Death penalty for killing a male child, life imprisonment for raping minor daughter and killing her and wife

The Supreme Court of India through a judgment has shown that it places more 'value' on a male child than a female child and a woman.

The following report appeared in the Times of India today:

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered death penalty to a man who murdered a seven-year-old boy after kidnapping him for ransom, justifying the capital punishment on several grounds, including that killing the sole male child meant that the family lineage could not be carried forward.


Citing disruption of family lineage as one of the seven aggravating grounds why they thought the convict deserved no leniency, a bench of Justices P Sathasivam and J S Khehar said, "The choice of kidnapping the particular child for ransom was well planned and consciously motivated. The parents of the deceased had four children — three daughters and one son. Kidnapping the only male child was to induce maximum fear in the mind of his parents. Purposefully killing the sole male child has grave repercussions for the parents of the deceased."

The bench continued, "Agony for parents for the loss of their male child, who would have carried further the family lineage, and is expected to see them through their old age, is unfathomable. Extreme misery caused to the aggrieved party certainly adds to the aggravating circumstances."   For the complete report click on this link.

Barely a week ago, the Supreme Court had commuted death penalty awarded to a man for raping his minor daughter and then killing her and his wife.  Both the trial court and the high court had awarded death to the man.  But the Supreme Court lessened his punishment to life and went further, leaving it open for remission.  (I had posted on this) 

When educated learned judges of the highest court of the land place more value on a male life than that of the female, then we cannot expect ordinary families to treat their girls on par with their sons. So one thing is certain: It will be quite a while before things change for the Indian girl. 

Singing girls screamed at into silence

Three 16-year-olds who got together to sing in Kashmir  have been forced to stop singing. After their first public concert where they got the third prize.

A fatwa was issued against them by the 'Grand Mufti'.

We were told that it was because singing is 'Unislamic'. They were 'advised' to sing to themselves, at home.
Then we got to hear that 31 bands played at the concert, but no fatwa was issued against them.

The reason why this 3 member band attracted the wrath of the Grand Mufti was because they were girls.
So the argument that singing is unislamic falls flat.

Then we were told it is because they were a 'rock band', a Western influence in the pristine land of Kashmir. Please forget the fact that the land has for long been ravaged by the deadly terrorists from across the border who kill innocents in the name of holy war. But we have yet to hear religious leaders issue fatwas against these men who kill and maim. It seems some among these religious men believe that it is better to hold a gun than a guitar. But only if the hands that hold the guitar are those of a woman. For the many male bands who played at the concert, had the guitar. So, even the argument of the 'Western influence' falls flat. The influence cannot be 'good' for men, and 'lethal' for women!

Then on Arnab Goswami's show a self-style leader proclaimed, "They were dancing."

"They were showing body parts," said another of these worthies. 

Surely, they were standing and singing. They might have taken a few steps.  So did the male singers of other bands. If  faces and hands are exposed body parts, then yes, they could be held guilty. But so were the men.

In reality, the protest happened because they were girls and the society has double standards for women 'enjoying' themselves, taking part in anything that soothes the senses, brings about a sense of joy or exhiliration. The same self-style leaders will not protest if these girls were to pick up rifles, or even stones.

One veiled woman who spat words of hate on Arnab's TV show called for a boycott of the girls' families. It made me wonder was she envious of them - of their youth, their talent or the fact that their 'very Islamic families' were supporting them?

This veiled woman and the many men who have raised their voices against the all-girl band wished to silence the teenagers. And they did. That is the saddest part. The girls have decided to stop singing. That a few very vocal elements can tell us how to lead our lives, how to dress and how to behave is very scary.

And what a shame that instead of nuturing and encouraging talent, we silence it into oblivion.


But I also learnt that the youth of state took out a protest march. That gives some hope. That they are willing to speak up. But it seems no one has the guts to take on the Mufti.

This judgment makes no sense to me!

A man rapes a minor daughter. His wife lodges an FIR, he is found guilty and sent to jail for 12 years. Out on parole, he hacks his wife and daughter to  death with an axe. Another daughter watches the killings, runs and shuts herself in a room. After her father runs away from the scene of crime, she comes out.
The Supreme Court judges deciding the case converted the
death penalty into imprisonment for entire life. This is what  Justices Sathasivam and Kalifulla are reported to have noted: "One significant factor in this case, which we should not lose sight of is that he did not harm his other daughter even though he had a good chance for the same." Read the report in Times of India.

I have some issues with the judgment -

1. Is not a rape of a minor followed by two murders where the bodies are hacked not "brutal enough" to be "the rarest of the rare" category?

2.I wonder why the judges feel that because he did not kill his other daughter the law should be lenient for him? She reportedly shut herself in a room and saved herself. Why should the 'credit for not killing' (for that is what the judges appear to have considered) be given to the culprit?  Using the same reasoning it could be said that as he did not kill or rape other women he came in contact with while out on parole, his punishment reduced. Sounds absurd?

