November 26, 2007
"This is an uncivilized act."News
Tipster Scherezade alerts us to a disturbing story out of Guwahati, about a protest gone horribly awry:
Assam was rocked by violence during Saturday’s protests by tribals backed by the All Assam Adivasi Students’ Association (AAASA) students when locals brutally beat them up resulting in at least one death and over 250 people getting injured.
But not only were the Adivasi students beaten up but the women protesters were stripped and molested by the residents of Guwahati.
A local Assamese businessman Ratul Burman was seen attacking a woman after she was stripped during clashes on Saturday. Burman and two others have been arrested. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has announced a Rs 1 lakh compensation to the woman.
The Chief Minister has indicated that he wants Burman to receive the “maximum punishment” for his role in this assault. More than 250 people were injured in Saturday’s protests.
In more incidents of violence in Assam two more people have been killed, one of them shot in firing by the army.
Army was called in to stage flag marches in Guwahati on Saturday evening after Adivasi students went on the rampage, looting shops and burning vehicles in Assam’s capital city.
The cause of the protest? A desire for Scheduled Tribe status.
In her tip, Scherezade says:
Residents beat up women who were a part of the All Assam Adivasi Students’ Association (AAASA). Local media has been circulating videos of a businessman constantly hitting a naked woman in the genitals with his boots and beating her with a wooden plank. Heart-breaking stuff. Stories like these almost never catch the eye of the larger(read: western) media. People I know of, who were witness to this horrendous atrocity lie injured in a hospital. It’s tragic.
::
Title is a quote from Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, about Burman’s violent assault on the women in the photograph.
anna on November 26, 2007 05:35 PM in News · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Sometimes 'eye-for-an-eye' doesn't make the whole world blind but rather provides a fitting punishment for such savagery.
What is the history of the relationship between adivasi and non-adivasi communities in Assam?
should be "history of the relationship between..."
long day.
Pish-posh. Nothing wrong with your comment. ;)
this is just vile. hard to put in words the kind of raw disgust that I feel right now.
I get tired of hearing this superlative from our politicians. WTF does maximum punishment mean? Are these guys going to be put to death? Surely not, although if they were that would not classify as extreme either IMO. I wish these guys would stop dealing in superlatives and match actions with their words.
More:
I feel stupid, but what is a TRP?
Whats more vile is those men standing there and laughing. Shame!
Yeah. :( That's why this post is light on "commentary".
Santosh, Al, I agree with you both.
TRP. Similar to Nielsen in the U.S.
Murali, here is what little I know of the regional conflict:
Many of the protesting Adivasis in Assam belong to what are called "tea labor" communities. In the mid 1800s, these Adivasis were brought to Assam as indentured workers from various other neighboring regions and "tribes" by the British for the sole purpose of farming on tea plantations. They ended up settling down there after their period of servitude was completed, and many continued agricultural labor, forming loose communities. They make up a large percentage of the state's population, I've heard about 1/5th or so. Because they were not "native" to the land, the gov. refuses to grant them Schedule Caste status which prohibits them from receiving the benefits of historically disadvantaged populations. This is generally what they protest against.
The state of the communities now can be considered somewhat analogous to that of natives in America, in that most live in extreme poverty and can barely survive off of the land. Alcoholism is a major issue, and high school drop out rates are high as well. Deforestation and other expansion programs are infringing on their ability to farm well, and employment in general is becoming scarce because of the mechanization of production (I think factories are one of the only centers of work in some of those areas).
Every now and then the communities receive some small munitary compensation for certain problems, but not much. They are, however, pretty visible in Assamese election campaigns, when their communities are often mentioned and used for political platforms.
Aah, let's just give them a few casinos and everything else can easily be forgiven and forgotten. Easy!
I know the pic's been pixellated but i cant help but look at that smear of crimson and hope it is fabric.
if there is a positive side - it would be that video proof of such brutalization is so hard hitting and the resultant public outrage so vehement, justice (or some manner of it) is delivered swiftly and the affair stays in the public eye. if these horrors are coming to light it is because technology is making the recording and the dissemination available to the average person. chicken shit though the guy was who took the vid, at least he did it.
monetary compensation*
I suppose I've had a long day, too!
Disgusting......the Indian legal system rarely works but hopefully public outrage will drive the court to make an example of this evil man and his goon squad
Reminded me of Kherlanji. Interestingly this link says that the CBI did not find any indications of rape when I remember pictures where genital violations using sticks were visible.
Akshay @ 11,
From whatever little I know, isn't there a Hindi/Bengali outsiders versus local Assamese angle to the Assam problem ?
