Capital Punishment: A tool against Dissent

In the recent days, the whole Punjab was on the boil over the issue of execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana. Consequently the issue of the death penalty surfaced and discussed all over for its various aspects. Students with all their potential of changing the dynamics of the society must discuss this subject in its every aspect. We don’t want to romanticize the whole matter but the importance and sensitivity of the issue demands a much deeper investigation. So the Students for Society feel obligatory to present its point of view on the issue of death sentence.

The Current Issue:- The present issue regarding the execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana has a complex background that must be taken into account for before anything else. We all know that impunity has prevailed in Punjab for decades and culprits of “crimes against humanity” are enjoying high ranks in police and other government departments. Police led huge mass killings and fake encounters of innocent people on the name of terrorists in counter-insurgency operation. Indian judiciary has blatantly failed to address these mass level human rights violations. After the attack on Golden temple (1984) it was another attack on the dignity and identity of a Sikh minority. Consequently the sharp dissent against State emerged when Beant Singh, the CM of Punjab was assassinated in a bomb blast at the secretariat complex in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. Most of us know the judicial drama after this assassination. Recently, an additional Session judge in Chandigarh ordered Rajoana’s execution on March 31, 2012. On March 28, 2012 India's Home Ministry stayed the execution following clemency appeals filed by the SGPC. In the same case, Jagtar Singh Hawara appealed and his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. But Rajoana has never sought clemency. He explained his actions. He described the deep wounds on the minority’s psyche caused by the despoiling of the Golden Temple by the security forces during Operation Blue Star. He spoke of the pogrom following Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984. He asked the Chief Justice of India who were the terrorists: those who did these acts or those who defended the victims.

Underlying problem of Centralised Structure:- In fact the whole issue has much more dimensions than just being an ordinary criminal case. It has a political dimension related to it that is regarding the rights of minorities and their present state in the country. The political structure of our country is centralized enabling the centre to exercise supreme powers over the regional governments which leads to centralisation of power in hands of the central government. Whereas India is a country where different ethnicities have flourished, evolved and even assimilated into mainstream Indian culture yet always retained its identity owing to various geographical terrains and different forms of historical formations. In the crux, India is a multi-national, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country. Different communities over the period have been alienated due to such a centralised structure and political movements have surfaced there indicating this fundamental problem in our structure. But instead of addressing this genuine political issue our governments have always tried to suppress the political dissent by using its state machinery, be it the armed forces or the judicial system. Balwant Singh Rajoana himself represents that political dissent and his execution is not a judicial but a political matter all along. The solution to these problems doesn’t lie in the oppression using different tools, but in addressing the genuine issue with an honest and rational approach. Hence, it is vital that to respect this socio-historic fact and maintain the unity among various communities along with inherent dignity, India must adopt a genuine decentralised federal structure.

Collective Conscience and State’s Manipulation:- "The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, has shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will be satisfied if the capital punishment is awarded to the offender."

This is what the judgement of the Supreme Court of India says in case of Mohammad Afzal Guru who is convicted for the attack on the parliament. It is shocking that the Apex Court has awarded capital punishment ‘to satisfy the collective conscience of the people’ instead of providing the justice. It just seems like a ‘ritual murder’. But these kinds of collective conscience, most of the times, is artificially generated by media and news channels only against the minorities, but not in the cases when fascist forces like Ranbir Sena commit mass murders of Dalits and religious minorities. We have witnessed thousands of people being killed in organised manner for political gains by various groups like in Delhi(1984), Gujrat(2002) and Kandhmal(Orissa 2007), dividing the masses on communal lines. On the other hand, villages have been burnt and women have been raped by armed forces in various parts of the country, but those incidents weren’t big enough to ‘Shake the Nation’. This shows how the ruling classes manipulate the situations to serve its purpose without taking into account the impact such thing would have on a larger scale. The ‘rarest of rare’ clause has always been used politically. In fact, capital punishment is a tool in the hands of the state to silent every political dissent.

