rahulm
Post subject: Re: Demonstrations and Police Brutality in Delhi
PostPosted: 30 Dec 2012 11:45 pm
Online
BRFite
Joined: 19 Jun 2000 06:01 am
Posts: 350
There are plenty of existing laws. I wonder how heaping more laws, however well intended on top of a tottering legal system whose foundations are pretty much on its last legs weakened by nepotism, sycophancy & subverted by self serving corrupt gentry with the tacit approval and some times active participation of the population is going to yield any benefit.
So lets have a fast track court - a parallel system for to try rape cases - Is this really going to fix the nepotism, sycophancy and subversion? The delivery of injustice will be quicker but maybe that's merciful too.
The problem in this unfortunate lady's case is its high profile - Rape is brutal. This was extra horrific in its brutality.
Girls are getting raped with alarming frequency but that has never really been a problem so far. Has it? The girl gets kidnapped for a period of time, gets raped and walks back into society. This is been a threshold low enough for all in society to look the other way. Response has been to take enough preventative measures in the form of avoiding putting oneself and ones family in situations of danger.
This one exceeded the threshold. That is the problem.
Where is the Bollwood actor who drove and killed a few people sleeping on the pavement in his nice big car? Where is he now, how many movies has he made since and how many have been hits? BTW, does any know or care about about the bereaved family. Where & how are they now?
Or the illustrious torch bearers of our great Police and IAS linked in a previous post by some one who were convicted of rapes? Where are they now?
The police have a "hafta diary" and they can openly talk about it without fear of reprisal from the public and their bosses?

This is good enough for ISO 9000 certification. Maybe, they should seek it! Their compliance with clause 7.5.3 is amazing - I have rrarely seen this this level of robustness in the Corporate world. I have written so many NC's against this clause. If only I had known I would have made 1 phone call to the Delhi Police.
Like Harvard (was it?) sent a delegation to study the 6 Sigma levels attained by the famed dabbahawala's of Mumbai, ISO and corporates should seek professional advice from the Delhi Police on systems for traceability. Why let perfectly good knowledge go waste?
Having more women in the police is not going to help - I don't think. Omerta takes care of that. Once in tent you piss outside if you know whats good for you. Instead of male police inflicting brutality it will become female police inflicting the lath and telling girls to go home, don't venture out late at night, aurto ki maryada samjo", apni izzat sambhalo, jaldi shaadi kar lo etc etc Does it make it better and more importantly does it make it right because it comes from a woman police officer?
Instead of men now the women police will be co-opted into the gender politics to maintain the existing harmony and status quo. Not unlike the principle of the Brit's co-opting Indian's into civil service to main the Empire's supremacy. That was economic politics.
India is special where 2 systems systems run in parallel (legal & social norms) and whenever the 2 clash usually the social systems win out or there is an attempt by people and therefore society to undermine the legal system. Examples of this are "In our family girls don't ask for property rights" a blatant violation of the rights of the girl.
There is no shame associated with perpetrators of rape. Privately many of his family incuding females will condone the perp. with dialogues like - "Mard hai - abh kya kre", - "Ladki ki jaat to sambhal ke rehna chahiye" etc etc.
I had one mother tell me in rural UP - "Sand (bulls) to sand he rahenge, hume hamiri gayo (cows - i.e girls) ko sambhal ke rakhna chahiye.
My parents brought me up to respect girls without question. Were my parents special? Does this not happen any more?
This girl echoed my thoughts:
"His 18-year-old daughter Naina, who grew up in Australia, said law changes had to be accompanied by cultural change. ''There's all these [Hindu] goddesses but if we seriously can't respect what we've got in front of us … what's the point?'
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/silence-in- ... z2Ga0PV040
"
Well said that one.
So we have stronger laws but again and quoting from the newspaper above "And there is pressure for India's justice system, sometimes so slow-moving as to be almost irrelevant, to be fast-tracked for sex cases"
legal reform is necessary and must be carried out but there is something terribly wrong with society.
By accident once I overheard an Indian say out quite loudly at North Sydney station "Bh*nch* kya maal hai, iski to band bajani hai" to a girl in a mini skirt. I was simply stunned. He did not know I was behind him.
Another - a India friend of mine who works in a major International Bank in the city was taking a lunch break and sitting on a bench in Hyde Park when a passing Sardar said to her "Chammakchallo - chalti kya? This lady was simply stunned.
Another time, out of courtesy, I took a bunch of our IT finest and brightest on a 457 class visa, on assignment to a Bank in Sydney, to Bondi beach and I was shocked by the way they went berserk with their stares and camera's ogling at the fine skimpily dressed aussie girls. It was so obvious that I was afraid we might either get lynched or have the police upon us so I hastily pulled them aside and gave them a 60 second lesson on sensitivity and manners -" look but don't stare" is the mantra here. They did not want to listen to me.
The fine gents know how to stare shamelessly and will gladly out stare anyone. They are also great DOO's

I added another D to make it DDOO (Drooling DOO's) Ha.
Looks like our worthies want to start an export business in moral degradation and objectification of women,
A young student medical intern in Mangalore writes to me several times a day lamenting the fact that he is bored, wants to travel but can;t because in her words "You know how it is in India - safe nahi hai" So they must travel in groups.
In my time in Delhi I personally used to carry a can of capsicum spray and bought for and taught many girls in Varanasi and Delhi to use this device.
The mental and social prison most of our women live in!Things the Indian nari across all ages and all classes will tell you if only one stops staring, drooling at her from every orifice, listen and most importantly if you are able to infuse in her the confidence that she will absolutely not be judged by you no matter what she reveals to you.
No Sir's there is something terribly wrong.
It is a terrible thing to be illiterate, poor, dalit and a woman in our society - legally everything is fine - available on paper - try getting it in practice. Tough luck and you will most certainly be verbally abused, probably be beaten, maybe disowned but almost certainly be subject to spousal rape.
Our legal systems and social mores are so terribly out of alignment that either we wait it out for society to transform itself - a process that will take an indeterminate amount of time and will claim more victims until we emerge the other side of the dark tunnel. If we we want individual behavioural and therefore societal transformation quickly then we need absolutely zero tolerance to verbal and physical sexual abuse - something like the Singapore model of governance.
Universally, I have seen girls in Gujarat, Goa and Sikkhim to feel much safer. Infact, in Vadodara, Ahmedabad grils get a much better deal. They roam around at late night's for pav bhaji with extra butter and top it up with ice cream at Dairy Den and Havmor without any problems and feel safe and secure. The legal system is as good as or as bad as anywhere else in India. What is different? Peoples and therefore society's attitudes maketh the difference here.
Indian's had to fight for independence - the Brit's did not give it to us, dalits had to have a leader from within to secure their fundamental rights for them - the "others" did not give it to them.
While being an integral part of society, sadly, it appears women are distinct enough that they will have to have a leader emerge and to fight for and secure rights the patriarchal society is not going to give it to them.
I suspect, unfortunately this too will die down like the Hazare and other big campaigns. I hope I am wrong.