, Purity and Wisdom trumps all.
March forward and let many an author live vicariously through you.
The real Bharath
Anirudh,
I thought you expressed some good political views on this matter but what’s lacking is its inefficiency for greatness. Learn from me and I will guide you to the better path. Join me in Buddhism. Join me in taking the road to Enlightenment.
Yours truly,
Vir Mehta
In fact, Rahul, that statement was probably one of the most absurd and idiotic comments I have ever heard and the fact that you could even mention that is absolutely an aberration.
Rahul, thanks for showing your appreciation for the article, but I think you’ve misunderstood the point I was trying to make; misunderstandings that I’m sure have, by now, been clarified. As for everyone else, thank you for reading and offering your opinions on both the article and the topic at hand.
The comments above WERE by no means me. Anirudh, I was not trying to put a demeaning act on just for kicks so don’t think that was me. This is a shitty article though.
The Actual Bharath.
This is sick as hell bro.
Dude i totally agree with you! we need more people like who are not dishonest about the situation at hand.
Its seems like indians find it convenient to blame the authority&judiciary rather then introspecting themselves as a society.
In fact its quite ironic that we Indians think that the “western influences” are polluting our childrens minds and making the society a bad place for women whereas in reality it is our own culture’s aberration which is making it a bad place for women..
The dowry system,the patriarchy.. the blame is all on us not the west which is a quite frankly a safe haven for women when compared to our soceity.
whats now then ! all those rapist mad dogs will roam again and more rape crimes. Unless we have law to fast track case and timely punishments India will not changes