3. I am puzzled by another observation by the judges of our highest court.TOI  reports-
Justice Sathasivam, writing the judgment for the bench, said,
"It was highlighted that he being a poor man and unable to earn his livelihood since he was driven out of his house by his deceased wife. It is also his claim that if he was allowed to live in the house, he could easily meet both his ends and means, as the money which he was spending by paying rent would have been saved. It is his further grievance that his deceased wife was adamant and he should live outside and should not lead happy married life and that was the reason that their relations were strained."

Now, once a man has raped his minor daughter, the mother would be out of her senses to let the man continue to stay in the same house as her and the child. She would want to protect her daughter/s. Moreover, it is her choice if she wants to live with the man or have him move out. Which self respecting woman would continue to live with a man who rapes his own daughter? And then, just because he was not allowed to live in the house, is no excuse to kill.

Why should the judges even consider such utterances by the criminal and make it a ground for reducing the punishment?

When will our judges stop looking at cases from the narrow lens of patriarchy? Why don't they see the woman's point of view?

And what is also horrifying that the judges believe that such a man can be reformed! And have kept the case open for remission.

Rape culture in India and Nigeria

Amaka Okafor-Vanni writes about rape culture in Nigeria in the Guardian.
She makes many important points that resound in India.
I am quoting some in this post  -

Rape is primarily about power and its abuse. Within the Nigerian context, it is the punishment for wishing to be independent, for daring to threaten the status quo, the societal power dynamics. It is not about modesty neither is it about what the victim wore or her behaviour because as we all know, modestly dressed women are raped all the time...

...The modesty culture we preach is a rape culture because of our insistence on female purity and modesty. Why is it the sole responsibility of the female to remain chaste? Why isn't the male tasked with chastity? By focusing on the female, we reduce the woman to mere flesh and place control over the female body and sexuality in male hands. When she is sexually violated who do we infer to as "dishonoured"?

To read the article click here .

Rapist who committed the crime in his car has his driving licence revoked

It was very heartening to read this bit of news in Indian Express today - 

The state transport department said from now on licences of people accused of rape using a motor vehicle would be suspended as soon as a chargesheet is filed, and cancelled permanently upon conviction. Licences could be cancelled even for old convictions, the department said.

A Gwalior Road Transport Officer M P Singh used powers under Section 19(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act on Friday to revoke the licence of Vishwambhar Gurjar who abducted a schoolgirl in his Bolero before raping and dumping her. Two others convicted with him, Rakesh Singh and Niranjan Singh, don’t have licences, and will never get one in Madhya Pradesh because their details and photos have been blacklisted... 

Kudos for the Madhya Pradesh state transport department  and Mr M P Singh in particular!  The state transport commissioner Sanjay Choudhary has said that the transport authority would also cancel licences of those convicted in the past if the police sent them details. They must! Hope the public sentiments will force them to do so.

And hopefully  the example set by Madhya Pradesh will be followed by other states.

To read the news item click here.

Crime against women, people act

The need is to act. To do something about the high levels of crime against women in India. (Click here for a rape map of India). But our politicians and leaders are busy moralising, telling us of dented and painted women, of what happens to women who cross the Lakshman rekha (the line which a woman should not cross), and as usual are giving lectures to women on how to behave. To see and learn about what  India’s political and spiritual worthies have to say on women cick here. 

The police, who so far have only shown a high degree of indifference to crime against women and have even been party to molestation and rapes, have yet to demonstrate that they mean business.

So it is left only to the public to act. Apart from the protests in various parts of the country, some public initiatives -

The brave man, Srikant Bhardwa, who lost his life trying to rescue a woman from a pack of molesters in Ranchi.

In Assam women and some men caught and beat up a politician, Bikram Singh Brahma  of the ruling Congress party, after he raped a woman.

The reaction to self proclaimed spiritual leader Asaram's inane statement about the girl was to blame was vocal and furious.

A Delhi-based entrepreneur, Srikant Sastri, has started a campaign  'Save The Republic - Resign Before January 26th' asking MPs and MLAs who have been accused of crime against women needs our support. To read more about it click here

More questions for our leaders

A question for the Madhya Pradesh BJP minister

Mr Kailash Vijayavargiya says women who cross the line will be punished. What about the men who do so? What about the men, Mr Minister? Why are you silent on them? Ravan was killed for kidnapping Sita.

And for the RSS chief Bhagwat , who said "Rapes occur in India, not Bharat"

Sadly, rapes occur in Bharat too. Except that most go unreported. Who will come out and lodge a complaint? And the brave girls who do, see what happens to them.
Just read the following links Mr Bhagwat -

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/a-teen-rape-survivor-is-fighting-for-justice-311251

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Girl-gang-raped-killed-in-Kanpur-Dehat/articleshow/17879640.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Rape-victim-killed-by-accused/articleshow/17631377.cms

How many of us know how to give?

A beautiful quote on giving from the Bhagwad Gita -

A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.

