Monday, January 7th, 2013 | by Kalavai Venkat
Introduction
Jyoti Singh Pandey, the 23 year old girl who was brutally gang-raped and murdered was typical of most Hindus: hard-working and close to her family. She suffered and died for no fault of hers. She was our sister. It is our duty to reclaim the sacred feminine so that such gruesome incidents do not happen in the future. We cannot achieve that end unless we think reasonably. However, some news reports and op-ed columns have attempted to sensationalize the issue by turning this into an ideological war against Indian culture. One western newspaper called it “India’s culture of rape.” A Time magazine article portrayed Indian men as “hyena-like.” Some Indian journalists aped their western counterparts in demonizing Indian culture.
Sheela Bhatt implied that the Indian tradition of married women wearing the maṇgaḻasūtra is a sign of oppression of women and that rape is an outcome of this supposedly inferior status of women in Indian society. If so, are there fewer incidents of rape in western societies where women do not wear the maṇgaḻasūtra? Facts reveal otherwise. For every 100,000 residents Sweden experiences 46 rape incidents, United Kingdom 23, United States of America 27.8, whereas India experiences 1.8 (a fifteenth of what the USA experiences). In addition, 15% of American college students report having been victims of date rape. Please do not get me wrong. I am neither suggesting that data is always trustworthy nor that Indians should be satisfied with the fact that their per capita rape rate is lower than that of western countries. No matter where we reside, we should not tolerate a single incident of rape but available data not only shows that the occurrence of rape in India is lower than in most western countries but more importantly, that there is no correlation between rape and the maṇgaḻasūtra. In Singapore, where Hindu women indeed wear the maṇgaḻasūtra, there are no rapes at all.
Neither the western journalists nor their Indian counterparts who made Indian culture culpable for the brutal gang-rape would have used such phrases as “culture of rape” for American, British, or Swedish cultures nor called their men “hyena-like” even though the per capita rate of rape in these countries far exceeds that of India. Such sensationalizing is dangerous because it distracts us from understanding the root cause of rapes and preventing them in the future.
Emer O’Toole, in her reasonable article, Delhi Gang-Rape: Look Westward in Disgust, castigated this racist and neo-colonial tendency to blame Indian culture for a universal crime. She presented statistics to prove that while India convicts 26% of rapists, “in the US only 24% of alleged rapes even result in an arrest, never mind a conviction.” Owen Jones, in a balanced article, pointed out that rape is not a cultural phenomenon in India but is endemic in all countries. He also pointed out that even the tendency of blaming the victim of rape is universal and not unique to India. Awindra Pratap Pandey, the brave young friend who valiantly fought in defense of Jyoti until he was beaten unconscious by her rapists, cautioned against sensationalizing the issue and instead urged everyone to focus on the real causes. If we want to prevent future rapes, we should listen to the sane voices of Emer O’Toole, Owen Jones, and Awindra Pratap Pandey and not use this tragic incident to push our own pet ideological agendas.
Our analysis should focus on the systemic, biological, and memetic factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of rape so we could prevent rapes in the future.
The Systemic Aspect
In the massive construction frenzy over the few years, many of the land development barons have been employing local thugs to intimidate people to give up their land for the large construction projects. A significant number of these land barons have a direct link to those in high ranks in the government. Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, is one such baron who is reported to have amassed billions of dollars through land grab deals. These thugs who are employed by these barons are rewarded for evicting people. They have a free hand in the methods that they employ.
Intimidation tactics include not only physical assaults on the men of the household but also terrorizing the women to ensure that they abandon their homes. The police simply turn a blind eye. Is it reasonable to expect that these thugs who get rewarded to intimidate people one day would somehow take to a life of meditation the next day? No, they would instead stalk, rape, and murder another Jyoti. Thugs and goons have been created by this land baron-government nexus and the recent brutal rape is a manifestation of this culture of intimidation. It does not matter whether or not those who were responsible for this rape were themselves hired goons for the land-barons because they certainly have become a part of the culture of intimidation created by this government-land baron nexus.
It is important to remember that land mafia is merely one aspect of the pyramidal system of crime in India with those in power often at the top of the pyramid. As the journalist Kanchan Gupta points out, police maintain systematic records for taking bribes from transport operators and share the bribe with everyone in the highest echelons of the government. Who are the ones that sustain a ruling coalition in India? It is the 369 MPs and MLAs that are reportedly charged (none convicted) with rape or molestation of women that sustain any ruling coalition. They also control the police and judiciary in collusion with criminals.
These ruthless politicians have created a criminal system for their own benefit and it would be a grave mistake on our part to only focus on individual instances of crime without recognizing that it is the system that enables them to a good extent. A serious overhaul of India’s political system is overdue, and as Claude Arpi remarked, “it is a revolution that India needs.” However, while we are waiting for that to happen, a few systemic changes would minimize incidents of rape. Awindra pointed out that auto-rickshaws refused to ply forcing him and Jyoti to take the ill-fated bus. The reason for this is simple. Most auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in India have political affiliations and have formed labor unions that collude against civilians. These drivers idle away most of the day and charge exorbitant fares for an occasional trip. They pay regular bribes to the police, judges, and politicians to co-opt the system. An Internet-based system which every civilian could use to requisition an auto-rickshaw or taxi on demand would solve this problem. Every requisitioned auto-rickshaw should mandatorily take the passenger to the destination at the preset rates and a refusal should result in the immediate arrest and jail-term of the driver along with the confiscation of the vehicle and license. Jyoti would not have been raped and murdered if auto-rickshaws had not refused to ply her.
