Gender Crimes: TMC Must Discipline Malcontents

The brutal rape of a student in a law college in Kolkata, occurring less than a year after the barbaric rape and murder of a junior doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, also in the heart of the city, is shocking beyond belief. Four people have been arrested. A guard, who, it appears, abetted by negligence; two male students of the college, who seem to have actively conspired; and the man alleged to be the primary perpetrator, an alumnus of the college, a casual, non-teaching employee there, and, not unpredictably, a former Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad leader. Kolkata has long enjoyed the reputation of being a safe and hospitable city for women. That reputation is unfortunately taking a beating because malcontents who enjoy the patronage of West Bengal’s ruling party arrogate to themselves a sense of utter impunity. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is yet to issue a statement on this horrendous crime. Issuing a statement, however, is hardly a substitute for action. The message the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership must send out is that those associated with the party, or any of its wings, will be under harsher scrutiny, especially when it comes to crimes against women. It would be naïve to try and wish away the exigencies of politics, but exemplary action must follow in accordance with the law. The TMC has distanced itself from the extremely insensitive and practically exculpatory comments made by MP Kalyan Banerjee and MLA Madan Mitra. But this is not enough. Disciplinary action must be taken against both of them in the public domain.

This having been said, it must be noted that both the horrific crimes happened on campuses, which should be among the most secure of environments anywhere. The relentless politicisation of institutions of higher education and the student community, often infiltrated by professional provocateurs masquerading as scholars and criminal elements, has, however, rendered these nurturing environments some of the most dangerous of places in the metropolis and beyond. It is for this government to ensure, minimally, that all campuses are places where students can pursue their educational quests without feeling threatened in any way. Of course, campus politics and violence are not new phenomena, having intensified first in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the spread of the Naxal movement to campuses. But we must spare a thought too for the reputation of Kolkata in general. It remains one of the safest cities in India, especially for women. National Crime Records Bureau statistics have consistently shown this. At the same time, the state government cannot afford to be complacent and sometimes almost complicit with respect to gender-related crimes. Policing of violent crimes, especially against women, must be improved.

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