Dang. That's all I can say.
This is absolutely horrible. It just makes me so angry! India as a whole just needs to get its act together and have some sort of respect for ALL of its people--not just the rich males.
repulsive. what sort of men are these? what's worse is that the three arrested are reportedly "postgraduates from good families." [aren't they always]. wonder what their mothers/sisters (if they have any) think of them?
" isn't there a Hindi/Bengali outsiders versus local Assamese angle to the Assam problem ?"
yes, although not sure that this is related to that. athough four bombs went off in assam today, which is apparently a day of protest by ulfa.
This image repulsed me and as a long time lurker I had to say something. On my brief visits to India I have noticed that cruelty is a more frequent occurrence in the homeland. Whether it's someone in a privileged position screaming and threating to a servant or the police not hesitating to use violence as a resolution.
People seem to be able to separate cruelty to fellow humans in categories where someone who they deem less than themselves is up for the same treatment they reserve for animals. What could a person who in the position of the businessman be thinking as he did to this to the woman in the picture? In India as in many developing countries, often privilege comes with the power to strike out without recourse ... I really do hope that the businessman gets punished but I have the sneaking feeling that he has power and with that will come a light sentence.
add the f*cker's name to the title of the post and he'll have google pagerank immortality (*evil grin*).
disgusting. yet, those barbarians will go caught free - justice in India often exists only on paper.
Damn that is sad and the worst part those assholes in te back laughing,I think that if they were real men they would have covered that young lady up.
Interesting Music Vieos when searching Assam Adivasi
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Assam+Adivasi+&search=Search
One reason why the larger (Western) media might try not to cover a story like this is because they want to avoid being accused of always focusing on the negative aspects of India. I mean, my old chemistry teacher was aaalllways going on about that like "The West always makes India look bad, look at the kinds of stories they publish! Poverty! Crime! They never have anything good to say!".
I'm an ex army personal when in the army we always wanted a chance, just one chance, 24 hours to rid the corrupt politicians from our country. a compensation of 1 lakh rs. to a woman who has been stripped of her dignity is not enough. the only way to restore the stripped womans dignity is to publicly punish or execute the responsible person or people.
Not just the west. Think of Ray and his movies...always showing poverty in India. Chee chee.
Must've been a bad week for women in India.
in this case i doubt the second guideline was a factor. burman did not believe an adivasi or a woman was worthy of being treated as a human, as one of his own. where does this thought come from? Likely the society he grew up in, the people he hung out with. this event is disappointing not only because of the hate of the individual at display, but because it is an indictment of the society -such as those grinning in the backdrop - around this guy.
The three who did that ghastly act have been arrested.
I am not convinced about the television footage though. Although it brought on the public outrage, It was plain cowardly , I couldn't just stand there.
What a shame. Heartbreaking.
All those so called men, who were laughing at this poor woman should be stripped and showed on all TV channels.
I cannot imagine what that woman must have gone through. She must have felt so helpless. All those people around her and no one to help.
Oh God!! Imagine her life now.
Isn't this episode another extension of the regular killing of Biharis/bhaiyas that happens in Assam? If i'm not mistaken the Adivasis are originally from Jharkhand, which was a part of Bihar and the people of both those states speak the same language and have similar cultures.
Truly disgusting. The criminals got to be punished.
On a different note, been a regular reader of ur blogs Anna; great job. keep going. if u have blogged somewhere on the current plight of Taslima Nasrin and the riots that hounded her out of calcutta, do give us the link.
One step forward, two steps back! I've said it before & I'll say it again!
After migrating to Canada in my late teens, I began to attend one of Toronto's Universities. My uncle, also a recent immigrant was curious about college life (seeing as his daughter would be attending ten years later) & asked me point blank if 'ragging' was something that took place on this side of the world. I of course had no idea what ragging was. I had no clue! I left India when I was 13. He had to explain it to me (from his college days in Bombay). I was shocked! I looked at him with disbelief & said that most certianly does not happen here. I couldn't believe that something like that could happen in India of all places, where boys & girls are taught to teach each other with respect from a young age, where Bhai/Bahen is a common call name among children & adults, strangers & friends. How does that level of respect get lost and lead to events like these? Why are things like this never portrayed in Bollywood movies? The west is not perfect, but an atrocity like this is not tolerated with a mere slap on the wrist. And people wonder why the West thinks India is uncivilized! I am truly horrified, angry and most of all ashamed! My heart goes out to the woman & her family.
