Rape – No/No

By M.C. Linthoingambee

Sometimes a person does not know what or where they are putting themselves at. Mistakes do happen and such turn of events leads to a greater shock of incapacity to make decisions. And look at where it got us. Time has put us in a much happier place than those inevitable times of the two world wars that had bought untold suffering to mankind as posted in the UN Charter. We have been hurt before and we are recovering today. Everything stands in record of the hinted discovery of the past, perhaps in the hope that history shall not repeat itself at least not on such terms and manners. But new time calls for different measures and different fears. Rape is still one the dirtiest assault that has bought untold miseries on its victims which existed before and now. Sometimes rape happens to a person passing a dimly lit street, sometimes rape happens to prisoners of wars, sometimes rape happens to a person kidnapped for ransoms and these are just a few of the many deleted assault on our dignities.

Recently we even came across several categories of gang-rapes becoming a common crime daily with the national news covering a huge turn of these events. It is true that the Delhi Gang Rape case has turned the table and bought a huge recovery measure in implementing effective and legal sound ways of dealing with person that are responsible for such cases. More courts now hears more complaints from rape victims, more courts register cases for speedy trials, more police station are better equipped with manpower and ways to launch an FIR. Or so did we assume this too? A greater part of India is steeped in the fold of illiteracy where people still believes and roots for child marriage or in not allowing a girl child to be involved in matters of achieving a high academic career. Most of us live in the old world.

The statistics have also turned from the conviction rate of rape victims from a 26. 6 percent in 2010 and went down to merely a 24 percent in 2012. While other cases of molestation and eve teasing have classic records of volatile references in every year, the data source from the National Crime Records Bureau also tells otherwise of violence against women and the legal rights of its victims. The CJI has narrated the tale of the dropping conviction rates of rape offenders and their conviction into being scared in approaching the police stations and in people not knowing of the regulations of such crimes. The perimeter check now quickly rest on the growing force of the youths, those are greatly affirmed with the sufficiency of legal awareness of other persons who does not possess a law degree but trained to make other individuals hear of what has been unheard. While on the other hand there are also other reasons for the conviction rates slowing down, where the authorities responsible for registering rape cases has thus relaxed themselves of the job by ignoring it as a common occurrence. When we are nothing but one individual making a voice, we are more prone to being easily breakable.

Rape is recorded to be the fourth commonly occurring criminal offence in India. Although the Indian Penal Code defines of rape, it still fails to include marital rape as a common criminal offence whereas there are many victims of domestic violence inclined to the atrocity of marital rape with the diminishing effect of rape for dowry. Are we to take note of the convictions or the denials of convictions? Are there even places left to feel a little safer where even so called ‘godly men’ in the name of God rapes small children? We all know that these are not the examples we want to set for our children and their children thereafter. In the recent events of rape that have occurred in a small area in Uttar Pradesh, the resulting news coverage also showed clear clarification of a person’s denial in registering complaints of a missing sister or a missing child and many who have not returned home. This may be because there are many to guard and a few who stands guard. But mind it; these are not the ways we build our home. The measure of clarification needs a giant leap of climbing up the mountain piles of work files that still remains and dissolve them soon.