There have been several other cases when the ruling class have used the judicial system as a tool of oppression. Jitan Marandi, a cultural activist from Jharkhand was convicted to death in the Chilkhari case by a Session Court in Jharkhand. The death penalty was issued by the judge on the basis of some undependable evidence. By the build-up through media he was drawn in a false case and even sentenced to death. He was targeted because he was exposing the harsh reality of tribal areas and was fighting for the rights of the most oppressed people. Jitan Marandi could finally get acquitted in the case after the people campaigned in his favour overwhelmingly and intentions of the state were exposed. Where 77% the people in a country are living below 20 rupees daily, resistance is inevitable. And the every person exposing this exploitation is targeted at by the ruling class. So is the case of Binayak Sen who was sentenced for life imprisonment.

Death Penalty, the ultimate denial of human rights:- Every time these kinds of punishments are used to silent the dissenting voices rather than addressing real problems, which doesn’t seem to be the character of a democratic country. The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice. As long as human justice remains fallible, the risk of executing the innocent can never be eliminated. The death penalty does not deter crime, and there is always the danger of an innocent person being put to death. It is revenge, not justice. Also according to Amnesty International, The death penalty:

• denies the possibility of rehabilitation and reconciliation.
• promotes simplistic responses to complex human problems, rather than pursuing explanations that could inform positive strategies.
• is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it. It is an affront to human dignity.

Moreover if we look into facts that most of the times capital punishment is exercised over the minorities, tribals, dalits, poor class and most oppressed people. Crime is not an individual phenomenon, it is either a state supported act or consequence of the complex and exploitive socio-economic structure of our society. By creating fear in human mind, problems can’t be eliminated otherwise there was no need to fight for democratic values during feudal era. Thus all the political prisoners must be released and all the political and socio-economic issues must be treated in a rational and democratic way. Hence capital punishment is not justified rather it becomes a tool of oppression against dissent in the hands of state curtailing democratic space. Now 97 countries have abolished death penalty on these grounds respecting the human life and its value. So we appeal the students to come in front to oppose this barbaric institution of State oppression and agitate for Abolition of Death Penalty in any case. At last, we appeal the conscious and responsible students to struggle for Balwant Singh Rajoana’s release and also fight against opportunistic fundamentalist state sponsored fascist forces.

Invitation:- We, SFS cordially invite you to attend a discussion on Capital Punishment. Date :- 11th April, 2012                                               Time :- 04:30 pm Venue :-Lawn Between Arts Block-3 and Women Studies Department, Near UBS Canteen, Panjab University Contact: 9463154024                      Email: sfs@studentsforsociety.co.in                         www.studentsforsociety.co.in

Decade of Shame: Fascism and Gujarat

Any society built on the foundations of law would not require the widow of a victim to petition the highest court of the land in order to investigate the reasons behind the state’s failure to protect the life of its citizens during those fateful days. – Siddharth Varadarajan, “The Buck Must Stop at the Very Top”, The Hindu, 20 November 2010.

“We don’t have any orders to save you”; “We cannot help you, we have orders from above”; “If you wish to live in Hindustan, learn to protect yourself”; “How come you are alive? You should have died too”; “Whose house is on fire? Hindus’ or Muslims’?” In some cases phone lines were eventually cut to make it impossible to call for help. – An excerpt from the report by Human Rights Watch on the Gujarat carnage tells about the replies by the Gujarat Police officials to victims calls.

The violence in Gujarat started on February 27, 2002, when a train carrying Hindu pilgrims were allegedly attacked in Godhra by a Muslim mob and caught fire, killing 58 people. What exactly happened in Godhra still remains a mystery with various accounts circulating it. It was widely reported that a scuffle began between Muslim vendors and Hindu activists shortly after the train arrived at the station. One account says that the kar sevaks, deliberately or otherwise, provoked Muslim vendors on Godhra station including dragging a Muslim girl towards the coach. Other account goes saying that the activists were said to have refused to pay a vendor until he said “Jai Shri Ram”. As the train then tried to pull out of the station, the emergency brake was pulled and the train was attacked and later it caught fire. No one will ever be able to verify the accuracy of these varying accounts .However what happened next persists as a dark blot on India’s reputation for religious equality. It was genocide, a planned genocide by the Narendra Modi led government with the whole state machinery at its disposal. It took a day for organized ‘retaliation’ to begin. 28 February and 1March were declared ‘Gujarat Bandh’ and ‘Bharat Bandh’ respectively. The Bandh, as it turns out, was only for law abiding citizens – VHP and Bajrang Dal mobs enjoyed full control over the streets. In a retaliatory spree by mobs, hundreds of Muslims were slaughtered, tens of thousands were displaced, and countless Muslim homes were destroyed. According to an official estimate, 1044 people were killed in the violence including those killed in the Godhra train fire. Another 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed and 606 children orphaned. Unofficial estimates put the death toll closer to 2000, with Muslims forming a very much higher proportion of those killed. What is worse the Chief Mister Narendra Modi justified such frenzy and described it as reaction to action in Godhra. And all this happened with full complicity of the police and bureaucracy.