Ragging varies from college to college in India, and maybe your uncle told you the worst. It was already on the decline in early 90s at my college, with the administration getting strict/er and disciplining seniors who were caught. My own experience? Except for one instance, it was a lot of fun, and the guys/seniors who ragged me also became best friends and helped me over the next few years. That's just how it worked. I'm also wondering about the fraternities/sororities in the US and their "pledges" and other activities, and how they compare to ragging. There's one movie called "Holi" that depicts college life (including some ragging) - it has a young Aamir Khan.
Because they're real and actually do happen ;)?
Ragging happens in top business schools - although tis more sophisticated.
Thanks Amit, Melbourne Desi & Someone!
It is definitely good to know that ragging is on the decline in India. Unfortunately, an incident like this is just shocking. Not too good for India's image....
Heinous act!
But, just a background. Of course from (nearly) first hand sources as ever. The santhals (otherwise called adivasis) are the workers in tea plantations in Assam. On Saturday, they took out a procession to demand the ST status in Assam, when they had permission only to hold a gathering. As a result security personnel were not deployed in adequate numbers and the adivasis indulged in unprovoked arson attacks on homes, shops and vehicles on their way to the secreteriat. This female, according to my (almost) first hand source, was an active participant in the arson. The perpetrators were mostly shopkeepers or vehicle owners who suffered property damage, and of course free floaters. They just waited for the adivasis to return. Then the free for all.
There are ethnic tensions in Assam, but this incident was mostly retaliatory and unexpected. I understand that the terms adivasi and women are supposed to evoke instant sympathy, but a little bit of background always helps.
Still a henious act no matter what the provokation, and no Assamese will condone this. This incident is particularly unfortunate and shameful for the average Assamese.
After migrating to Canada in my late teens, I began to attend one of Toronto's Universities. My uncle, also a recent immigrant was curious about college life (seeing as his daughter would be attending ten years later) & asked me point blank if 'ragging' was something that took place on this side of the world. I of course had no idea what ragging was. I had no clue! I left India when I was 13. He had to explain it to me (from his
It is called hazing in Amreeka.
It happens to varying degree in various fraternities, and sororities, and even in dorms.
A few years ago, a freshmen died at MIT by forced binge drinking during freshmen hazing.
Even West Point has had very heinous hazing incidents, including women who left West Point soon after.
Skull and Bones from Yale is very famous for secret hazing that only George Bush and John Kerry share the secret.
Ragging is on decline in India, but it still happens, and like here, it is more entrenched in elite schools. like IITs and IIMs.
I'm told Paul Giamatti, William F. Buckley, Eric Liu, or Dana Milbank might also be in on this secret . . . .
;-)
This is tip of the iceberg
MIT's Inaction Blamed for Contributing to Death of a Freshman
By LEO REISBERG
Cambridge, Mass.
Long before Scott Krueger drank himself to death at a Phi Gamma Delta initiation event last year, there were signs that social life in the Greek system at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was getting out of hand.
In 1996, three Boston College students were hospitalized on separate occasions for alcohol poisoning after partying at Phi Gamma Delta, an M.I.T. fraternity. A fed-up dean at the college asked the neighboring university to take some action. ...........more here
Hazing has such a long history in West Point, there is even a book on it......Bullies and Cowards
All military academies here have had recent exposure of extreme hazing, especially with induction of women cadets.
university to take some action. ...........more here
The link is here for MIT story
Now link to hazing in High Schools.
You do a PhD on hazing traditions in military academies in America, UK, and also elite boarding schools in UK>
Kush, I could be wrong but from what I know (comparing what my friends told me), ragging was much extreme in private colleges as compared to the elite schools - because the latter had stricter administration.
Kush, I could be wrong but from what I know (comparing what my friends told me), ragging was much extreme in private colleges as compared to the elite schools - because the latter had stricter administration.
Yes, my father used to be one of the dean of University of Roorkee (now IIT) in 80-90s, and they would be 40-50 faculty members doing 24 hours/ 7 shifts in different dorms, but still a lot of ragging happened. Being expelled from an elite institute is kiss of death in India - socially, and economic opportunities. I guess private Universities in India do not invest that much.
It is different in India, like in IIT or Stephen's College, you have a kid who has never left home, and is suddenly thrown to a dorm, and sometimes, quite demeaning ragging can leave an effect. By the time, you have reached IIMs, you are in your 20s, 30s, or even older.
Nobody should deny that, it is not a problem in India. However, saying that it does not exist in West is little too much. It is very much alive, most commonly in binge drinking ceremonies for underage.