The Biological Aspect
However, while these systemic changes will minimize the incidents of rape, they will not eliminate them. This is evident from the fact that western countries, where there is no corruption at the cutting edge, experience a higher rate of rape than India. This means one should understand the biological basis of rape. Randy Thornhill and Craig Palmer published the findings of their research on rape based on evolutionary biological models in A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion. They showed that rape is primarily motivated by sexual urges and not by an imaginary need to control or subjugate women (as incorrectly claimed by Achal Bhagat). This is why most rape victims are young and are reproductively fit. It could sometimes be accompanied by brutal violence as in the case of Jyoti but the primary urge is sexual. Animals rape too, so it is not even a uniquely human phenomenon. Since it has a basis in evolutionary biology, it is reasonable to conclude that a rapist evaluates the cost and benefit of the heinous deed he commits and picks the most vulnerable target. A rapist is discouraged when we eliminate easy access to potential victims. So, effective policing and the prospect that the victim would lodge a complaint and that the courts would punish him would be a reasonable deterrence to the rapist.
Technology can help here. A victim should be able to lodge a complaint over the Internet and the onus of attending to the victim should be on the police and judiciary. In cases such as Jyoti’s, DNA evidence is reliable and sufficient to pronounce the rapists guilty and there is no need for recorded statements by the victim or parades for the witness to identify the rapists. Tragically, a female judicial officer, who was either insensitive or incompetent (if not outright corrupt), took a verbal and written testimony from the critically injured Jyoti, and then inexplicably claimed that Jyoti had been coerced to testify. As a result, the courageous Jyoti had to testify again from her deathbed. On the other hand, a judicial process that would only rely upon DNA evidence in such cases would deter the rapist. If the 369 Indian politicians accused of rape could be sent to the gallows within a week of committing the rape based on DNA evidence, other potential rapists would surely recognize that they too would pay a heavy price should they attempt to rape a woman.
A society that protects its women actually deters the rapists whereas anonymity encourages rapists. No, I am not at all making an obscurantist suggestion that women only stay at home. On the contrary, our womenfolk would fearlessly go out to study or work when they know that decent men in society would protect them.
The Memetic Aspect
It is important to recognize that while rape might have a biological basis, memetics often influences whether or not such tendencies manifest. A society that elevates sexuality and the feminine to the level of the sacred creates favorable memeplexes that deter rape whereas societies that commoditize the feminine increase the likelihood of rapes. Bollywood movies often paint harassing women into submission as romantic. Stalking a woman is portrayed as cool. Even more atrociously, a rape victim is portrayed as finding a virtuous trait in her rapist, falling in love with him, and then marrying him to reform him. Bollywood actresses announce that they are “ready for rape.” A porn star is projected as the role model. These portrayals create a memeplex where the woman is treated as if she is a commodity. The vilest elements of society thrive in such a memeplex and imagine that every girl on the street is a commodity to be stalked.
As Jyoti was dying in Singapore, a Tamil channel telecast a very nice program commemorating the late M S Subbulakshmi, the great Carnatic singer. Most of the participants that rendered her songs, debated on the technical nuances of her music, and danced to her songs were women. The Bharatanāṭyam sequences they rendered were sensuously choreographed using the Hindu tradition of śṛṅgāra rasa (expressions of erotic love). They differed from the crass Bollywood portrayals in that they elevated sensuality to the level of the sacred. A memeplex built on such values allows one to perceive sexuality and the feminine as sacred and not perceive women as commodities meant for exploitation.
We have a duty to build such memeplexes as a tribute to Jyoti.
Conclusion
Awindra mentioned that for nearly 25 minutes, as Jyoti and he lay battered on the roadside, many cars, auto-rickshaws, and motorcycles passed by but none helped. In part, the refusal of the passers-by to help can be attributed to their fear of police and judicial harassment of witnesses. It is also due to the sheer apathy that has come to characterize India’s urban existence. Remember, Jyoti could have been your sister. The next Jyoti could be your sister. You surely want someone to stand up for your sister the way Awindra stood up for Jyoti. You see, what goes around, comes around. It is the law of karma. Awindra can surely hold his head high, look into the eyes of Jyoti when they meet in heaven in the future, and say that he fought for her. Can those of you that apathetically let her die do that?
Jyoti’s father, who revealed his brave daughter’s name because it is not her fault that she was raped deserves our admiration. Devala rṣi, the ninth century CE Hindu saint, would have been proud of him. India experienced a wave of Islamic invasions in that period and those jihads were accompanied by widespread rape of women. Devala rṣi wrote a text called The Devala Smṛti in which he prescribed that a woman does not lose her sanctity when she is raped and mandated her men-folk to join her in performing a few rites to help her to once again announce her sanctity. These rites, not only helped the woman bring closure to the unfortunate events that had traumatized her, but also restore the possible loss of self-dignity.
If I were to paraphrase his prescription for a modern audience, Devala rṣi was saying that it is not a woman’s fault that she was raped, it is not the victim who should be ashamed, and that her men-folk should join hands with her in the journey towards reclaiming the sacred feminine.
We have enough in India’s sacred traditions, theistic and atheistic, to guide us in this journey.
Kalavai Venkat is a Silicon Valley-based writer, an atheist, and a practicing orthodox Hindu.
http://indiawires.com/17375/news/national/reclaiming-the-sacred-feminine-in-the-aftermath-of-delhi-gang-rape/