Anyone remotely active on social media couldn’t have escaped the gory details and visuals of how an 8-year old’s life was cut short by a bunch of monsters. I remained a quiet spectator, following the narratives with a heavy heart, trying to relegate the image of her innocent face to some obscure crevice of my mind. I followed the protests – The enquiry was botched up and the CBI should step in, they said – and I followed the region tainted discourses – She was a Muslim girl, this is a plot to malign the religion, they argued. I even followed the rise of a ‘hero’, Asifa’s lawyer, and the smear campaign against her which followed. But I chose to remain quiet.
It was when I saw people around me, people connected with me on social media, debating this matter, armed with questions and arguments pointing to some sinister political conspiracy behind Asifa’s gruesome rape and murder that I have finally decided to speak up. A little girl was brutalized and killed, no one can deny that, and by questioning peoples’ angst against this horrific incident, aren’t we doing her further injustice?
As I try to answer some of the questions that my friends ask, allow me to clarify here that I am no legal expert and I might not even be fully educated on the specifics of the case. I am just an average Indian who is disgusted by what has happened, and want the people I vote for to do what they can to prevent such dastardly acts from occurring in the future. My thoughts carry no directional bias – they are neither right and nor left. It is just the voice of a pained and ashamed man who wants to affect change, but doesn’t know how.
So, here are some of the questions (and arguments) I have come across, and my attempts to answer them:
Q: Why was Asifa called a ‘Muslim’ and her rapists ‘Hindus’ in news reports? Wasn’t this an attempt to lend religious hues to the matter?
Ans: Perhaps it was. So? The news reports could have been politically motivated, but are we so blinded by our affiliations that we fail to see the moot point that an eight-year-old girl was made to suffer inhumanly over several days and then killed? Can’t we ignore these biases for once and remain focused on what really happened, and what needs to be done to prevent it from happening again? Shouldn’t we all, in a single voice, be demanding that the perpetrators of this heinous crime be brought to books and the laws of the land be amended to act as a deterrent against such crimes?
To this effect, the ordinance to amend existing laws to award death sentence to those found guilty of raping a child below 12 years of age, which the government of the day seems to be considering, is certainly a step in the right direction. But is this enough?
Q: Opposition parties are using this as an excuse to score political points.
Ans: True, they might be doing so. But hasn’t opportunism always been a bedmate of politics? Didn’t today’s rulers engage in similar histrionics when they were in opposition?
As opposition party’s role is to exert adequate pressure on the government for them to act in accordance with what the larger public sentiment is. And to this effect the opposition parties today are doing their job, just as the opposition parties were doing their job when the Nirbhaya rape case had happened.
It is for those in power to respond to these voices through their actions rather than engage in defensive rhetoric. You might be feeling cornered by all the angry voices around you, but unfortunately that is a price to pay for the power you hold today. Those who voted for you are looking to you to respond by way of action and not blame these voices or question their motives.
Q: Why don’t we see similar hue and cry when a Hindu girl is raped by a Muslim man?
Ans: I wish every rape case could garner the same media attention that Asifa’s case did. Every rape victim deserves that and much more! But unfortunately, this is the way that the world works. Some incidents manage to catch the imagination of the masses, and what happens thereafter serves as an example in the times to come. This is what happened with the Nirbhaya case in 2014 and this is what is happening with Asifa in 2018.
Just pause to think, this is what your arguments sound like – you didn’t raise enough hue and cry when a Hindu girl was raped, so I can live with what happened to Asifa! Really? Is that what we truly stand for? And if you still don’t see the futility of this argument, let me ask you, what prevented you from shouting from the rooftops when the Hindu girl was raped? Perhaps had you done that, you would have found us standing by your side back then and together we could have done something to make the society just that wee bit better for our children. And who knows, had we succeeded then, Asifa might have been alive today. So, can we now rise above these an-eye-for-an-eye debates and focus on what needs to be done instead?
Q: Deepika Rajawat, Asifa’s lawyer is a leftist who is engaging in histrionics to influence public opinion.
Ans: I don’t know Deepika personally, and so I can’t rule out the existence of biases. However, last that I heard, the Indian judicial system relied on evidence backed arguments and not emotions and drama. So, if Deepika is not able to get justice for Asifa from the courts, we shall know. As of today, I only see her as a young professional who has staked her reputation on a case where those of her own ilk are exhibiting their ideological biases far more fervidly by holding protests and preventing her from entering the courthouse.
If she says she is being threatened, logic says that she probably is being, and the fact that she is still holding strong, makes her a hero in my eyes. For now, at least. And I, like many others I know, are looking up to her to lead a debate that will result in far-reaching changes in the way we view women in our society, and not remain limited to the hanging of the four culprits.
As I sign off, all I would like to say is that the questions and arguments are far too many, and the action, way too little. If we are speaking out (or against) anything, it is important for us to pause and consider if we are being rational, and whether our voice will add to or dilute the crescendo that’s seeking a change that our society desperately needs today.
– A pained and ashamed Indian.