But MsCutePants comment quite ironic about hazing/ ragging an Indian phenomenon. Since ragging/ hazing for incoming freshmen in schools, universities, and athletic teams is a rite of passage very alive in West. Or, bullying is a universal trait all across the world.
It lives very strongly in America, even in high schools. In military academies, the top hazers are sometimes the top alpha cadets (and seen as future generals and admirals). A year or two ago, NYT did some thorough research** where upper classmen in leadership roles in military academies in US (in Annapolis, West Point, even Air Force academy in Colorado) were even involved in rape, etc, but never reprimanded, as these upper classmen were very powerful, and were seen as future leaders*.
I made a comment on Skull and Bones......both Kerry and Bush were asked about initiation ceremonies in 2004 election TV interviews, and both kept quiet, and smiled. The movie Good Shepard shows some of them (where upper classmen pee on initiates) but nobody knows how true they are.
* The military academy in India has also had hazing incidents, so do boarding schools in India (I am not saying it is any less in equivalents in India), But, maybe, you are not probably going to see hazing in Madrassas, and Rabindra Nath Tagore's Shantinekatan. Recently, a female cadet in Indian Air Force has sued Indian Government for harassment. As I said, it is a universal phenomena.
** This happened when some women left out of disgust but were generally declared unfit for the rigors of the academy, and never redressed. Now, these academies are waking up, and are responding to it.
Yesterday kicked off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. You can find a listing of events in your hometown here and a Take Action Kit here.
Why is this becoming a thread about hazing/ragging? How does this even compare to hazing/ragging? Are there universities where you have to be stripped naked in public and beaten and kicked in the genitals to get into some clique, because that's what this is about--women being stripped naked in public and savagely beaten.
To the people who feel that the person who made the video did not do enough--how do you know the camera-person was a man? And even if it was a man, is a man not allowed to be scared? You all are pretty quick to judge from afar--I hope you never find yourself in a similar situation where your macho courage might be tested. I think the person that took shot the video was pretty courageous, and I think your sexist condemnation of the camera-person reveals a shade of the same sort of patriarchal attitude that lies at the root of this horrendous act.
Are there universities where you have to be stripped naked in public and beaten and kicked in the genitals to get into some clique,
Definitely in some high schools. You might want to read this.
PS: This is my last comment, and I did not start the discussion on hazing/ ragging. In broad sense, I agree hazing, and violence of this post are not in the same league.
One disturbing trend is how common violent action is/is becoming as a "means" of political protest or action. Cuts across all parties and all groups.
Hey Kush Tandon, don't stop commenting on my account. I've always avoided frat-like groups because I've always had some kind of unjustified aversion to them, so I had no idea that things routinely got that bad. (And, ever so predictable, here comes the Frat Defense Committee...)
spidy @ 42,
This retaliatory attitude amongst people in the Indian subcontinent is very great. I have also seen people don't like criticism of their action also very much. What is the psychology behind that ? I feel as acommunity aren't the Indians most voilent - look at ragging, domestic voilence, political voilence etc. etc. and forget all this what about the parent/teachers beating children at home and school. That doesn't happen everywhere.
Amit @29
I take exception to this comment. His movies are excellent and subtle portrayal of reality.
I think the crux of the matter is that people in the sub-continent need to respect humanity and vent their anger in more refined, democratic ways.
Hierarchies and established pecking orders are very rigidly maintained in Indian culture. It's perfectly acceptable for a man to beat a man from a lower caste, a man to beat a woman from his own or lower caste, and for anybody to beat a child from an equal or lower caste, etc. Anybody who is lower in the pecking order is fair game, and society will back this up. Schools have introduced yet another hierarchy into this millennia-old mix. What's really interesting is that most everybody knows exactly where they fall in the pecking order--whom they must defer to and who they can abuse.
Thanks for posting this story.
I would have commented earlier than this except I have been trying to get information from a journo pal who is in Assam right now. Apparently some of the processionists/activits started vandalizing shops in the locality and from thereon it was more of a violence begets violence situation.
More at: http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=128041
Brij, my comment was tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at some folks who use that line to criticize him. Satyajit Ray is one of my all time favorite directors, no questions asked. I wouldn't have his pic here otherwise. :)
Disgusting.. It looks like there was just one person (or a handful) committing the crime. I wonder why the protesters did not gang up to pay him back.
L- does not spend anytime criticizing the indian judiciary! Just an observation:)
Hey Kush Tandon, don't stop commenting on my account
Oh, I just meant on this thread. Later, I also thought that ragging/ hazing discussion was a digression on this thread.