Role of the State, police

The Godhra train incident was indeed horrible and condemnable. For the BJP, however, it has become merely an excuse to justify the genocide which followed. According to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. On March 1, Chief Minister Modi confidently declared that he would control the “riots resulting

from the natural and justified anger of the people.”He goes on to say, “The five crore people of Gujarat have shown remarkable restraint under grave provocation”.  

Just a thorough reading of the accounts given by the witnesses will make the role of the state ample clear in the whole affair. The first question that arises in a naïve mind is where was the police during the whole scene? During the course of the carnage the role of the police, has been most noticeable. It was so obvious because police during the carnage departed significantly from its assigned role. In most places the police was seen hand in glove with the mobs. In many cases they were seen actively participating in the destruction and burning of Muslim shops, houses and vehicles. More common was the police seen as silent spectators while the mobs went on the rampage. Those escaping from mobs were also refused

help in reaching safety. What stands out is the total lack of criminal, disciplinary, departmental or any other action against the personnel whose behavior was found to be contrary to established law, service rules or the constitution. Dismissals, suspensions, or even transfers as a punitive measure against erring officials have been completely lacking. Officials certainly faced transfers but that seemed to be aimed not at erring against law, but for ‘erring’ against the government in power. Twenty seven civil servants including 10 IPS officials were transferred on 25 March. These included officers who had taken measures to prevent and curtail the violence in their areas. The role of the elected representatives of the people was also under question during those days. At many places MLAs were seen leading the mobs or instigating them (BJP MLAs Prabha Singh Chouhan, Prahlad Bhai Mohan Lal Patel Ghosa etc.). Not only during the carnage but also after the whole thing was over, the state has played proactive role in protecting the guilty. As the Tehelka magazine in its sting operation of the VHP and RSS goons exposes  the role of State and particularly Narendra Modi(in the violence), it also become clear how judges were transferred, witnesses were bribed or pressurized to change statements. It is abundantly clear in these stings how the State was openly supporting the rioters. Tarun Tejpal, the editor of Tehelka magazine says about the Gujarat carnage stings that for the first time in the history of India it is happening that even though all the evidences are available but still no action is taken against the culprits. The Gujarat police have initiated very few criminal investigations and have been largely non-responsive in cases where activists have lodged complaints about threats or attacks. No credible witness protection program has been established by the state government, which seems more interested in protecting those responsible for the violence than witnesses and victims. The same police which was part of the whole affair was asked to enquire about the cases.

Laboratory of Fascism: Gujarat

Gujarat was burning for the days to follow at the hands of the fascist forces of RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and others in complete harmony with the State machinery. Gujarat carnage was very different from the communal violence which took place in Post Colonial India so far. Here one could most clearly see the well planned violence unleashed on the pretext of Godhra train accident, duly supported by the state and central Government. While every possible rule of the law was violated by the authorities, the victims were left to rot in the refugee camps with horrible living conditions, totally ignored by the state government. The mirror of Gujarat's dominant social thinking was to come to light soon with the winning of elections by Narendra Modi, who had played central role in the violence. Once the hatred crosses the threshold limits it creates the wedge which becomes unbridgeable over a period of time. And that's what one sees in the social milieu of Gujarat. The pattern of life amongst large sections has changed, and the constant harping on identity, has been the logical corollary of the hate ideology which is ruling the base. The social opinion may have some rebellious voices but that too because they feel the present anti-minoritism will spoil the business atmosphere in Gujarat but the large sections of middle class sees Modi as a protector of Hindus. Two set of laws already seem to be in operation, the ones for majority and the other for the minorities.