A comment on Indian culture

One day earlier this month, I found a stream of visitors landing on my blog. This was surprising for I had been neglecting my blog, had not posted for weeks and was used to seeing only one or two visitors stop by. Feedjit and Flagcounter informed that they were from Denmark.

The next day, I had an unusual friend request. It was from a young man from Denmark, a student in a business school. I discovered that my blog was part of a curriculum designed to teach the young students about culture. A creative teacher had based a set of questions on my blog.

My blog is titled the india of today for I meant to post about things that bothered and amazed me about this land. But posts that are unfavourable far exceed the positive ones. And my first reaction was – Oh! what a negative image of India I must be giving out. My blog was all about sexual harassment, the violence women face, about rape, the horrendously stupid judgments given by our judges, men in authority who made idiotic pronouncements about women, while this land I called home had much more to offer... its rich arts, its spiritual heritage, its cuisine, its freedom to speak out, which we the people so zealously guarded. Was my blog, a comment on Indian culture?

My blog is a long rant against the system and the way it affects me as a woman in today's India. Had I been living as a brown skin woman in Europe, it might have been about race. For on my very first trip there, the few hours that I spent in Amsterdam, I was made very conscious of the colour of my skin by a shop assistant at a food kiosk, who despite repeated requests did not attend to me.

My earliest recollection of something not being right in being a girl in India was when I found my aunt crying at the birth of my sister. A third daughter? How unfortunate! was the refrain from relatives and neighbours. Why were daughters unfortunate? It was something I would learn as I grew in a middle class north Indian family. As a growing girl who travelled by public bus to get a college education, as a young woman who went out to work using public transport, as someone who had to work late at the job I chose to do, I was wary of sexual harassment every waking moment I was out on Delhi’s streets. I could not let my guard down. As a mother, I have tried to raise my daughters to be conscious of this daily violence, be aware of its dangers and to be safe. As a mother, much of my effort went in training them to survive the city, the system.

This is what concerns me today as an Indian woman. The mindset of our politicians, our police and our judges horrifies me no end. For it curbs my movement, it stifles me, it prevents me from being free. The way female foetuses get aborted here, the manner in which the girl child is treated by the family, the control Indian men feel they should exercise on women, the commodification of the woman as a sex object in our films, in the raunchy item numbers, the moral police that go around slapping women for being in a bar or enjoying an evening out with a friend, where children even babies are raped. Was this contemporary Indian culture? And as I debated….

Another horrific gangrape happened. A 23-year-old medical student was brutally raped while her friend was beaten up by six men in a bus. They felt they had the right to question the couple as to why they were out! And then they were thrown out of the bus and left to die. It is amazing that not one of the six men felt that they should not be behaving in this fashion. Not one of them made an effort to stop others from commiting the crime. After their heinous act, we are told they went about their normal routine, showing no guilt, no remorse.

But this time something snapped in Delhi. Its young girls had had enough and were not prepared to take it anymore. And they came out to voice their protest, to demand justice for the medical student, to demand that our politicians, the police and the judicial system acts… With these young school and college girls were middle aged women. Even a 70 plus I know braved the cold winter to register her protest at India Gate. And there were a large number of men, who are fed up of this crass apathy towards dealing with one of the most serious problems of our times - verbal and physical violence on women.

And yes, it is sad but true that this violence, this ill treatment of girls and women personifies contemporary Indian culture.

But the new Indian woman, the middle class, the educated, is not prepared to take it any longer. She is forcing society to act. 

Are we going to see more of this?

Is this how girls would have to protect themselves when they are sexually harassed? A girl in Delhi decided to take on a man who harassed her. It was heartening to see one man join her in thrashing the culprit. But others in the crowd just watched...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=92ygSK2ZhGU


I recall an incident 30 years ago when as a young reporter I waited for a bus on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg at 8 pm. A man just walked into me. Straight into me as if he could not see. There were four to five men standing at the bus stop. No one said anything to him. I found after banging into me he was walking away as if nothing had happened. I hit him hard on his back and he was surprised by my action. "Why are you hitting me?" he asked before he melted into the darkness when I shouted at him. Then one man from the crowd said, "It is a good thing you hit him." I had to say this to him and the others who stood listening - "I wish you all had said something to him."

Thirty years down the road some things have changed, while some remain the same. Delhi, in fact, most north Indian cities, are hard on women. There are many more women out now -- on the road, in offices, in restaurants, in buses...And it is good to see the girls are not prepared to take this nonsense from men anymore.  Decades ago I used to see women refrain from saying anything to the men who would bother them as they did not want to create a spectacle. Crowds in India love to watch and pass comments usually on the woman. But now,  the girls are not  going to take this behaviour anymore. If society or the police are not going to come to their help, they will take on their tomentors. And how!

Now see a girl in Allahabad set the bike of a neighbour on fire. He is said to have tormented her with lewd comments and she could take it no more. She acted the only way she could.

Such cases are bound to increase as girls get educated and find the police and society do not speak up on their behalf or act.
Notice how the crowd stands and watches.


Our boys and men need to learn how to behave with women.