HVK Archives: Beyond religion
Beyond religion - Mid-Day
M. V. Kamath
()
December 3, 1998
Title: Beyond religion
Author: M. V. Kamath
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: December 3, 1998
Hatred is no answer to anything, as my Christian friends should
know and whipping up passions can be counter-productive. I
mention this in the context of reports that in a village in
Madhya Pradesh called Jhajjar, four Christian nuns were raped.
It set Christian opinion on fire. In several cities and towns
with a large Christian population there were protest
demonstrations and in Bangalore, it is said, several thousands of
Christians clogged the city's arteries to vent their anger.
Understandable enough. Church leaders called on Home Minister L K
Advani to lodge their complaint. Underlying all this hullabaloo
was the belief that the rapists were either supporters of the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or the
Bharatiya Janata Party or full-time members of these
organisations and had planned the rapes with Deliberate intent.
Advani promised an inquiry and said any convicted rapist should
he hanged - and presumably that would include any convicted VHP,
RSS or BJP member.
It turned out that of the 24 criminals involved, a good half of
them were themselves Christians and the other 12 Bhils. Christian
missionaries make it a point to emphasise that Bhils are not
Hindus. But let that go.
It seems doubtful that the RSS sanghachalak would succeed in
persuading confirmed Christians to rape nuns, even presuming that
they succeeded in persuading the non-Hindu Bhils. But the
complicity of Christian tribesman in the rape has been questioned
by Church leaders. They have a right to do so. Christian leaders
have even gone to the extent of saying that this is RSS
propaganda and should be discounted. In the circumstances, the
obvious thing to do is to organise a public inquiry to ferret the
truth once and for all.
Is the rape of the four nuns the first incidence of rape? Have
there been no rapes in Madhya Pradesh in the past?
A study of available data thus becomes instructive. According to
official reports for the year 1994 for which statistics are
available, the total number of cases of crimes committed against
women that year was 98,948, up from 83,954 in 1953. Of these
cases of rape number 13,208, the largest number of then 2,801 g m
Madhya Pradesh. Percentage wise Maharashtra reported 9.9 per
cent of rape cases, Bihar 8.5, Rajasthan 7.6, Andhra Pradesh 6.6,
West Bengal 5.6, Uttar Pradesh 15.7 and the notorious Madhya
Pradesh 22.2 per cent. I would imagine that not all 2,801 cases
of rape in Madhya Pradesh were committed on Christians. I do not
remember good Christians going into the streets to protest
against these rapes.
The theory obviously is that if Hindus rape Hindu women it should
be of no concern to Christians.
I have not met any rapists, so I can't say for sure how his mind
works. But I would presume that the rapist is of unsound mind and
when he wants to fulfil his lust he does not look for a woman of
a particular caste or religion. In Madhya Pradesh, I understand,
most of the victims are tribal women. Now another atrocity has
been reported, this one from Haryana. The story is that in a
village called Kheri Khumar a mob assaulted two Franciscan nuns
and ordered them to leave the village. A team led by the
Archbishop of Delhi Reverend Alan De Lastic, visited the village
and later told Hindustan Times that "attacks on hapless nuns
working in remote areas of the country would spell 'disaster' for
its unity."
But then on November 13 there appeared a report in The Observer
which said: "An on-the-spot investigation reveals that no nuns
were even physically touched, leave alone molested."
According to the report the root cause of the incident "is the
factional warfare of the Mahila Mandal for control of the profit-
making tailoring centre" set up by the Franciscan Sisters with
assistance from the district Rural Development Agency.
According to information gleaned by the reporters from the
villagers a former Mahila Mandal chief Bimla Yadav instigated
supporters of the village sarpanch against Dayawanti, the new
Mandal chief, who enjoys the support of the nuns. But a petty
local dispute has been used to inflame communal passions and turn
it into a Hindu Christian fight?"
The rape of four nuns - even one nun - has to be condemned in the
strongest possible terms. Furthermore I am not questioning the
right of Church leaders to stand by their flock. Only I wish that
they would show a little more consideration towards all victims
of rape and don't turn any unfortunate incident into a Hindu-
Christian tussle. Rape is not something new in Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh. Incidents of rape have taken place during
Congress regimes and for Sonia Gandhi to turn it into a political
issue shows a brazenness that can only be described as
deplorable. Instant condemnation of the VHP, RSS and BJP may warm
the cockles of Congress hearts - and of Sonia's especially - but
some day it may so happen that their wishes may come true.
Constant denigration of the VHP, RSS and BJP is fashionable in
our intellectual circles.
That reminds me of the conversation between Glendower and Hotspur
in Shakespeare's King Henry IV.
Says Glendower: "I can call spirits from the vastly deep" to
which Hotspur replies: "Why, so can I, or so can any man; but
will they come when you do call for them?"
Ale evil spirits may come from the "vastly deep" when the call
comes once too often. Christian leaders are well advised kindly
to bear that in mind.
(M V Kamath veteran political commentator, sees rape in its true
perspective)
Back
Top
|
