November 9,1998

Since rapists do not even have an iota of compassion, society must reciprocate

In advocating the death penalty for rape Home Minister L.K. Advani is articulating the sheer disgust which every such act evokes. The recent violation -- and never has the word been so apt -- of nuns at Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh has strengthened the popular perception that a rapist is somehow less than human, he is a deviant who deserves no mercy. In a hospital in Mumbai, Aruna Shanbaug -- perhaps India's most tragic rape victim -- has spent 25 years in coma. The ward boy who destroyed this nurse's life used a dog chain to immobilise her. Horrifically, he also lacerated her wind pipe and cut off a vital link to her brain. Today, while Aruna waits a death which does not arrive, her molester is a free man -- having got away for lack of evidence. It is at such moments that the death penalty seems most justified, even desirable. Rape has a million silent victims: young women numbed by squeamish families; little girls who are victims of incest or the lust of a trusted associate. Many rape cases in India go unreported. Indeed, such was the misplaced prudery that till a few years ago more conservative newspapers preferred terms like "criminal assault" to describe rape.

Advani will find much support for his harsh prescription. Yet, rape will not vanish simply by making it a capital offence. Before such a law is enacted, the conditions for it must exist. Medical and policing authorities have to undergo a transformation in attitude. Just as western police forces have special homicide squads, the Home Ministry has to strengthen its gender-specific mechanism. An officer looking after the crimes against women (CAW) cell one day could well be transferred to traffic control the next. This won't do. The CAW cells have to be equipped with staff of lasting commitment. Only with experience will come the expertise to smoothen the mangled psyche of a human being -- or, and this will doubtless be a problem, tell a genuine complaint from a trumped up charge.

Performance Matters

Nice words prime minister, how about a modicum of implementation

Political analysts often talk about the ability of political administrators to "talk up" the markets or "talk down" prices. In effect, this means that a decisive policy announcement is enough to influence the economic indices -- provided it is accompanied by sufficient credibility. In the eight months they have been in office Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha have tried to "talk up" the markets -- and the general mood of the nation -- on several occasions. Most infamously, Sinha promised a boom "by September" only to find his hopes going bust. While the finance minister has acquired a reputation for talking through his hat, the prime minister has come to be seen as a man who begins the right journeys but conveniently fails to complete them.

Early in his term, Vajpayee put in place a set of task forces -- on defence, information technology, the finances of states, you name it. Reports have long been submitted. In the case of info-tech, the Jaswant Singh-led panel's suggestions have even been hailed as the route to software superpowerdom. Yet, implementation levels are close to zero. Given this record, the scepticism evoked by Vajpayee's policy overdose at a recent industry conference is understandable. For instance, allowing companies to buy back shares is already being described as a means of buying time for the Government -- by pushing up the Sensex temporarily. The supposedly new initiatives on disinvestment, aviation and telecom are anything but that. In these areas the BJP-led regime has shot itself in the foot by appearing to succumb to vested interests. Far from taking a great leap forward, it now has to do some urgent repair work. What use are grand promises if they are not followed up? The prime minister cannot but know that whether the fare be swadeshi or videshi the proof of the pudding lies in the eating.

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