False pride & real prejudice : The Tribune India

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False pride & real prejudice

How do you quantify rapes? How do you make a tally of the incidents that took place in the last one year in Haryana? I have been reporting on various matters in Haryana for more than 30 years, and yet, I am baffled at the thought of compiling a list of rape cases.

False pride & real prejudice

System at fault: A majority of the youth from Haryana believe that political and police connections as well as money power can allow anyone to get away with the goriest of crimes. Photos: Manoj Dhaka, Mukesh Aggarwal, AFP and iStock



Sushil Manav in Chandigarh

How do you quantify rapes? How do you make a tally of the incidents that took place in the last one year in Haryana? I have been reporting on various matters in Haryana for more than 30 years, and yet, I am baffled at the thought of compiling a list of rape cases. Day after day, month after month, year after year, the daily schedule of news stories listed by reporters from Haryana has invariably included one or two cases of rapes or gang rapes.

Should this shock you? Comprising just 2 per cent of the national population, Haryana has the highest number of gang rapes in the country. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data for 2016 shows that the state registered one gang rape every two days. The number of rapes was 1,187 — which is more than three a day. 

This is when not all cases get reported with the police. Many remain buried under the weight of the state's patriarchal society. Most cases reported from the rural areas are condoned by society and not condemned. 

Blaming the victim 

Dr Rajeshwari, professor and chairperson, Department of Geography, Kurukshetra University, says much of gender violence is considered normal, and is even granted social sanction in the rural Haryanvi society. “Due to strong patriarchal practices, domestic aggression towards women remains hidden. The verbal and physical abuse is not even considered a crime by women themselves,” says she.

If women are beaten up, it is taken in  its stride by the family and society.  “The constitutional heads also have the similar mindset. You won't come across a case in any panchayat where men have been shamed for hitting their wives,” she adds. Atrocities on women is the fastest rising crime in the state. Despite this, these are neither on the priority list of investigating agencies and nor the society.

Violence arises from the dominant political and social system. The social stigma attached to crimes like rape puts pressure on the victim and her family to remain silent, which further makes the women vulnerable. 

Same old setup, same old issues

Jagmati Sangwan, former director, Women's Studies Centre, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, says the socio-cultural milieu is heading towards a social churning. While conventional social communities are desperately trying to retain and strengthen their hegemony, the so-far subjugated sections of society, including women, are striving hard to seize upon the opportunities that promise equality. 

Sangwan rues that the patriarchal and caste reactionary forces still continue to rule the roost in rural areas. The constitutional panchayati raj elected bodies hardly have a say. In fact, self-styled communities or caste panchayats, which often act as kangaroo courts, impose illegal and anti-constitutional diktats.  Despite reservations for women and the Scheduled Castes, it is the upper caste influential male patriarchs who wield real power.

In 1994, when reservation for women candidates was proposed, some khaps even threatened to disrupt elections if the amendment providing reservation to women was not withdrawn. While they had to ultimately make peace with the constitutional amendment, women candidates nominated for elections are only rubber stamps. The real power remains in the hands of their male relatives. 

Sufferer at the receiving end

Crimes against women are not only underplayed, but there is almost a consensus that these are not to be reported. Cases of rapes, dowry and honour killings are brushed under the carpet. In a Fatehabad village in 2015, a fine of 75 paise was imposed on an accused seeking dowry. The Tribune had then reported that the symbolic fine was ‘duly recovered’ and deposited with the gaushala. Also, the victim was ordered not to file a case in the police station. The sentence of punishment or provision of forgiveness also depends on the religion or caste of the victim and the culprit. 

In another village, a panchayat had ordered whacking of shoes on the face of a rapist five times as a punishment. Recently, a village panchayat in Rohtak district refused to cremate a girl allegedly killed in full public view, along with a police guard.

No end to distress

Women are the most affected by social degradation. In the Rewari rape case, a 19-year-old girl fell prey to a lackadaisical attitude. Lack of strict action against gang members led to this heinous act,” says Shamim Sharma, Principal of Mata Harki Devi PG College for Women at Odhan in Sirsa.

Dr Mahabir Jaglan, professor of geography, Kurukshetra University, says that elected sarpanchs and panchs in Haryana behave like feudal patriarchs. Their gender bias becomes evident when they interfere in rape cases, often only to help the accused. He sites the September 2013 case of Alewa village, Jind, in which a Dalit girl was allegedly raped by the son of the sarpanch. The victim was threatened by the accused and his father with Mirchpur-like consequences if a police complaint was lodged. In June 2015, in a Faridabad village, panchayat tried to force a compromise on a minor rape victim’s parents. Compromise formula was: each accused will pay Rs 50,000 to the victim’s parents. The accused were arrested by the police only after the intervention by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. 

Rajbir Deswal, a retired IPS officer from the state, says that Haryana heartland still suffers from a tribal mentality, where patriarchy still rules the roost. Women do not count in the state’s social audit.  As of now, the scenario is painfully grim.

A chronicle of crimes

September 19: A man was accused  of raping a minor with the help of his mother in Fatehabad district.

September 19: A Class IX student raped by a gym trainer in Gurugram district.  

September 18: A 10 year old  allegedly raped by her uncle in Rohtak district

August 31: An 11-year-old girl reportedly raped by a neighbour in Gurugram.

July 7: An 18 year old allegedly raped by her friend's father in Gurugram. 

April 22: A 13-year-old girl raped by three in a Panipat village. 

April 19:  An eight-year-old girl raped in Narnaund sub-division of Hisar.

August 8: A 21-year-old Dalit girl committed suicide after she was sexually exploited and blackmailed in Bhiwani district.

March 14: A 24-year-old college student was abducted by two from Bhiwani and gangraped. She later died at a private hospital in Rohtak. 

February 5: A 19-year-old woman was raped by an auto driver in Sonepat.

January 14: A semi-naked body of an 11-year-old Dalit girl was recovered from a deserted place in Panipat district. The victim was sexually abused before she was killed by the assailants. 

January 12: A Dalit girl was found dead in Jind district after she was gang-raped. 

December 5, 2017: Three persons including an auto-driver were held for gang raping a woman in Hisar.

December 9, 2017: The body of a six-year-old girl was found in Uklana of Hisar district. The post mortem examination revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and a piece of wooden stick was inserted in her body.

February 5: A 19-year-old woman raped by an auto driver in Sonepat.

January 14: Semi-naked body of an 11-year-old Dalit girl was recovered from a deserted place in Panipat district. The victim was sexually abused before she was killed by the assailants. 

January 12: A Dalit girl was found dead in Jind district after she was gangraped. 

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