November 2,1998

There is a rape every six hours in the state. Dominant castes are using it as a tool to establish supremacy.

By Sanjay Kumar Jha

Sobha Kumari is just seven years old, an age when most girls are playing with dolls oblivious of the harsh realities of existence. But last fortnight, she came face to face with the ugly world around her. On October 10, she escaped death by a whisker when a Yadav youth made a futile attempt to rape her at Amera village in Nalanda district. On September 23, Kari Devi, a 24-year-old Dalit woman, was raped at Mirzapur village in Nawada district. Weeks before that, Somi Devi, a 25-year-old tribal housewife, was raped at Kathitand village in Ranchi district. On August 23, Shakuntala Kumari, a 20-year-old tribal girl, was gangraped within the precincts of the judicial magistrate's court in Ranchi. The list just goes on.

Welcome to Bihar, a state which is headed by a woman but where a woman loses her modesty every six hours. In the first eight months of this year, the state recorded 846 cases of rape -- by far the highest in the country. A majority of the victims was from the poor and weaker sections of society. And the culprits were usually from the neo-rich and dominant classes. But don't dismiss this as a mere rise in the crime graph. Behind the horrifying statistics is a brutal chauvinism that makes man use rape as a tool to establish his supremacy in society.

A recent study conducted by the Patna-based A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies following a sudden spurt in rape cases has revealed a rather disturbing trend. A majority of the respondents from the dominant Yadav caste unashamedly described the rapists as "heroes". According to S. Narayan, who conducted the study, such attitudes indicate that rape now has social sanction. At least in Bihar.

This social sanction was evident in the way Mrityunjay Yadav, son of Hemlata Yadav, a prominent leader of the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal, reacted when his name figured in a rape case. The flamboyant youth, who was charged with raping Champa Biswas, wife of an IAS officer, jubilantly claimed that it would help him assert his presence in Bihar politics.

It was also evident when the Dalit woman Kari Devi was raped in public by two Yadav youths. She was in Mirzapur to attend her maternal uncle's funeral, little knowing what was in store for her. A couple of days ago, somebody had stolen the luggage of a local youth Sanjay Yadav and his clansmen suspected that the thief belonged to the Dalit basti. On September 23, an armed group of Yadavs attacked the village, firing in the air and exploding crude bombs. Panic stricken, the Dalit men fled for their lives, leaving the hapless women at the mercy of the marauders. Kari was beaten up, dragged out of the house and raped by Sanjay and Krishna Yadav.

But Nawada's Superintendent of Police (SP) Umesh Kumar Singh believes that rape is not committed by members of a particular caste. Validating Bihar's feudal credentials, Singh says it is a crime committed by members of a dominant caste, whichever that might be in a particular area. In other words, Dalits and other weaker sections of society better watch out.

Despite all its claims of protecting the weaker classes, the Government has not been able to tackle the rising incidence of rape in the state. During the 13 months that Rabri Devi has occupied the chief minister's chair, the state recorded 1,438 cases of rape. For her part, Rabri Devi has often warned that stringent action would be taken against the officials who failed to prevent crime against women. But her warnings have gone unheeded.

Opposition parties feel that the rise in the number of rape cases has its roots in the criminalisation of politics in the state. Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) leader K.D. Yadav is scathing in his criticism. He says that the rule of law has been reduced to a "jungle raj" by the goons of the ruling party. Ambika Soni, president of the All India Women's Congress, admits that women are no longer safe in Bihar.

This is a view shared even by the Patna High Court. In a recent judgement, Justices B.P. Singh and N.K. Sinha observed that "people are living like animals even as criminals are moving about freely and operating with liberty without obstruction from the law and order machinery".

Earlier this month, school and college going girls held a demonstration in the state capital to protest against the rising incidence of crime against women. Among other things, the demonstrators demanded that the Government ensure their safety and dignity instead of being a mute spectator.

Indeed, many times the police find their hands tied because the rapists are well connected. For instance, a minister's son was involved in the molestation of girls in a Patna school. However, he walked out of the case scot-free. Says Saroj Chaubey, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association: "There is lot of evidence of the nexus between rapists and ruling party leaders. This should be probed and the culprits brought to book to restore the people's faith in the system."

In another case, the protectors turned predators when a minor girl sought their help. Renu Kumari was abducted in September 1997 by a Rajput landlord Deendayal Rai from Kasdeira village in Siwan district. She was taken to Delhi where Rai repeatedly raped her. Renu says that after a month, Rai brought her back and abandoned her. She went to Maharajganj police station where officer-in-charge Badri Singh and DSP Arvind Thakur raped her for two successive nights.

In the fir, Renu has charged Rai and the two policemen of criminally assaulting her. The minor girl, who delivered a child on June 4, has demanded that a DNA test be conducted to find out who among her three rapists is the father of her daughter. She has also threatened to commit suicide if justice was delayed. Rabri Devi would do well to ensure that it is not denied.

© Living Media India Ltd