The image of a vivacious Gujarat is being strengthened through media. A section of media is indeed supportive to the agenda of Hindu Rashtra. The blatant violence is not there but concealed violence and deepening of sectarianism is the order of the day. What is Fascism? Don’t think it’s just an academic debate. “When state, with support of dominant sections of society, is out to bury the norms of liberal and plural values, when the dominant section of society approves this intolerance for 'others' and then for 'our' dissenting people, the fascism is there.” The Hindutva ideology is ruling every corner of Gujarat. What’s more disturbing is the support enjoyed by Modi from the business class of so-called developing India. Modi with the support of Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas and others has 'successfully' deflected the criticism of his policies as an insult of Gujarat. These businessmen project Modi as the ideal Prime Minister for India, they declare their open support to Modi even when they are fully aware of the heinous crimes committed by this man. Their support comes from the fact that they knew exactly when Modi will hold power he will not refrain from using it in their favour as he has done in Gujarat. Under the garb of nationalism, fascism will hold sway.  The situation is much grave when seen from the historic perspective. Big business have always supported what’s profitable for them even if it cost ‘a few’ lives. And in this regard fascism has enjoyed their support. The widely held view that fascism is a manifestation of mass insanity completely covers its economic and political effects. The scenario here matches that of WWII era where the Nazis under Hitler and Fascists under Mussolini enjoyed the support of the big business, be it the bankers or the big bourgeoisie. In Germany, Hitler was provided financial and political backing by IBM, SIEMENS, VOLKSWAGEN, CHASE BANK, FORD and many others. Totalitarian state on the whole has been profitable to the business. The processes going in Gujarat are a definite pointer towards "Hindu Rashtra in One state", an Indian variant of Fascism. The ideology of RSS as given by M.S. Golwalkar, who succeeded Hedgewar as Sarsanghchalak in 1940,  in ‘We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939)’:‘The foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e. of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment – not even citizen’s rights’. Golwalker, further claims: “Germany has also shown how well-neigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hinduism to learn and profit by….”. Mean to say that the idea is completely fascist, treating some as lower to other. This whole idea of the Hindu rashtra is completely opposite to the spirit of our constitution which holds secular and plural character of India.

 The BJP employs its muscle wing, the Bajrang Dal, to identify Hindu youths in all areas and give them some cash to start clubs where Hindu youths can get together and build muscles and intimidate the neighborhood the Muslims. Unemployed Hindu youth believe that the real enemy is the Muslim and not the State. Muslims are hardly competition in the job market. Most rich Hindus will no longer employ Muslims after the 2002 violence. Since then, most have resorted to informal jobs like, hawking and vending. After the 2002 riots many lost their homes or were too scared to return to their homes, and had to re-settle in the all-Muslim colonies built by NGOs in the outskirts of the city. The fascist culture should be severely criticized and opposed both ideologically and in practice.

The nature of the Congress party towards this issue is completely opportunist. Be it any party in power there outlook towards the minorities has been very same. The congress leaders which openly criticize the BJP in Godhra case will never speak about the anti-Sikh genocide of 1984. Even more shamelessly BJP justifies its participation in Godhra by saying that they have learnt it from the congress.

                                                                                                                                                      

Justice for the victims of Godhra 2002 and all other communal violence’s

All those leaders be it Narendra Modi or others like Prabha Singh Chouhan, Prahlad Bhai Mohan Lal Patel Ghosa and all others who incited the mob and themselves took part in planning and killing the Muslims should be punished by law. Relief that should have been provided to the victims of 2002 Godhra pogrom has not been provided yet even if provided it’s not enough.  As an aware and responsible citizen, we all must come forward to isolate such fascist forces from the society so as to have communal harmony between different communities and we must crush them ruthlessly in order to have healthy democracy. At last but not least, we appeal the masses to organize and agitate against such forces. Only then other incidents like Godhra can be prevented. Also, justice must prevail in all other cases of communal violence’s like ’84, Kandhamal etc.