The picture and story absolutely broke my heart. Just broke my heart. =(
nil said:
And this is why, in part I'm sure, those men in the background are laughing at the naked, beaten woman. They don't see her as their equal..she is probably a dog in their eyes. Which is sad because not even an animal deserves to be treated in such a manner.by the way the recent bbc story on this is much better....you actually get answers to some of the questions raised in this thread and some history (it tells you why the humanoid "businessman"--actually a shop owner-- was a prominent attacker).
I just don't understand why one has to be voilent to express their anger against anything. Why cannot it be done in a more refined way ? Tit-for-Tat can lead into a never ending absyss and cycle of atrocious acts. Or is it that the "system" has become so rigid that to catch the attention and make any difference with protests, one has to resort to voilence ? And will such voilence become more of a norm as segments of the population start doing well as opposed to and in some cases at the expense of the have-nots ?
>>Hierarchies and established pecking orders are very rigidly maintained in Indian culture... lower caste...another hierarchy into this millennia-old mix
It took 54 comments to link this incident to Hinduism?!! Man, SM is not the same it was a couple of years ago!!
But what about Gujarat? And Modi?
M. Nam
Paging Pink Brigade. :)
MoorNam - you're overreacting. Hierarchy trumps religion on the subcontinent.
Everyday the US arms uses airpower against civilian areas in Iraq. Every week NATO helicopters bomb a school in Afganistan.
NO PROBLEM. This is acceptable because white massa is doing so. He is always right and whatever he does very proper.
But this stupid hindu brown people - how gross and uncivilized they are ! They dont treat people right. They also have this horrible caste system. And have you smelt their food? Ugh !
Now I must go and enjoy my nice suburban home. The land was taken thru war from the native inhabitants of the region, the local economy was built by slaves. NO PROBLEM.
Al beruni @ 67,
Is somebody else wrong-doings a raison d'etre for India's unjustified acts. Right now it is about calling spade a spade and analyzing that. Digression is escapism.
You're right, we should aim our anger and attention that way, because we might run out of it if we express it over this brown-on-brown and thus, by definition, less-outrageous incident.
So we should ignore this or not get exercised over a booted man kicking a woman's vagina because it was an Indian man assaulting a woman? That's some shameful trolling you're up to.
Disappointing, Al beruni.
The issue is essentializing a horrific atrocity (extreme violence against a woman) and turning it into broad cultural commentary. My point is that this treatment is exclusively reserved for other cultures, not the western ones. There have been many comments on this thread that lean in that direction. So there is often a kind of cultural blindness at work here.
Nala,
>>MoorNam - you're overreacting. Hierarchy trumps religion on the subcontinent
But Harbeer is linking hierarchy to religion (via caste). And that's what I was reacting to.
Harbeer,
When Karunanidhi (who is a notorious hindu-baiter) came to power, he and his henchmen (who profess to be low-caste) tried to strip Jayalalitha (an upper-caste) in the TN parliament. Would it be right for me to presume that such acts are usually done by people who profess no affinity to Hinduism?
What people don't realise is that violating a woman's chastity causes a major disturbance in the force, and those who do it will suffer severe consequences. When such an incident happened a few thousand years ago, all the hundred brothers responsible for it, including passive onlookers who could do something but did not, paid for the incident with their lives. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
Could't the shopkeepers (whose shops were being vandalised by the woman) just have pinned her down and handed her over to the police? Let her get 10 years, 20 years in prison. How difficult is that?
M. Nam
Anand (28):
Whoa. Execution? I agree, this is vile. But I don't think the perpetrator deserves death. Seems like you'd need a bit more information before you run him off to the gallows like that.
To the loony-toons troll in 67 (and yes, I know all about the care and feeding of trolls, thank you):
You're so right! Oh my god! We should all immediately kill ourselves! Preferrably by strapping a few pounds of high explosive to our chests and then running into the nearest crowd of people who stereotype! The resulting identity chaos will totally confuse the white massa, who will suddenly be forced to mix Muslims with Hindus when fearing the brown!
Who's with me?
Too late :-/
This really burns me up!!!!!!! So it was the victim's fault?!!!! Whether the vandalizing happened or not, I don't see the connection between that and the humiliation of this poor woman. Damn!
I wish someone would post that picture of those bastards on billboards all over India, along with their names.
Depends on from what perspective you're looking at it. It's the same 'natural' behaviour one sees during war where (especially)the woman of the combatting parties become victim of sexual violence. By raping/assaulting the wifes of the so-called 'other' one claims dominance over the other (in patriarch societies the male others). The violence against this woman was not only directed at her but at her whole community who by being unable to defend her were psychologically defeated .
