Rape and murder of Kathua girl is bad enough, but for the Bar to defend rapists is hideous

Afisa should get justice, and justice in this case means that those who did unspeakable things to her should have a noose around their necks and hanged until life drains away from them. There should be no pity whatsoever for these horrible men, there is no excuse and no justification for what they did. That too, in a house of God. Have we completely lost the plot as people where we feel that to go after those we deem unacceptable, because they do something we do not like includes attacking their children? What is wrong with us? Are we a nation state in the 21st century or are we some tribal society from neolithic times? At least in neolithic times, justice would have been swifter.

Yes, the accused should be given a fair trial even if the prima facie evidence points to their guilt. But actions of the Jammu Bar Association paint them as guilty as the men who wrung the life out of Afisa. For them to invoke the name of one of Hinduism’s most revered deities, a man whom the texts have as a fair and just man who strived to rule justly. It would not be wrong to assume that in Ramrajya, the monsters who attacked and killed Afisa would have been drawn and quartered, which is what many wish happens to them even today. On top of that, to make this matter communal is disgusting. This is not about Hindus and Muslims, it is about ensuring that justice is done. And those who prevent that justice from being done are as guilty as those who committed the crime, so members of the Jammu Bar Association should hang their heads in shame. Of course they won’t because evidently even gnats have more compassion than them and this highlights just how corrupt and wayward the legal profession has become in India where lawyers are a law unto themselves. The Indian legal profession and judiciary are both falling in the eyes of the public and one is not surprised.

In addition, we feel that this is an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak up. After all, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) is one of his flagship social schemes, and if such a thing happens to a girl child, it decimates the raison d'être of the scheme. And this is not communal, this is not about Hindus or Muslims and the whataboutery that ensues. The Government should work double time to ensure that a case is filed and the accused no matter how close they are to the power that be in Jammu should be tried. Because if we cannot even do that much, we will know that the nation is a joke and the rule of law does not apply in this land. One should be clear, violence against children cannot be eliminated, there will always be monsters among us. But if a child is attacked or killed, we must, as a society, ensure that the child gets justice and those who took away that child’s life are unworthy of life themselves. We need our leaders to stand up and be counted in such instances and let the mob take over. Afisa is just the name today if justice is not done to her, tomorrow the name could well be someone close to the bone.

Courtesy: Pioneer: Editorial: Friday, 13 April 2018