Women Emancipation: An alternative outlook

The extension of women’s rights is the basic principle of all social progress.                                  -Charles Fourier

Women make up half of the world but it is hard fact of human history that this half has been suppressed and exploited over thousands of years. We all are well aware about the male dominance, patriarchal prejudices and atrocities over women prevailing in social, cultural, political and economic spheres. And it becomes more shameful for us that this violence and oppression still exist in this so-called modern era. Cases of rapes, sexual harassment, and physical violence against women are widespread daily episodes. Female foeticide have become a significant social phenomenon in almost every parts of India. In 2001 the national sex ratio was 933 girls to 1,000 boys, while in the worst-affected northern state of Punjab; it was 798 girls to 1,000 boys. And it is more surprising that so developed Punjab also tops the list of female foeticide.

As per our Constitution, women enjoy ‘equal status’ and also has the right to life and liberty as equal citizen. But unfortunately the actual development of socio-economic system, its inter-relation with people’s consciousness and value system of any country at a given historical point, determine the way of life of individuals in that society. Women on account of patriarchal ideology have been suffering from several social barriers and impediments therefore, been victims of tyranny at the hands of men with whom they are formally equal. Hence mere a right to vote doesn’t ensure the honour, dignity and equality of women. This patriarchal ideology operates both in cultural and economic aspects of social dynamics which are interconnected together in most complicated manners. It is must to understand how this suppression and oppression predominate over the identity of women as “being” and reduced her status to servitude. With what reasons ruling class perpetuates such patriarchal institution which ignores their equal existence, contribution to make society prudent and healthy. It also reflects through functioning and implementation of laws and state-policies with more offensive and reactionary manner. Why government schemes and five year’s plans for the women’s empowerment have been proved to be an impious joke to Indian people. This violence against women takes different form according to involvement of people in various social production efforts in rural and urban regions.               

FORMS OF EXPLOITATION

Casteism and Honour killings -Caste along with monogamous family facilitates the process of transfer of property from one generation to the next. Although with the reform like reservation to lower castes, we see some distortion in classical form of casteism but still it is deep rooted in land based economic relations in rural areas. It also obstructs the right to free choice of “life-partner” to women. Generally the men of the upper castes are allowed to have sexual relations with women of the oppressed castes. But if women of the upper castes marry with men of the oppressed castes, this is treated as outrageous act and woman is either killed or socially boycotted. Hence it is glorified as ‘honour’ killings. This violence against women is carried out so that the children that she will deliver would not get any property. Of all the oppressed women dalit women are the most oppressed among all sections. We all have heard of reactionary activities of ‘Maha Khap Panchyat’ or ‘Maha Jaat Sabha’ in Haryana to assault the so called democracy by executing honour killings of innocent couples.

The rape of a Dalit girl in Jhabbar village in Mansa district in 2000 is an example of feudal expression of our society. She was raped by a son of upper caste sarpanch of the village. Police failed to act in the matter. After a long struggle by her father, Bant Jhabbar, ‘justice’ was delivered, but at a cost. The sarpanch’s son and his hired goons cut off Bant’s two arms and one leg to show that Dalits have no right to rise against the might of upper castes.

Countless incidents of rape or harassment of lower caste Dalit women in rural areas are suppressed in mainstream media by the strong land-owning class.

Culture and Media - The mass media is an apparatus, which is controlled by the ruling class to manufacture public opinion. The visual media and graphics in the print media are clearly chauvinist . The themes that are churned out in the TV serials act as a powerful means to reinforce ideas of male hegemony. The degeneration in the culture and media can be clearly seen in the literature and lyrics, which project women as a commodity. Women’s thought is controlled in such a way that she herself will just think about a happy home where she will just cook and take care of her family and nothing else.

In the wake of globalisation, the spread of imperialist exploitation in the Third World in cahoots with the media has led to the rise in pornography. The advertising agencies have spread consumerism; they have disseminated an illusory upper class lifestyle and in doing so they have used women’s body to sell products in a market. In the entire world, the mass media is monopolised by the urban and rural rich. It never tried to portray the life and problems of peasant women or that of the female working class.

The feudal culture is offensive to women, of which even landlord class women are mute witnesses. The condition of married women within an Indian family is at the bottom rung. Besides them, condition of widows, spinsters and single women is worst and reduced to ‘alive sati’ by reactionary feudal culture.

