Attacks Against Women Escalate in the Modi Raj

by Mariam Dhawale in People's Democracy newspaper

IN the heart of Karnataka 's Hassan district, a chilling revelation emerged in the form of the Prajwal Revanna case, shedding light on the dark underbelly of sexual violence and exploitation. [Revanna is a BJP politician accused sexual crimes, including rape, who has fled India]. This horrifying incident has sent shock waves through the region, and across the country, prompting a widespread outcry and reigniting urgent discussions about the safety and dignity of women in Indian society.

With 2,976 videos found on numerous pen drives, the discovery has sparked outrage and urgent concerns about women's safety. This revelation serves as a stark reminder of the pervasive threat of sexual violence in India. Beyond the headlines, it underscores systemic failures to protect the vulnerable. As we grapple with the staggering scale of this exploitation, we are forced to confront the harsh reality that countless women endure unspeakable horrors in silence, their voices drowned out by the deafening roar of indifference and apathy.

Once again, people sitting in the seats of power are misusing their authority and committing unprecedented brutalities against women. The victims of this brutality will never be able to lead their lives in the same manner ever again. The trauma, humiliation and suffering that the victims, families and their near and dear ones are going through cannot really be described in words.

That Prajwal Revanna could run away from our country so easily exposes the impunity with which such criminals move around in and out of the country. He has been committing these heinous crimes for the last several years. The terror emerging out of the oppressive power that the Revanna family holds in Hassan district prevented the scared victims from speaking up.

This whole violence inflicted on women got exposed on April 23, 2024, three days before the voting there. Pen drives of the video clips showing the sexual assaults were found in different public places all over the district. Prajwal shot these clips while raping the women and used them for blackmail. These video clips were widely circulated without any consideration for the safety and dignity of the concerned women. The police did not take any action for four days. People who saw these videos were horrified to see women of all ages and backgrounds being made victims of these atrocities.

POLITICAL SUPPORT

Prajwal Revanna, the Janata Dal (S)-BJP Lok Sabha candidate, has been committing heinous sexual assaults against women for years. He is the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. Prajwal’s father H D Revanna, MLA, is also accused of these crimes. The victims are from all walks of life, including those who were working in the Revanna household. Three of the victims have come forward to register the FIRs. One of the women has stated that these abuses took place between 2019 and 2022. One of the victims was kidnapped to prevent her from registering her complaint and was missing for four days. She was finally traced and her complaint has been filed.

The BJP central leaders were well aware of Prajwal’s crimes, since their state leadership had alerted them, yet they chose to ignore it and agreed to Prajwal’s Lok Sabha candidature. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who never tires of giving the slogan of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’, happily shared the stage with Prajwal and also appealed to the people to vote for him, declaring that a vote for Prajwal would be a vote for Modi. After the scandal broke, Prajwal left the country for Germany using his diplomatic passport on April 27. No one knows how and when he will be brought back. His father H D Revanna has now been arrested.

Narendra Modi remained silent for days together on this murkiest sex scandal in the country. Women BJP leaders have also not uttered a word in condemnation of these sexual assaults. It is not surprising as the BJP and Modi have been shielding those accused of crimes against women during the entire decade of their rule. The state government has asked for the cancellation of Prajwal’s diplomatic passport. It is yet to be revoked by the Modi government.

The state government took cognisance of the pen drives only after the chairperson of the State Commission for Women wrote to the chief minister and the state police, asking for action in the matter.

Unable to bear the humiliation after the video clips were circulated, many women have left their homes in Hassan district. The terror of the Revanna family is so deep that some of them have said that, “it is impossible to survive in Hassan while fighting the Revanna family”. The residents of Hassan are avoiding talking to the media and are in the grip of fear.

The Prajwal Revanna case, while it is horrifying, is the latest in a long line of distressing incidents of sexual crimes by people holding high offices in the last ten years of the Modi-led BJP regime. Never in the years since independence had sexual crimes been perpetrated with such impunity as in the last decade.

SHOCKING CASES IN THE LAST DECADE

Look at some of the terrible cases that shook the nation in the last few years.

Asifa, an eight-year-old child belonging to the Muslim community, was abducted, drugged, held captive, repeatedly raped and eventually murdered in a temple in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. Despite arrests and charges, the trial faced delays and obstacles. While some perpetrators were convicted, others, including certain police officers, were acquitted, raising concerns about the fairness of the judicial process. It was the Sangh Parivar that came out in support of the perpetrators of the crime in the district of Kathua. A rally of lawyers led by the BJP was held in Jammu in support of the accused.