Nobody likes to be told to be wrong, even worse to be morally wrong or accept to be 'de-throned'. The hostilty that a new employee with a 'big mouth' experiences or a family member that goes against the elders will be of less proportions when it's somebody outside the community. Somebody above mentioned Irak, it's basically the same; if the same kind of massmurder would take place within the 'American community' nobody would even think of accepting it but since it's 'the other' it's somehow justified or evokes less sentiment.
"will such voilence become more of a norm" I think that is really the key thing the officals should focus on. In my opinion the woman, her community, the entire Assam community are not really helped with a statement or even a punishment. People tend to get defensive (feel attacked, want to preserve their position) when they or their community are critized (morals are attacked) and therefore dismiss, glorify, justify actions such as these. Jail won't change a thing, most likely the assaulter (is that a word) will think of himself as innocent and that's the last thing that will help this woman to recover from these brutal events. One of the things I d0 believe help her in her 'healing' process is when her attackers and the people who let it happen fully realize/aknowledge that what they did to her was wrong and that they did not only hurt her community but their own as well. And that's the diffrence the officals in Assam should make... I think.
That said I have to say that I absolutely heart the term South Asian, it gets rids of 'the other' sentiments on basic levels and helps to prevent violence or hatred against the other. Most likely people will demand a punishment but the demand for equality will ensure more justice and I hope they will continue their protest.
(Ofcourse I could be totally wrong when it comes to my views)
Still, it is startling to read about so much violence against another human my prayers go out to her and her loved ones.
More on point, I have to wonder what the diaspora's role in responding to this kind of thing should be. It strikes me that there is a fundamental problem for the West in reporting on this stuff without seeming to be racially biased. Yet this is obviously a major human rights issue, especially given how heavily the West (well, the US anyway) leans on India as a model of third world secular (well... "secular") democracy. Going back to that USINPAC post, it seems that the diaspora could serve an important role in structuring a response that is both strongly critical but coming from inside the community.
If the problem is that the Indian legal system is just letting this stuff pass, it seems to me that diaspora-driven political pressure from its allies (and, more importantly, the sources of its newfound economic boom) could be very effective.
While so much being talked and shown about India's "progress" these sorts of things really show where India
stands! What a shock when a businessman from a local community taking part in this act!! I recall the BJP government
had slogans "India Shining". I do not know what the Congress and the Communists are doing now (probably a lot of
back door deals). India cannot aspire to be very high up in the ladder of human rights and transparency unless the
entire system is dismantled and started from the scratch. Do you imagine this would have happened in China? No - those
three men would have been short on the back of their head the next day.
Indians are indifferent to such things. They forget and avoid as nothing happened to them. I have experienced
that in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai (Calcutta slightly different). Media rarely follows up on past events.
The legal system is corrupt and weak. The police forces are dysfunctional, corrupt, and at the mercy of the
politicians. How can you expect to be in 21st century when people do such things? Let's try to read the minds
of these people --
1) are they upset because the tribal folks will get better jobs?
2) why is there no program to teach tolerance to these ignorant "beasts"?
These beasts and their associates should think of surviving in a competitive world.
Unless India tackles such problems, it cannot aspire to be country with high values and prosperity. I think
it can barely reach the level of countries like Brazil and other Latin nations. Rich can have their expensive
cars and nice houses surrounded by slums -- they cannot drive -- may have to take helicopters to work as do
the executives do in Sao Paulo. China is on the other end - disciplined work force, a common national goal to
be the #1 country in the world.
Shame on India!!
Javier, striking diff between China and India: no religion.
At times, I'm very intrigued by China's political system. You have one Party, anyone can join it, and they have elections within the Party. So you have a democratic system that includes only the politically educated. And the effect is that policy changes are gradual as the Party composition and thinking changes, instead of the random and unproductive lurches in policy in the multiparty democracy system.
are you claiming that the best wy to be high up on the ladder on human rights and transparency is be like China and shoot prisoners in the back of the head? China has one of the worst records on human rights in the world!!! are you serious?
Let's not confuse following a political system with following/repeating a country's history :).
Well, all indications are that the videotapers did nothing. The BBC news article reports that the woman was rescued by a few local people. If a few locals could do so, why not the journalists and TV cameramen? They would lose the story? Many news agencies---including the BBC---claim this as their story---which would have meant there were multiple people covering the story there if not videotaping. In fact, some news reports do indicate this was not one of those citizen-cameras, there were regular TV cameramen.
