26 January 2013 Boycott

The silent non- violent protests that have been witnessed ever since the brutal rape of the 23 year old medical student clearly demonstrate that the youth of india are no longer in the mood to sit back and allow the government and its elected representatives to take the usual route of laying out platitudes and expressing lip sympathy while they have already decided to do nothing in terms of actual enactment of stricter laws to prevent such horrendous crimes in future .

However, as the movement has sustained the momentum so far it is absolutely vital that this moment in history does not fade away . The annual 26 January extravaganza is forthcoming . This is the occasion when our country showcases its achievements and proudly puts its best foot forward to tell the world that we have moved forward both culturally and economically and are ready to take our place amongst the comity of civilised , developed nations of the world. We showcase our culture in the form of tableaux drawn from each state highlighting the development taking place there, we have our school children showcase dances and culture .

This year it would be appropriate that our youth and our school children show their disappointment and sadness at the inaction on the part of their elected representatives but deciding NOT TO PARTICIPATE in this year's 26 January Republic day celebrations ! Let the protests and sit-ins continue as today all along the projected venue of the parade . Let the people know that we have no pride in what is happening today in our capital city nor in our country so long as the government is not prepared to take tangible steps to address this malaise.....take concrete steps to institute police reforms and call for a special session of parliament to initiate strong new laws to punish future would -be rapists .

Let the Republic day parade be just a showcase of the government power and nothing else. Let it not be business as usual for a government which has lost total sensitivity to the feelings of the public who brought them into power , a government which has no will or desire to take any concrete steps to put the minds of the youth at rest and to assure them that they will do whatever it takes to ensure their safety , a government whose representatives continue each day to make disgusting suggestions like asking women to stay indoors, school girls to stop wearing skirts to school etc. while the rapes continue unabated each day across the length and breadth of our beloved country .

Let the protests continue non- violently , with total focus and intensity but with a clear message to the government that it is NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL anymore !

Please circulate this message as widely as possible .

Why no Strong Anti-Rape Laws?

The despicable rape of the 23 year old medical student in a Delhi bus on 16 December 2012 has definitely brought to the fore the acute problem relating to the safety of women in the capital city of Delhi and the country in general . In fact this horrendous rape and brutality inflicted on this young and hapless student has highlighted a larger malaise that is afflicting Indian society and that is the way that our male dominated society views attitudes towards women in general . 

A lot has been written and spoken about what lapses took place that could have resulted in  such a heinous crime having been committed and what actions we need to take to curb such incidents in future . The Delhi police came under tremendous flak for the way they have been policing Delhi and for their lack of sensitivity towards victims of rape and in the way they  fail to act  in time when the public and the media  bring to the attention of the authorities unsafe areas in and around Delhi . 

A lot has been argued about the right and appropriate measure of punishment which could act as a deterrent for the future perpetrators of such crimes where the victims are invariably scarred for life in one way or the other. 

A lot has been said about the character and motivation of the protesters who came out in their thousands to voice their anxiety, frustration , fears and anger. These hapless innocent people , the voice of the common man , were dealt with tremendous insensitivity and on numerous occasions with brute force. 

All news channels made the most of these events and improved their TRP ratings by having loud , raucous and invariably meaningless debates with most of the participants airing their personal views whenever they were allowed to open their mouths. It always appeared as if it was here too the survival of the loudest ! 

However , in all this bedlam what went unnoticed and uncommented was the deathly silence from all the political parties in what action plan THEY proposed to take to make amends to the innocent victims of such horrendous and shameful crimes leave alone how  soon they would be prepared to formalise legislation to make such crimes frightfully expensive for the perpetrators in the future ! 

The vital question no compere on TV or the media asked was " why was this silence and the inaction ?"

The answer to this disturbing question lies in an area which has for too long been taboo . It lies at the root of this problem of gender attitudes , gross unbridled corruption and shameless abuse of power . The answer lies in the very hallowed halls of our parliament, our state  legislative assemblies  and in our various corridors of power and governance. 

Yes, undoubtedly the Delhi police cannot absolve itself of all blame when it comes to ineffective policing. After all they are the guardians of our safety. They wear the uniforms that should instil amongst the citizens of our country a feeling of safety and security. They are the symbols of a civilised nation that outwardly believes that our national activities are guided and influenced by the " rule of law ". Yet at times like these of extreme crisis and extreme distress the real demons come tumbling out of the hitherto locked closets. Our national police forces have been largely reduced to being private armies for the rich and powerful, the political classes and the politically connected . Police reforms have been gathering dust for decades, our police forces are ill- equipped, demoralised and put on a tight political leash. Almost all Indians are undoubtedly aware of numerous outstanding and selfless police officers who wear their uniforms with pride and dignity and in their hearts are feeling the same pain and anguish that they witness on the streets and which they are ordered to extinguish and suppress. As citizens of this culturally rich country we need to sit back at times and contemplate the sheer humiliation that several of these valiant and upright police officers have to bear at the hands of our politicians and so- called rich and influential . 

There are several well  documented instances across several of our states where senior police officers have been slapped publicly, made to clean footwear , insulted and humiliated for supposedly not respecting political figures , transferred on pure whims because they failed to carry out the unreasonable and often illegal wishes of the very persons who were the custodians of the law but failed to understand that. How would such a force be able or willing to give their best in the interests of the mere public ? 

But this is still not most disturbing issue facing this nation. Is it not high time that a clear and unambiguous balance sheet is drawn up to highlight the personal history, background and character of each and every MP and MLA  cutting across all party and political lines ? The people of india are entitled to know what is the educational background of each of these elected representatives. They are entitled to know each and every detail regarding their character and most importantly their criminal records and the status of the cases against them. The people need to know their economic status and the progression of their personal wealth and the sources of this personal wealth when they have clearly defined sources of income . The people need to know about the sons and daughters , brothers and sisters and any other relatives of the elected representatives who have similar criminal cases against them, about the growth of their personal wealth while their relatives were holding positions of power in the government. 

Once these details are made available in the public domain and once the statistics regarding the criminality that exists within  the halls of power is highlighted the answers to the very disturbing questions that were posed above would become crystal clear.

It would be seen without any shadow of doubt that the rule of law that these "distinguished" representatives of the people of india preach about is totally observed in the breach by them and those around them. 

How and why would a rule maker ( our Hallowed MP's and MLA's ) enact ANY law that might come to bite him or his own near and dear ones ? Does this not explain why police reforms are not  happening, why the CBI will never get to be an autonomous body , why a strong Lokpal bill is never going to see the light of legislation  , why black money and Swiss bank accounts will just be talking points , why women's representation will always be on the back burner and why our "distinguished" representatives will never enact any laws that might even remotely threaten the life of a future rapist ? 

It is rightly said that when a system exhibits rot it is always best to start from the top ! 

The time to start is NOW ! But are our law makers ready ?