Prostitution has been institutionalised by imperialism and made it into highly profitable global industry by capitalism.

Ethical values and Religion- It is an ideological weapon of ruling class, which has emerged in the course of rise of private property and monogamous society. These values not only approve the exploitative system, but also sanctify oppressive patriarchal relations.

In Hinduism, women are required to remain within the confines of a house. She must worship her husband like a god and take care of her children- this is supposed to be her world. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has formed many organistions such as Durgavahini and Bharatiya Mahila Morcha, which led many anti-women, anti-people campaigns under the garb of ‘Hindu religion’ and ‘Hindu rashtra’.

Similarly, Muslim fundamentalism is also reactionary in content. They imprison women in the backyard of homes and commoditise them as sensual things instigating lust. They also oppose their right to property, divorce and even shamelessly impose dress codes on her. Fundamentalist Muslim groups that claim to be fighting for the Muslim world are also anti-women in nature.

Sikhism, which emerged in opposition to the feudal system, challenged the contemporary value system. Guru Nanak talked of equality for women– “So kyon manda aakhiye, jit jamein raajan”. But this has remained in form. The content is diametrically opposite. The practice of self-proclaimed religious leaders defies the basic principles of Sikhism. At the highest religious place of Sikhs - the Golden Temple – women are not allowed to perform “kirtan”. Former president of the SGPC, Bibi Jagir Kaur, got her daughter allegedly murdered, as she married as per her choice.

Economic basis - Any socio-economic formation manifests itself in the ideas that prevail in society. Ever since the emergence of private property, man has treated woman as his property. In today’s society, many women have come out in large numbers and participate in social production. It imparts a sense of independence to them. This has been a progressive step in the course of humankind. Frederick Engels in The Origin of Family has said: “…to emancipate women and make her the equal of man is and remains impossibility so long as the woman is shut out from social productive labour. The emancipation of women will only be possible when women can take part in production on a large, social scale, and domestic work no longer claims anything but an insignificant part of her time.”

Capitalism has objectively played this role in bringing about this transformation in women. But the continuation of patriarchal ideology, concepts such as the male “bread winner” and the female “housewife”, discrimination along the gender lines in the realm of social production have contributed to the patriarchal oppression in the sphere of the social production.

In agriculture, division along the gender lines is starkly visible. Women perform particular labour operations while men perform certain others. Agricultural activities involving the use of machinery are generally performed by men leading to general erosion of manual labour in particular, from a good number of agricultural operations.

Another feature of patriarchy in social production is the surrender of wages that women receive to the male head of the family. Hence there is double oppression that women experience. Firstly, as agricultural labourers and industrial workers they do not get full remuneration for their labour. Then their wages are taken away from the male head of the family.

Another important aspect concerning the social production is that women are not allowed the right of owning property. Under feudalism, all means of production were owned by men of the influential family. Women from such families shared the fruits of toil of the peasantry, but were generally not allowed to enjoy rights over property. There have been legislations granting women right to property, but it has remained on paper.

BARBARITY ON WOMEN THROUGH PRISM OF INCIDENTS

In a recent incident, Soni Sori, a school teacher in Chhattisgarh, was tortured and sexually assaulted by the Chhattisgarh police while in custody in October 2011. A criminal court in Chhattisgarh handed her over to police custody for interrogation despite her pleas that she feared for her safety and life. Sori alleged that Ankit Garg, the-then superintendent of police, ordered the torture and sexual assault. According to her lawyers, a medical examination found two stones in Soni's genital tract and another in her rectum. Instead of investigating the case, President of India Pratibha Patil presented Garg with a police gallantry award on this Republic Day. It raises a serious question that why our dear ‘Republican Indian State’ is so curious to redefine republic which is full of such insult and insolence for women?

In Manipur, Thangjam Manorama was picked up by soldiers of the paramilitary Assam Rifles from her home on alleged charges of links with separatist rebels in 2004. She was raped, tortured and murdered. For the dignity of the women community, hundreds of women had stormed the Assam Rifles headquarters in Imphal, with at least 40 parading naked and holding a banner that read: “Indian Army rape us” and “Indian Army takes our flesh”.

