He raped her and then brutally pumped the breath out of her adolescent body till she died. Her parents returned home to find their daughter lying mutilated and dead. You were outraged by this act of gross violence. You demanded that Dhananjay Chatterjee be hanged till death for the crime committed against Hetal Parekh. Fourteen years later when he was eventually executed, you wore black in mourning – you talked of human rights, and his scope for reformation; you cried that capital punishment should be abolished.
He open fired at innocent people in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. He orphaned Baby Moshe at the Nariman House. He crippled and maimed several Mumbaikars. You were outraged by this act of gross violence. You demanded that Ajmal Kasab be hanged till death for the crime committed against India – for holding a terrorized, terrified nation at gunpoint. Four years later when he was eventually executed, you wore black in mourning – you talked of human rights, and his scope for reformation; you cried that capital punishment should be abolished.
They forced themselves into her body, first individually, then together; and then they forced an iron rod inside her and punctured her uterus and lower intestines. She was in coma, her gangrened intestines having been completely removed from her body, fighting for life before she finally succumbed. You were outraged by this act of gross violence. You demanded that the rapists be hanged till death for the crime committed against the 23-year-old Jyoti on December 16th 2012.
A “fair trial” later when the perpetrators of the heinous act are possibly given the death sentence by the Supreme Court of the nation, you will again wear black in mourning – you will talk of human rights and reformation; you will cry that capital punishment should be abolished.
Today you put up status updates on Facebook demanding capital punishment for rapists.
Tomorrow when the President quietly orders their execution, you will suddenly become conscious of “human rights” and scream your lungs hoarse against death penalty. The day after tomorrow there will be rape of girlfriends, torture of sisters, beaten mothers, bruised wives.
There are questions that you need to ask yourself today — fundamental questions, fellow citizens. What does your anger amount to? Whom are you defending? What are you challenging? Who are you? Were those six men the only culprits? Did Nirbhaya die only because of those six? Is you silence not a crime? Is your misplaced judgement not questionable? Does your duty end with a candle light vigil outside Safdarjung Hospital and a silent protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar? Have you fought enough for Nirbhaya? Are her sisters safe in this world? Is your sister perfectly safe with you? And your mother? And your wife? And your daughter? And her girlfriends? Are you sensitive to their needs? And the needs of those absolutely unrelated to you by blood? Does Akshay Kumar pinching Sonakshi Sinha’s well-endowed bottom titillate you? Do you still sing tu cheez badi hai mast mast? Have you danced lately to the tunes of Jalebi Bai, Sheela ki Jawani, Munni, Chikni Chameli or Fevicol? Oh, have you also been vocal in your criticism of the Supreme Court vis-Ã -vis Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code while having mentally abused your “effeminate” friend from the all-boys Jesuit school by calling him “gay” for years?
There are questions that we need to ask ourselves today. Are we so insensitive that we can hoodwink ourselves to heaven?