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| Asaram case expose mob irrationality on rape | | |
Shruti Chopra
Fork-tongued politi
cians and hysterical
devotees rushed to Asaram Bapu's aid this week and left a huge question hanging over India's image as a law-centric society. Though arrested, it may not be long before he is back in the system.
An assaulted woman's shriek, a girl child's desperate tendrils for support - overshadowed by insensitive frowning and murmurs that perhaps intentionally suppresses the agony of the victim. It is rather odd how our prejudices have overcome us at a time when we all think we are adept to move forward with edification and radicalism. But wait, are we there yet? The tinted case of Asaram Bapu being convicted of sexually assaulting a minor girl of 16 seems to be under the scrutiny of the intensely-hyped POCSO (Protection of Children against Sexual Offences) Act that was passed in 2012 containing stringent punishments graded as per the gravity of offence. The Act under its ambit defines child as a person below 18, and has a clear definition for all types of sexual abuses like sexual harassment, penetrative or non-penetrative sexual abuse, and pornography.
The survivor girl filed a police complaint on August 21 against 72-year-old Mr Asaram, accusing him of sexually abusing her five days earlier at a farmhouse in Jodhpur where he was staying at the time. The girl, who studied at a school run by his foundation in Madhya Pradesh, had apparently been brought to Jodhpur by her parents, devotees of the "Godman", to be rescued from "evil spirits".
Hysteria
Asaram has been booked under Sections 376, 342, 506 and 509 of IPC, Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
The hysterical circumstances after the complaint got the media rushing to cover the "hi-profile" case that was accustomed to become eye candy for speculators. Asaram sprinted from the media and the police in denial and later on illness assertions till he realised his only hope lay in marshalling the hysterical support of his mesmerised supporters. We saw the manipulated public sitting cross-legged outside the airport of Jodhpur, where he was brought after being arrested in Indore, and ranted the media for accusing their God. His disciples, with unwavering faith, went on a mass fast in his ashram in Bhubaneswar and threatened with even more extreme steps. It did not come as surprise when some of them said they could even die for their Guru.
Some of the politicians of our country came out in open in support of the "Godman". A highly defensive remark by Uma Bharati - "Sant Asaram Bapu is innocent. He is being punished for opposing Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. False cases have been lodged against him in Congress (ruled) States" -- splashed all over. Leaders like Subramanian Swamy too weighed in with the aggravated theory how "Hindu sages" have been targeted to dent "Hinduism". He relevantly questioned the allegations against Asaram and claimed the reasons for accusation could be related to Asaram's oft-repeated call to Sonia Gandhi to leave India.
Media antics
The other side of the provocative drama was unfolded in the media who by now was running for their landing. The self-acclaimed Godman had exposed himself as a crackpot bigot several times in the past for his outlandish comments on sexuality - on occasions he condemned sexual desires, propounding a theory that the craving for sexual intimacy should be avoided during special periods in the Hindu calendar by married couples. In spite of his incendiary remarks on the sexual lives of the masses, the roar of condemnation for this man actually began when he put forth a most egregious theory considered the girl gang-raped in a moving bus by five men in Delhi, equally guilty as her rapists. It had stirred indignation in the masses when he outrageously said that the young woman who was gang-raped could have saved herself by acting helpless on her knees and addressing her rapists as "Bhaiyya" (brother).
The unnerving blow came when Asaram's son, who was himself booked for forgery and criminal intimidation in September 2008 in the Virar case, descended on the scene to defend his father in the media. He chose the well-worn path of questioning the minor girl's mental stability. Later, after days of evading the police and refusing to abide by the summons of joining the investigation, Asaram's son emerged with another familiar story -Trigeminal Neuralgia. Nevertheless he was caught late night on August 30 resting in his Indore Ashram where doctors declared him (after a thorough medical examination) 'fit' for investigation
Bloody past?
Heinous crimes have been attributed to Asaram Babu in the past, but the Law kept a respectful distance from him. It is rumoured that 18 murders had been carried out in his ashram. Additionally, there are 22 cases of fraud aggregating Rs 4,500 crore pending against him in different courts. In 2010, a media channel trapped him in a sting operation by getting him to proposition a woman posing as a damsel in distress.
The anticipated week of investigation opened up various facets of Asaram. After being cleared of sexual potency, he was arrested and sent to police remand. It is assumable that an accusation of sexual assault would be career-ending for the conscientious professional saint, but 'Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu' had nothing to fear. At a time when people want the harshest punishment for the rapists whether in Nirbhaya or in the Mumbai journalist's case, the charges of sexual abuse against the guru have led to outpouring of sympathy and support. But for all the explicit details in the complainant's accusations, the collective mind of the masses remained in limbo. Reason: Indians react one way when the rapist is from the underclass and profoundly differently when the object of the charge is a religious figure.
Bipartisan apathy
It has been rather intriguing to see the difference in the political and public responses that has revealed uncomfortable truths about our system. The first concerns the concealed identity of the survivors. We still have not seen the face of the survivor whereas Asaram walks around without a strand of remorse on his face. The steering incidences of hiding the mere identity of 'Nirbahaya' and 'Gudiya' have been legitimately shattered by the journalist in Mumbai who was gang-raped by five men. She walked out of the hospital on August 27 barefaced and head held high bursting with optimism to carry onwith her life.
The second prejudice was damaged by the Supreme Court where the Bench of Justices GS Singhvi and V Gopala Gowda observed the hordes of security men around the accused. The government was criticised and asked to not to lavish such extensive security on Asaram. The court's observation came in the course of the hearing of a PIL seeking withdrawal of security cover to undeserving people who use it a status symbol. Meanwhile, Asaram's plea for bail and certain amenities inside the jail has both been rejected. In spite of the sighs of relief, it's debatable whether justice will find way into our conventional and sculpted system since we have also been inured to discrimination in recent cases of sexual assault. Amidst the ambiguity over how Asaram could be precisely convicted or the deliberations that could also prove him innocent, what has emerged as moot is this -rape, for most Indians, is still a non-issue. |
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