This point is very disturbing to me---when I was in Mumbai a month back, there were similar stories---among them was an identical story. It has been ignored by western news tabs since, but it aired on Indian news channels---CNN/IBN, NDTV, Aaj Tak and some others. A boy was stripped and beaten up in Andhra when he was suspected to have been a thief.
Not one person rescued the boy, who could not have been more than in early teens. And it wasn't as if there was a mob---it was a "family affair", with men and women, who all further encouraged even children to take turns beating up the kid for what appeared to be a long time.
Why did the photographer who gleefully shot the footage say nothing? Don't care if s/he wasn't successful in stopping it, but say something---or call/go get the police, your camera gives them a chance to play the hero after all---is that so hard? It wasn't as if s/he was dealing with hundreds of people, there were about 4 or 5 at any given point. Maybe once, twice, you don't know what to do---but the news agencies that train their journalists, you would think they would teach them to react better. But no, let us watch the fun?
If something doesn't stir inside someone in the face of such disgusting actions and s/he uses the camera to get a story when it can help the victim, I don't get it. But while I am not so keen on absolving the TV cameramen and journalists and calling them heroes as Harbeer likes to, I agree we should not forget who the criminals really are.
Second point: while many of you are making into a women's rights thing, I think these shameful stories---if you include the many others (you probably didn't hear of them) which did not always involve women or adivasis but were identical to this in every other regard in the recent past---are part of a broader picture. It is the assumption of impunity that many have in India. While, it is not always correlated with caste, wealth or even gender alone, it is often a combination of the above. The reason for that is not hard to see---for the last half century, lot of people indeed have had complete protection from law. Take that away, you get rid of all this in my mind. And like it or not, this protection from law is a fallout from unbridled socialism---just as unbridled capitalism can fester.
Unfortunately or fortunately, it is almost never as simple as higher caste= more power, or more wealth as any article about India in western papers allude to. It is the dominant local caste (many times, OBC)=more power. Imo, it is no longer the ancient hierarchy at work, rather, it is a new social grouping/ordering that is happening to compete for insufficient resources in India. But what is always true is that some groups are always at the bottom---adivasis, dalits and women among these groups.
And it is not specific to India as many of you are so thrilled to say---when you know the law won't hit you (whether you are these monsters in Assam or a white guy in 50's America exploiting a black person or a mid-eastern Sheik exploiting Indian workers or a British officer at the turn of last century in India or a European today in the many countries where illegal immigrants do not have sanctuary laws), it is the same.
i have to wonder about those who think india is a hellhole and in the same breath think india should look to that shining beacon of human rights, china, for inspiration in that department. at least in india you have a better chance of seeing video or reading news stories about this disgusting way of exacting revenge on someone. while these men are probably a waste of space and taking up good oxygen on this earth, summarily executing them is hardly something to which to aspire. and let's not forget - there were assamese who did help her after seeing her plight and alerted the police.
Not to mention China's excellent Quality Control system. No thanks, I'll take India's messy democracy and take steps (however small/slow) to improve it, rather than 15% growth rate and a system like China's.
True the people on this side of the globe are extremely interessted in politics and human welfare and have no clue who Angelina Jolie, Madonna or Britney are.
From what I know the celebs here sell better than any social issue. Man and woman have to deal with with extreme violence (say it in diffrent forms)in your backyard too and the media is just as indifferent/selective as the endless stream of badnews is... a bit boring.
Violence doesn't have a nationality or an ethnicity.
aaargh.. Javier, I just assumed you were living outside India forget the backyard thing. The whole point I wanted to make is that Indians don't have the monopoly on violence and indifference.
Data?
A terrible, terrible crime, but sexual(ized) violence and humiliation of women, even in public, is nothing new in human behaviour, nor is it limited to Desh. What is rare is an actual media image of it.
@Javier
Calling him a 'businessman' and an active recepient of the 'India Shining' windfall would be a stretch! He actually ran a small roadside shop, and vandalism in his shop would be a direct assault on his livelihood. Now read the mind of this person you moron! He had every right to be pissed imo. But what he did was horrible, and hopefully will be adequately punished. But still some perspective always helps drown inane comments calling for this man's execution. Whatever problems you have with India and higher castes in particular.. shove it!!!
A report of a meeting with the women who was so brutally beaten -
Dignity devoured, by pack of wolves
For the folks who get all hot and bothered when I pointed out their hypocrisy in casting this event as flowing out of indian/hindu culture - another NATO air-strike on afghan civilians is reported today !!
