Missing the point: What the protesters against the Kathua rape-murder haven’t got it right?

Samvartha ‘Sahil’ | coastaldigest.com
April 16, 2018

The rape of a minor in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, followed by her brutal murder has gained the attention of India, even if it is after three months. In these three months the civil (?) societies, the lawyers, the politicians belonging to the right wing in Jammu have without any hesitation come out in public to shield the perpetrators. These facts when brought to light, the liberals of India rightly got enraged as much as they got outraged on hearing about the rape of the minor girl belonging to the Bakarwal community, a nomadic tribe.

While nothing better than supporting perpetrators could be expected from the right wing, my disappointment is with the liberals, though I believe that the protest being registered is a necessary gesture. Here I would just like to list my disappointments…

Firstly, the case of Kathua and Unnao, though barbaric and unacceptable, are being mentioned in one breath as if they are similar. No, they aren't, even when both of them are inhumane. The question how will be answered through my elaboration of the other disappointments.

The case of Kathua temple rape is not being communalized and politicized by the ones underlining the religious and political identity of the girl. The rape happened because of her religious and political identity. So if anyone brought religion and politics into this, it is not those who are highlighting the identity markers but those who perpetrated violence. The cry of some liberals requesting to not make the incident “about religion and politics,” marks their ignorance of the details in this case.

The issue of Kathua cannot be seen in isolation, distancing it from the history of rape used as a weapon by the Indian state in Kashmir and on Kahsmiri people. Had the girl been raped for being a girl alone, we could have spoken only about humanity and patriarchy. But since she was raped for being a Muslim and a Kahsmiri, let’s talk primarily about the state of minorities and the way Indian state has conducted itself in Kahsmir, especially with relation to women.

Amidst all this, I fail to understand the tweets of people like Javed Akhtar who wants to remind people of the ways in which Bakarwal people showed their loyalty to India and asking us to be in solidarity with the victim. The question to be asked is, what if Bakarwal people were anti-Army? In that case would Javed sahab be okay with the rape? Or does he want us to be okay with rape?

The issue of Kathua rape and murder, for many liberals, has become a scoring point against the Bharateeya Janatha Party. I have no doubts about the BJP being a disgrace to democracy, which one needs to get rid of. But I find it morally disturbing when the issue of Kathua rape is being used to churn anti-BJP public opinion alone. If at all the Kathua incident has troubled the Indian liberals then it should enable them to see the connection between the Kashmir dispute and the rape and murder of Kathua. To see it as a symbol of the maliciousness of BJP alone is to not understand the context of the Kathua rape and murder. Restricting the discussion to the role of BJP alone is parking the vehicle mid-way and aborting the truth before one has arrived at it completely. More importantly it will be dilution of the matter. The interconnectedness between occupation of Kashmir and the Kathua incident exists beneath the surface and one more round of scratching is enough to reach there. Very hesitantly I make this statement: If intelligence is a slave to convenience, then it is not just a moral corruption but also a sign of opportunism.

The liberal discourse around Kathua has been reeking of poverty of understanding, knowledge, sensitivity and imagination too. In extreme conditions of history, such as this, to be a liberal centrist is to let down the victims and let violence continue on the socially, politically vulnerables.

If the Indian liberals are actually horrified, as they claim to be, then the question is if the Indian liberals will at least now acknowledge Kunan Poshpora and innumerable such rapes in Kashmir (Handwara, Shopian, Islamabad, Trehgam, Doda etc) orchestrated and conducted by the Indian army? Will they stop seeing the Kathua incident out of context? If not then the liberals need to reimagine their politics.

 

[Samvartha ‘Sahil’ is a freelance writer based out of Manipal, Karnataka. An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune he has earlier worked as an academician at Manipal University and as a journalist with The Hindu. He is a columnist with The State now and earlier with Karavali Karnataka and Kannada Prabha. His book on the travel experiences in Jammu and Kashmir during the 2016 uprising is about to be published by the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi.]

Comments

Danish
 - 
Monday, 16 Apr 2018

Still, the protests are not in organised form and failed to meet its goal. Diverts from the actual goal.. It became just to vandalise properties in many states

Unknown
 - 
Monday, 16 Apr 2018

Along with protests, there is some moves to defame entire india with some photoshoped images.. People already started to send those with some fake msgs like BBC carried etc. Because of Modi and almost all perveted minds of BJP shaming entire country.

justiceforasifa
 - 
Monday, 16 Apr 2018

ಆಶಿಫಾಳ್ ಸಾವಿನ ಸುತ್ತ ನೂರೆಂಟು ಸಂಶಯದ ಹುತ್ತ

 

ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಕಾನೂನಿನ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾದ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ಹೆಸರು ಐಡೆಂಟಿಟಿ ಬಹಿರಂಗಗೊಳಿಸುವುದು ಕಾನೂನುಬಾಹಿರ. ಆದರೆ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ಧರ್ಮ/ಜಾತಿ ಬಹಿರಂಗಗೊಳಿಸುವುದು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯ!! ಶಭಾಶ್. ಯಾಕಂದ್ರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾದ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಅವರ ಜಾತಿ ಧರ್ಮವೇ ಮುಖ್ಯ. ಅದೇ ತಾನೆ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಲಾಭ ನಷ್ಟಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೂಲ!?

ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಆರೋಪ ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಆರೋಪಿಯ ಪರ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ವಕೀಲರು ರಸ್ತೆಗಿಳಿದು ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದರೆ ಈ ಪ್ರಕರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಗೊಂದಲಗಳಿವೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸುಳ್ಳಾರೋಪ ಕೋಡಾ ಇರ್ಬಹುದು.

ಮೊನ್ನೆಯಿಂದ ನಾನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಕೆಲವು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜಾಲತಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರದ ಪ್ರಕರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ ಲೇಪನ ಅಂಟಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ ತೊಂದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಮತ್ತು ಇದೆನ್ನು ಹೊಸದೇನಲ್ಲ

 

೧ ) ಆಶಿಫಾಳ್ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಯಾವ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದಿತ್ತು ಆ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಹೆಸ್ರಯಾಕೆ ಬಹಿರಂಗ ಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ

 

೨ ) ( ಆಶಿಫಾಳ್ ತಂದೆಯ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ) ಒಂದು ವಾದವರೆಗೆ ಆಶಿಫಾಳನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಡೆಗೇ ಹುಡುಕಿದೀವಿ ಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಸಿಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಕೊನೆಗೆ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೃತಪಟ್ಟು ಶವಯಾಗಿ ಸಿಕ್ಳು. ಹಾಗಾದ್ರೆ ಒಂದು ವಾರದವರೆಗೆ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾರು ಬರಬಾರದಂತ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ರಜೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟೀತ್ತಾ ?

 

೩ ) ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲವರ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಯ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರಿ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ಜೈ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮ ಅಂತ ಘೋಷಣೆ ಕೂಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಛೇ ಎಷ್ಟ ಮಸ್ಕಾರಿ ಮಾಡ್ತಾರಲ್ವಾ ನಾಯಿಗಳು

ಅವ್ನು ಜೈ ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಮ ಘೋಷಣೆ ಕೂಗಿ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಮಾಡುವುದನ್ನು ಯಾರು ಕೇಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದು ಅವ್ನನ್ಯಾಕ್ಕೆ ಆ ಬಾಲಕಿಯನ್ನು ರಾಕ್ಷಸರ ಕೈಯಿಂದ ಕಾಪಾಡಲಿಲ್ಲ ?

ಅಥವಾ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ನಡೆಯುವ ದೃಶ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮೊಬೈಲ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆರೆ ಹಿಡಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ?

 

೪ ) ಜಮ್ಮು ಕಾಶ್ಮೀರದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರ್ಸೆಂಟಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರು ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ನೋಟ್ this point ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಂದೂಗಳಿಗೆ ರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಇಲ್ವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ ಈ ಹಿಂದೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಭಾರೀ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ದ್ವಂಸ ಗೊಂಡಿವೆ ಮತ್ತು ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಂಸ ಎಸೆದು ಹಿಂದೂಗಳ ಭಾವನೆಗೆ ಧಕ್ಕೆ ತರುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಕೋಡಾ ಆಗಿದೆ ಇದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಅಪರಾಧಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿಯಲು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ  ಸಿ ಸಿ ಟಿ ವಿ ಕ್ಯಾಮೆರಾ ಅಳವಡಿಸುವುದು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯಗೊಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ

 

೫ ) ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರಕ್ಕೇ ಒಳಗಾದ ಬಾಲಕಿಯ ಹೆಸ್ರು ಧರ್ಮ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಗೈದ ಆರೋಪಿಯ ಹೆಸ್ರು ಧರ್ಮ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ನಡೆದ ಸ್ಥಳದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬಹಿರಂಗ ಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದೀರಿ ಅಂದ್ಮೇಲೆ ಸಿ ಸಿ ಟೀ ವಿ ಪೋಟ್ಯಾಜ್ ಯಾಕೇ ಬಹಿರಂಗ ಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ

ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ನಡೆದಿದೆಯೋ ಅದೇ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ಗೈದಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿ ಸಿ ಟಿ ವಿ ಫೂಟ್ಯಾಜ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೆ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ ಇದನ್ನು ಕೋಡಾ ಬಹಿರಂಗ ಪಡಿಸಿ ನೋಡೋಣ ಸತ್ಯ ಸತ್ಯತೇ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗುತ್ತದೆ

 

ಹೇಳುವುದಕ್ಕೇ ಇನ್ನು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ದೋಷಗಳಿವೆ ಚರ್ಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡೋಣ

ಚಾರ್ಜಸಿಟ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಳ್ಳಾರೋಪ ಕೋಡಾ ಬರೆಯಬಹುದು

ಈ ಹಿಂದೆಯೂ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ

Anjana Sagar
 - 
Monday, 16 Apr 2018

Those who think that Kathua gang-rape and murder case is unnecessarily being communalized and blown out of the proportion for political reasons should understand following points:

 

1)When the mutilated dead body of the girl was found and the culprits were identified, the innocent parents of the victim did not give the case a communal tinge. Not a single Muslim organization in India tried to drag a community or religion into this case.