Kashmir is another witness of such kind of brutal activities by armed forces on civilians, especially women, in the name of curbing insurgency.

In the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case, where 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra was molested in 1990 by Inspector General of Police Shambhu Pratap Singh Rathore in Haryana. After she made a complaint, the victim, her family, and her friends were systematically harassed by the police leading to her eventual suicide.

All these incidents of the Indian state are challenging the respect, dignity and honour of women.

EVOLUTION OF PATRIACHY IN INDIA

In the primitive tribal society, men and women together used to go for hunting, fishing, and food gathering. There was no such thing as domestic work separately. Women had to stay at home for some period of time for rearing children.

During this time they engaged themselves in food gathering from surrounding areas and later discovered agriculture and cattle rearing by learning the skill of domestication of animals.

Women were regarded in high esteem by society since reproduction was considered as a necessary and important part for community’s growth and expansion. Thus it was matrilineal clan-based primitive society with considerable involvement of women in social production.

The discovery of agriculture and animal husbandry brought about a gradual change in the way of life. Consequently, nomadic life put to end and led to fixed settlements. Hence food requirement began to be fulfilled by cattle and food production.

Rig-Veda tells us that young men and women had the freedom to find a suitable life partner at fairs called ‘Samanas’. Its most striking feature was that it had parental encouragement and social sanction.

With the emergence of private property, the primitive society broke up into classes. Hence women’s oppression started when matrilineal society got transformed into patrilineal one. It was a gradual process that took thousands of years. Simultaneously, patriarchal oppression stared and woman was confined to domestic domain. The family became an instrument for consolidation and transfer of private property.

Patriarchy was institutionalised at the emergence of feudal period around 4^thcentury AD in India.

Feudalism was a system constituting of landlord’s class and tenants or bonded labourers. Women were denied the right to own property or the means of production and the women of the upper classes were confined within the house. On contrary, women of tenants took part in social production to accompany her husband. But her labour was never recognised as it was not paid. Besides, women of toiling peasantry masses and artisan class had to perform domestic work. There was no sharp demarcation between domestic work and social production. The sphere of domestic work was overlapped with agriculture a large part of women’s labour was spent in it. Women were treated equivalent to the cattle. She had no independent existence. She came to be identified either through her father or her husband or her son.

An offensive and reactionary ‘Manusmriti’ had institutionalised the patriarchy as well as the caste system. The development of capitalism in the West countries brought certain drastic changes in the lives of women. The rise of capitalism roused the democratic aspirations among women, kindled ideas of equality and freedom, and led to movements for the assertion of their democratic rights — something unheard of in the feudal society. It also brought some degree of freedom such as liberty to choose partners and the right to divorce. But capitalism did not eliminate the institution of patriarchy, only modified the forms of patriarchal oppression.

The most important of economic changes that capitalism introduced was that it drew women into social production on a large scale. Women no more worked as adjuncts to their husbands. The capitalists drew them into wage labour relations as independent individuals. Only participation of women in social production in itself cannot emancipate them. Patriarchal ideology relegates women’s labour as unskilled and semi-skilled, justifying the low wages that are paid to her. It does not take into account the domestic work of women, considered worthless by men.

Scenario on Educational Campuses

Today women have started going out of their homes to contribute to their respective households and society but this scenario of the contemporary times is being challenged by men through eve-teasing. It can be defined as public sexual harassment, in which malafide intentions such as sexual advances are expressed by opposite sex towards women. The mindset of women is conditioned in such a way that they don’t raise their voice against it, even if they want to. Numerous cases of professors, involved in sexually harassing their students, have been reported. They take advantage of their position as a ‘guru’.

There is a dire need for women cells in the educational institutions. On most of the campuses, women cells have not been constituted, and if there are any they are defunct.

Many a times, women find themselves alone and without any support system. It is in this situation, we encourage women to stand and speak up. They should become aware of their rights and shake off any psychological handicap to reclaim their dignity.

We call upon the students of this university to a general meeting on February 16, 2012, to put forward their views on this pamphlet.

Time: 2:30 PM

Venue: UBS Canteen, PU

Contact us @: Raminder Singh 9463154024, Amandeep Singh 9779026124