A teenage girl from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, was raped by the BJP MLA, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, and his associates. For seeking justice, the victim and her family faced threats, harassment, and intimidation. The girl’s father was killed in custody, and her uncle is in jail on false charges. Her two aunts were killed in an accident when a truck rammed their car, but she survived. The case highlighted systemic failures in addressing sexual violence and protecting survivors. Kuldeep Sengar is now in jail, but his henchmen are still threatening the victim.

Ankita Bhandari, a young woman from Uttarakhand was gang-raped and murdered by a group of men with the main accused being Pulkit Arya, son of a former BJP minister in the state government. The case faced delays and inconsistencies in the investigation and trial process. Despite initial arrests, justice for Ankita and her family remains elusive.

A young dalit woman from Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, was gang-raped by four upper caste men. The victim eventually succumbed to her injuries, sparking nationwide outrage and protests. The handling of the case, including the hasty cremation of the victim's body without her family's consent, drew condemnation. Despite assurances of justice, the case remained mired in controversy and delays, raising concerns about caste-based discrimination. Recently, in a shocking judgment, all the four accused involved in the horrific Hathras gangrape and murder case were acquitted. The judgment reeked of patriarchal and casteist bias and did not give any credence to even the dying declaration of the victim. All this took place under the BJP’s Yogi regime.

The release by the BJP-led Gujarat state government, with the connivance of the BJP central government, of 11 gang-rapists and mass murderers convicted of the heinous crime in the Bilkis Bano case on August 15, 2022, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, will always remain a black mark in our history. It was distressing to see these criminals being garlanded and fed sweets by the Sangh Parivar when they came out of jail. A hero’s welcome to gang-rapists and murderers! Eventually, due to effective legal intervention, in which the AIDWA too was a party, the Supreme Court sent them all back to jail.

It was harrowing to see the naked parading of women and sexual assaults on them in Manipur under the BJP state government. The violence continues with no respite even today. Demands for the resignation of the BJP chief minister have fallen on the deaf ears of the Modi-Shah regime.

Another depressing case that the nation witnessed was that of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, president of the Wrestling Federation of India. He was accused of sexually molesting several female wrestlers. The women wrestlers held demonstrations at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi for several days with mass support of the people, until their agitation was crushed and many of them were beaten up and arrested on the very day that PM Modi inaugurated the new parliament building. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is still freely roaming around with impunity. His son has been given the BJP ticket for the current Lok Sabha elections. The women wrestlers are still fighting for justice.

Some opposition-ruled states have also followed the BJP examples set above.

Sandeshkhali in West Bengal is another horror story of such crimes against women and abuse of power under the TMC regime. Women were called to the TMC office at night. Men were not allowed inside during this time. TMC thugs used to visit village homes and choose the women to be called at night. The women named TMC goons Shaikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hajra and Uttam Sardar as the leaders of these sexual atrocities. They were protected by the TMC regime.

There was the Hyderabad rape and murder case, wherein a young veterinarian was abducted, raped, and brutally murdered by four men on the outskirts of Hyderabad in Telangana. The perpetrators were apprehended by the police, but they were later killed in an encounter, sparking debate over extrajudicial killings and due process of law. This happened under the then TRS state government.

ALARMING INCREASE IN CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN

Based on the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) the rate of crimes against women was 52.5 per lakh in 2014. By 2021 the rate of atrocities against women had gone up to 64.5 per lakh. By 2021, the number of daily rapes was above 90 rapes per day. In 2017, over 3,15,215 cases of crimes against women were registered. This increased to over 3,65,300 cases in 2022. The increase in the rate of crimes against women over a six-year period is quite significant, at 15.88 per cent. The NCRB data has also recorded a 94.47 per cent surge in sexual offences against children since 2017. Uttar Pradesh topped the list in crimes against women for six consecutive years from 2017 to 2022. Rajasthan was placed second for crimes against women from 2019 to 2022. Delhi and Haryana were among the states with high crime rate against women in 2022.

However, it is crucial to recognise that the reported cases represent only a fraction of the actual incidents, due to social stigma, fear of retaliation, and distrust in the justice system. Analysis reveals that victims of rape come from various caste and religious communities, spanning different age groups, socio-economic statuses, and geographic locations. This shows the widespread vulnerability of women to sexual violence.

In India, victims of sexual crimes face compounded trauma due to the prevalent stigma and blame. Societal attitudes often emphasize shame and dishonour associated with such crimes, worsened by India's patriarchal structure favouring the perpetrators and impeding the survivors' pursuit of justice. Despite legal reforms, problems persist in effectively prosecuting offenders and ensuring justice. Lengthy court proceedings, inadequate support services, and underreporting further undermine accountability.