NATO Airstrike Kills 14 Afghans
What do we learn from this? That european culture is fundamentally brutal? That while christians dont care about any other race?
An example of the misogynist attitude held by many Indian men. Leave the men alone with their right to free speech but how dare a woman dissent, in public no less? stripping them is an act meant to remove their identity, their dignity and ultimately, their voice. The public beatings are also indicative of deep rooted hatred towards an entire sex, especially the focus on damaging her genitals.
I sometimes wish to go back to that country, then something like this happens and I remember why I left in the first place.
Read Sudhir Kakar's Freudian analysis of India's sexual culture and view of women. I'm not a Freudian myself, but I gotta admit, there's alot of material for a Freudian to work with there.
From Indian Express,
Looks like the girl is braving it well and ready to fight back. Good to see her being supported by the family and community (as opposed to the many cases where they are shunned and even punished by their own for getting into the unfortunate situation).
Thanks, SJB, you illustrate perfectly the one-note "essentialism" and hypocrisy of some commentators that I have earlier noted in this discussion.
You forgot to mention that many indian men grow a lot of ear hair; the combination of curry smell and ear hair would make anyone wanna throw up !
I would aver that you're not scoring any debate points or persuading anyone with statements like this. There is no need to lash back with "but...but...America sucks!" whenever something negative is blogged about India.
Your focus on this instead of the woman's plight is telling; perhaps there is nothing more to discuss and it is time to close the thread.
Thanks Jungli, I checked the book out on Amazon and am looking forward to reading it. I was worried about expressing my opinion here, as the general tone of commentators on this site seems to be terribly gynophobic. As such, I thank you again.
This is silly and condescending. India has a (fiercely) independent media and a (substantially) independent judiciary. These things tend to sort our issues on its own. The diaspora is not really relevant to India, or its economic boom, and won't (nor should it) have any real influence in India.
This comment is no more helpful than Al Beruni's. To contend that the general tone of discussion on this site is gynophobic is a sweeping insult, one which I don't think we deserve.
Thank you, dont come again!!
As an Indian living in India, I sometimes feel that I have overstayed my welcome in this site.
This site is more than one or two commenters, in fact, the vast majority of our readers are lurkers who read but don't participate in the discussion. If you want to leave for your stated reason, you would be mistaken about "overstaying".
This thread is inspiring some odd reactions in a few of you. Lots of assumptions, petulance and inaccurate characterizations. No one would want you to leave this site. This site is not gynophobic. Ear hair and curry don't mix.
What's wrong with you lot this morning?
Who the hell fears gyros? They're delicious. Put a little sauce on them, even better. Kebabophobia I could understand, but gyros? Oh, gy-no! Nevermind. On the other hand, same differnce.
does that really exist? just curious....
Sorry, I didn't mean it to be condescending. There is a definite implication in both the story and the discussion that Indian courts might not respond as well as human rights advocates would want them to. That's not a problem specific to India. Very often, courts in ANY democratic society fall down when it comes to applying the law to things which may be politically controversial. Often, political pressure external to the judicial system is necessary.
The major part of that is OBVIOUSLY activism within the country. I know India has a fiercely independent media. But so does America (though less than before), and isn't always enough to force our courts to treat controversial issues fairly. In some cases, realpolitik helps. My question was whether this was one of these cases. If it's not, fine.
@102,
Here it exists
"Gynophobia is a traumatic stress disorder that causes a great amount of discomfort in a person when placed in social situations with women.
Gynophobics often become withdrawn and quiet, frustrated, sad, and/or antisocial in general when the psychosomatic symptoms of gynophobia surface."
oh....i thought it was someone who is afraid of v@ginas....
Like this one?
Al beruni, I couldn't make out whether you were in full agreement with SJB or if you were mocking her/him?
Shyamajiu
My comments were part of a larger thread in which I pointed out that many commentators quickly went from the sad tragedy of the victim to very general comments about indian men, society, caste system etc. My observation is that this type of comment is reserved for "lesser" cultures and not for western societies.
When westerners behave appallingly there is always nuance and care taken to distinguish between the action and the culture as a whole. SO the invasion of Iraq and careless murder of its people or the 2 million dead vietnamese has nothing to do with american culture in general, it has to do with George Bush or LBJ and so is carefully contextualized. But this treatment is not given to the "lesser" folks who are "over there".
SJB is a good example of this type of hypocrisy. Based on this atrocity she freely condemns ALL indian men and indian society in general.
What makes you think I'm a "she"? curious.
SM Intern, it wasn't meant as an insult. I've been a regular reader for over a year and have never participated in discussions because I personally (through my own observations