Reveries

. Human Hearts.Not Bravehearts. Please

On 16^th December 2012 she was a 23 year-old, gang-rape victim from Delhi. On 29^th December 2012 she lost her battle for life in Singapore. On 29^th December she also became “Amanat”and “Damini”. In death “Nirbhaya” lived up to the essence of her name. She became “India’s Braveheart”.

Indians are ashamed and outraged. Demands for hanging or castrating the perpetrators are competing with prayers for Nirbhaya’s soul and a complete overhaul of security system in the national capital.

But while the nation vows not to let Nirbhaya’s death go in vain, another gang-rape victim lies at AIIMS in Delhi. Ironically, amid a nation-wide protest against Nirbhaya’s brutal rape, a 42-year-old woman suffered the same persecution three days ago. Worse still, the police initially refused to lodge her complaint accusing her of imposing false charges on the men.

Labelled “Amanat”, “Damini” and “Braveheart”, Nirbhaya today has morphed into a martyr for the unending crimes against Indian women. But what about the being who lies at AIIMS? Is she still in the hospital? What is her condition now? What about her rapists? 

A google search yields three crisp sentences from a three-day-old report: 

"Of the three accused, one- Dilip Verma- was arrested in Agra while the police are on the lookout for the other two". 

"A case of gang-rape under section 376(G) has been registered against the trio"

"The victim is conscious and undergoing treatment at AIMMS". (Yahoo News)

As the media tracks Amanat's journey by the hour an uncanny silence hovers over the case of the nameless victim at AIIMS. 

The silence is eloquent. It reveals a fundamental malaise in our outlook. The woman is either a victim or an icon. She is a martyr for her undeserved suffering. But she is never HUMAN. Why does "Nirbhaya" need tags like "Braveheart" and "Damini" and "Amanat"? Why does she need to be upheld as a symbol of superhuman strength and courage? Why can't she be an ordinary human being -  a nameless woman, even -  who suffered a heinous crime?

In a morbid turn of events "India's braveheart daughter" has drowned out the story of another tortured being.  Will an arduous battle for life alone give voice to the trauma of this woman? Will death alone transform her from an anonymous 42-year-old gang-rape victim into a national icon whose anguish deserves retribution? 

While every protester lights a candle for "Amanat" and screams for hanging her rapists, can someone please ask for a fuller report into the other woman's rape? Can we please hear voices calling for quick and severe action against her rapists as well? 

The 42-year-old may not have been bashed with an iron rod. She may not have to battle for her life in a hospital. But her case demands as fervent a call for action as that of "India's braveheart". Let not Nirbhaya's immortality drown out the mortal sufferings of another "India's daughter"