Given these difficulties, it is unsurprising that India's conviction rate for sexual crimes against women is among the world's lowest. According to the NCRB, the conviction rate for rape cases was around 27.8 per cent in 2019, indicating a lack of accountability. This low rate fosters a cycle of impunity, emboldening perpetrators to commit crimes without fear of consequences. It reinforces toxic attitudes, normalises sexual violence, and perpetuates power imbalances, leaving survivors marginalised and disempowered. Moreover, it deters reporting and erodes trust in the justice system, perpetuating silence and impunity.

After the uproar following the Delhi Nirbhaya Case in 2012, there was a surge of hope as significant reforms were enacted to address the legal treatment of sexual crimes against women. It is crucial to note the stark contrast between the two cases – Delhi and Hassan. In the Delhi Nirbhaya Case, the gruesome nature of the crime, mobilisation of civil society, national and international media coverage played pivotal roles. This case emerged as a stark symbol of the pervasive issue of sexual violence against women in India, prompting profound soul-searching and calls for societal change.

The Hassan case has exposed widespread sexual violence and exploitation. Yet, the sheer complexity and magnitude of the evidence may have hindered public comprehension and mobilisation. It is tragic that the case received relatively scant media coverage compared to the Delhi Nirbhaya case, with a focus on local rather than national or international media coverage. This limited visibility may have contributed to a lack of widespread public awareness and outrage. Of utmost importance, the involvement of influential individuals and groups, now aligned with the BJP, the ruling party at the centre, along with political considerations, likely influenced the authorities' response, impeding efforts to prioritise justice for the victims and survivors.

LAPDOG ROLE OF THE NCW

The BJP-appointed National Commission for Women (NCW), a key government body which is supposed to address sexual violence against women, has faced heavy criticism for its ineffectiveness in tackling the Hassan horror and also many earlier instances that have been recounted above. Delayed or inadequate responses to cases of sexual violence highlight the commission's work, resulting in a lack of timely justice and support for victims. Despite receiving recommendations for policy reforms, the NCW refuses to implement them effectively, hindering efforts to curb such crimes. Questions about the commission's accountability have been raised, as it has failed to hold authorities responsible for preventing and responding to incidents of sexual violence. The NCW's support services for survivors are insufficient and inaccessible, leaving many victims without the needed assistance. Additionally, doubts persist about the commission's influence on policy and legislation related to women's rights and safety, as it is seen as lacking proactive advocacy for comprehensive reforms.

Yet again, the NCW has failed to stand by the Hassan women victims during this crucial period when they need all the support that they can get. It is trying to disprove the statements of the victims and thereby signalling its support for the accused. This is shameful as it violates the mandate of the NCW and defeats the very purpose of its formation. The NCW at present has become a lapdog of the Modi regime and only comes forward to please its masters. The AIDWA and women’s organisations have often demanded the resignation of the NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma when she failed to speak up for women victims.

NEED FOR GREAT SENSITIVITY

The Karnataka state government and police must handle the Hassan case with the greatest sensitivity and ensure the safety and privacy of the women. Women have to be assured that justice will be done. This episode of torture, humiliation and trauma will leave a lifelong mark on the women victims. The videos of these sexual assaults must be urgently taken down and the identities of the women protected. The state government has announced that it will provide financial help to the victims. It must take steps for the rehabilitation of the women.

As it is, victims of sexual abuse rarely come forward to register their complaints.They do so only when they get some support and feel confident that they may get justice. The fight for justice is a long-drawn one. The case goes on for years on end. They go on living the trauma during every court hearing.

The root cause of the growing atrocities on women in the last one decade is that the BJP-RSS propagate the regressive Manuwadi ideology which is anti-women. Women are considered subordinate and unequal. They are to be mere chattels and serve society. The Hindutva brigade’s promotion of this Sanatani culture and the politics of hatred justifies the violence inflicted on women. The BJP-RSS has been consistently supporting the criminals accused of crimes against women.

The AIDWA has always raised its voice throughout the country against the rising and alarming atrocities on women. Thousands and thousands of women have come out on the streets across the country in the last ten years, and even before. The women’s movement and the entire democratic movement must come forward and raise its voice against this latest human tragedy of unimaginable proportions. The Hassan horror must become yet another crucial and imperative reason for throwing out the BJP-RSS and its cohorts out of power.