 

2)The preliminary investigation sent shockwaves across the world. The culprits reveled that they resorted to such a heinous crime just to threaten the community of the victim and drive them away from village. One of the rapists also revealed that he felt bad to rape a small girl but it was necessary for their “cause”!

 

3)After the arrest of the accused, Hindu Ekta Manch staged a protest demanding the release of the accused. They also demanded that the case should be handed over to the CBI which is fully under the control of union BJP government. Two of the prominent speakers at the protest said that the accused should be released because they are Hindus and victims is a nomadic Muslim. Two BJP ministers also took part in the protest and defended the accused.

 

4)When the two ministers who defended the rapists were forced to tender their resignation, the BJP said that they did not commit anything wrong!

 

5)When Deepika Singh Rajawat, a woman lawyer took up the case, she was threatened by the so called Hindutva groups. The president of the Jammu High Court Bar Association abused her and asked her to stay away from the case.

 

6)In spite of all these facts, the parents of the victim did see it as a communal case. In fact they don’t even know that communal hatred can instigate people to commit such heinous crime. When people started asking how can those Hindutva groups justify a rape saying that victim was a Muslim and culprits were Hindus, BJP leaders started accusing Opposition of communalizing the case! Who communalized the case: The self-proclaimed Hindutva groups or the family and supporters of the victim?

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News Network
March 21,2024

visa.jpg

Mangaluru: A man from Dakshina Kannada was duped of Rs 2.5 lakh after he was promised a Poland visa.

In a complaint, a resident of Belthangady, stated that the accused, Manoj, had promised a job for his son in Poland. 

Between May 22 of last year and March 19, he handed over Rs 2.2 lakh in various phases, citing different reasons.

However, since the accused failed to provide a visa or return the money, a case was registered at the Dharmasthala police station under IPC sections 417 and 420.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 18: The rising temperature has become a growing concern for residents of coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, as the issue of drinking water shortage continues to worsen in several parts. 

Though the water supply of Mangaluru city has not been affected much, nearby urban local bodies, including Ullal, Kotekar, Bajpe and other parts on the outskirts of Mangaluru have been facing an acute shortage of drinking water.

Though the water level in the Thumbe vented dam across Nethravati River has started going down in the last few days, officials have ruled out possibility of rationing the water supply in the city.

According to officials, the water level at Thumbe dam of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) stood at 5.8 m as against the maximum storage capacity of 6m height on March 16. The water level at the dam during the same period last year was 5.3 metres. The water level reduced from 5.9 m on March 15 to 5.8 m on March 16 due to the scorching heat, causing evaporation.

The MCC has been drawing 160 MLD of water from the Thumbe vented dam. According to officials, without inflow, the maximum water stored in the dam will be sufficient for only 50 days. Meanwhile, the MCC has already started pumping backwater from downstream of the Thumbe vented dam back to the dam using pumpsets. Water from Thumbe dam can be drawn only if it has more than 1.5m of water in it.

DC Mullai Muhilan MP said that the district administration is closely monitoring water levels in all the dams that supply water.

The AMR dam located upstream of Thumbe dam has 18 m of water from sea level. If the water level in the Thumbe vented dam recedes, then water from the AMR dam will be released into the Thumbe dam. There is water in a dam at Biliyoor, which is located upstream of the AMR dam, the DC said.

“Drawing water for irrigation purposes from Thumbe and AMR dams has been banned,” the deputy commissioner said, adding that an order in this regard has already been issued. Some of the pockets in rural areas too have started facing water crisis.

“We have made arrangements to supply water through tankers in Ullal, Kotekar and Bajpe areas. We will not introduce water supply rationing in MCC limits for the time being,” he said and appealed to citizens to use water judiciously.

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News Network
March 28,2024

Mangaluru, Mar 28: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has warned the individuals and political parties against the poll code violations during private events. 
 
“Private events such as marriages, birthdays, housewarming ceremonies, and other non-political programmes do not require any permission. However, one should ensure that there is no violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) at these functions. Permission is needed if the events are attended by politicians or candidates,” the DC said. 

He said that these gatherings will be under the surveillance of MCC teams, as there are chances of luring voters by campaigning and supplying food, said the DC. The district has 38,386 new voters, of which, 19,619 are men.

He said that the notification of election in Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency will be issued soon, and the filing of nominations will be held between 11 am and 3 pm till April 4. 

Only five persons, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the returning officer’s chamber to submit the nominations. A facilitation centre will be opened at the DC’s office. 

The expenditure of the candidate will be counted from the day the candidate files the nomination.

The DC said that the district is not an expenditure-sensitive constituency. Assistant expenditure observers and expenditure observers will monitor the expenditure of the candidates. An expenditure book will be provided to the candidate to record expenditure incurred, he explained.

Further, he said that no election materials can be printed without the name and address of the publishers, and the number of copies printed. Separate permission should be availed for procession prior to the submission of nomination papers from the ARO office, through the single-window system.

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