Trigger warning: mentions of rape and religious fundamentalism
Karnataka-based godman, Raghaveshwara Bharathi, is a rape-accused in two separate cases. High court judges have been recusing themselves from his case, one after the other. Why?
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“The sacredness of life, honored in our religious traditions, grounds our belief in the ultimate meaning and value of the child. This sacredness of life compels us to be a voice of conscience. If we fail to protect the child, we deny our humanity, risk our future and betray our beliefs.”
– Religions for Peace Executive Committee’s statement on the commitment to eliminate violence against children
An incident involving one of the biggest godmen from one of Karnataka’s maths (monasteries) has come to light. It is against Raghaveshwara Bharathi. More than 10 high court judges recused themselves from the case i.e., they refused to hear the case.
The leader is accused of raping a woman between 2011 to 2014. Another survivor alleged that she was raped when she was 15 years old. Presently, charges from the POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, have been added to the case.
Something Is Fishy: 10 Judges And 17 Recusals
So, talking about judges’ recusals, there were different reasons given by the judges. Some of them said that they were followers of a different seer. Others said that their children are classmates of the survivor’s daughter.
Then again, it is to be noted that recusals are usually announced without giving any reasons, and as a practice, it is always welcomed as a step towards impartiality.
Judges like Ram Mohan Reddy, the late Mohan Shantanagoudar, N Kumar, HG Ramesh, and PB Bhajanthri, too, rescued themselves by giving different reasons.
A total of 17 instances of various judges rescued themselves from various cases has occurred, so far, from November 2014 to February 2021.
How To Hold The Powerful Accountable?
The main question which should come to our mind is: did all the judges recuse themselves just because the case was against a leader of the biggest math. If this is the case, then how can anyone come up hold the powerful accountable?
The women spoke up about what happened to them in their past. Isn’t it important to take up these cases at a greater speed, and put the judges in a professional position to give an unbiased opinion?
Professionalism is lacking in such cases. Are we becoming unquestioning followers of our religious leaders? Answering this question is very simple and it is a big “yes!”
Religious Leaders Should NOT Be Above Scrutiny
We are becoming unquestioning followers of religious leaders. We don’t trust the kids, or other victims, in such cases. We always think that these people (godmen) are super good. We always portray them as god.
Even the leader of the math portrayed himself as an incarnation of lord Ram. Such cases are seen not only in Hinduism, but also in other religions. Crime is never religion-based. It happens with many, but only some come out in the open to share their traumatic experiences.
Again, as expected: these leaders are always more powerful than the survivors. Many a times, it is also seen that such cases are taken to religious courts instead of taking it to legal authorities.
If anyone tries to give it a legal turn, the person is removed from the community. This is the very reason why such crimes are not discussed by the survivors.
What Can We Do To Keep Everyone Safe?
1. We need to create safe and child-friendly places, by warning children against sexual abuse.
2. We need to create a code of conduct on how to interact with children, as adults.
3. We need to establish procedures for child-friendly incident reporting.
4. We need to raise awareness against the problem of child sexual abuse.
5. We need to report cases to the relevant authorities.
6. We need to stay informed of all the realities around us.
Sexual abuse is not because of religious doctrines, but because of these so-called leaders who have extraordinary power over their followers. Some of them misuse their power to abuse their followers.
As human beings, we must always feel the pain of the survivors and we should work to ensure that such cases are not taken to a religious court. We need to make sure that religious leaders are never above the law. The law is the same for everyone!