Sexual violence by army is a reality and cannot be justified

In 2004, Thangjam Manorama, was brutally raped and murdered by Assam Rifles. She was arrested from her house at around 3 am on the allegation of being a “militant”. Her body was found a day later. There were bullet shots in her vagina and semen all over her skirt. To protest against this brutual rape and killing, a group of about 50 women had staged a nude protest in front of the Kangla fort. They had raised slogans like “The Indian Army rape us”. This protest had forced the Manipur Government to act. The Manipur Government had ordered an inquiry and submitted a report but the Guwahati High Court had rejected it saying that the Manipur Government does not have the authority. After continuous pressure, there were some developments in the case but they have not led to any result. Till now, justice has not been granted. This case was not an exception. Such incidents have happened before and continue to happen in areas where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) has been imposed. Many believe this is because AFSPA provides the armed forces with legal impunity.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) rules over eight states in India – North East India (except Sikkim) and the state of Jammu & Kashmir. In the name of “upholding law and order”, the law gives the right to armed forces to arrest without a warrant, shoot to kill any person on mere suspicion. The law protects the army persons with legal impunity. The officers found guilty can be punished only after the central government issues a sanction. This is one of the main reasons why today AFSPA has become a symbol of army arbitrariness and cruelty in AFSPA areas. AFSPA has resulted in fake encounters, rapes, torture, extra-judicial killings and disappearances.

Much has been written about how the army is misusing its power not only to disregard the civilians but also the government and judiciary. We have had instances where the armed forces have refused to co-operate even when the judiciary has taken up such cases and have been accused of destroying or manipulating evidence. Even in the case of Manorama, it is alleged that the guilty officers had shot her several times in the vagina to destroy evidence. The state government too has acknowledged cruelty of the army in some instances. State government officials have in some cases in Manipur paid compensation to the victims of AFSPA. Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had acknowledged that he felt “ashamed” of the Kunan Poshpora incident of Kashmir wherein atleast 50 women were raped by the soldiers of Rajputana Rifles in a single night. But the army alone cannot be blamed. In many cases, the central government has also refused to sanction the right to punish the guilty officers.

There is a sense of hypocrisy, when India talks about human rights, and criticizes China for the atrocities committed in Tibet, and gives shelter to political refugees. While we are proud to call ourselves a democracy, the truth is that the army is very powerful. Also, while AFSPA, an anti-human law, does permit killing, the law does not permit sexual violence. How can the sexual violence be justified at all? This should not come under legal impunity. This was also one of the recommendations of the Justice Verma committee that was appointed in December 2012 to review laws for sexual crimes. The committee had recognized sexual violence by armed forces in AFSPA areas and had recommended that the cases of sexual violence be brought under ordinary criminal law.

The army being held responsible in cases of sexual violence will, in no way, “degrade” or “disrespect” the army as the army officials would like us to believe. We must respect our army. They do sacrifice their lives for us, whatever the motivation may be. It does not mean all their acts are right or should be justified. These incidents are real, they are not fabrications and the guilty army personnel should be punished. The cases of sexual violence have not only been reported from AFSPA states. There have been several reported cases of army men raping civilians in non-AFSPA states. While this does not mean that all army persons misuse their power, some definitely do. The glorification of army and army persons serves like impunity even in non-AFSPA states. Army personnel should never feel insulted or degraded because of measures to ensure transparency and accountability under certain circumstances. But the army cannot and should not have criminals in uniform, they cannot be above the law. This is a democracy and the army being a part of the state must respect it. 

This article was published in The News Minute

Contributing To A Culture Of Mutual Peace And Understanding : Zindagi Channel

The Zee network has recently launched a new channel by the name of Zindagi. With the theme of “Vasudeva Kutumbkam” or “The whole world is my family”, Zindagi channel promises to bring in stories from around the world. The channel theme and the tag line “Jodey Dilon ko” or “to connect hearts” clearly indicates that this channel has a clear mission. It is trying to use the medium of television to create a culture of peace. The channel was launched on 23rd June and is initially bringing in Pakistani content. The channel has selected some famous serials from Pakistan and is now broadcasting them in India. In this article, I will attempt to analyse the mission of this channel in the context of Indo-Pak relations.

The Indo-Pak relations doesn’t need an introduction. Even those who may not belong to either of the countries may know about the fluctuating relations that the two countries have. The Indo-Pak relations is characterized by love and hatred, peace and war. An important element of the Indo-Pak relations is that of “curiosity”. Both sides are ever curious about each other. Even if one may hate Pakistan, one will still be curious about it and any mention of Pakistan will definitely evoke an interest. This is another interesting bond that India and Pakistan shares and this is because both countries have very limited means of communication or knowing each other. There are severe visa issues. Other means of communication are also bound with several restrictions. Because of this, people in both countries do not know each other and have painted an opposing picture of the other. Both have constructed stereotypes for each other. But as I had previously said, even with hatred and suspicion, they remain ever curious and interested to know about the other.

Now what happened when Zindagi channel was launched? Indian channels and serials have been broadcasted both legally and illegally in Pakistan. The Pakistan Electric Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has from time to time tried to enforce strict restrictions on the telecast of Indian serials because of several reasons including the petitions by local channel producers but they have met with little success. According to a Times of India report dated 19 November 2013, a no. of channels in Pakistan were fined for airing too much of “Indian content”. The people of Pakistan have also resisted these restrictions by shifting to DTH cable system or by watching them online. In contrast to this, India has had few such opportunities to access Pakistani channels and serials.
So while people in Pakistan had a sense of what India was like, what Indians think, people in India were largely clueless. And so with this initiative of Zee, with this opportunity to know the “other”, their enthusiasm seems to have crossed the boundaries. There was a huge enthusiasm from people of India for this new channel. This can be inferred from the response that can be seen on social networking sites and ofcourse, the TRPs. A Times of India report dated 1 July 2014 had argued that not only the channel has received good response from the public but even bollywood and television celebrities are welcoming the new channel.

Saying so, the first step towards the mission of the channel seems to have been completed. It has established itself to become the platform through which people will know about the other side of the border. Now comes the second and more important step. What is the content?

Zindagi channel is currently running 4 shows – Zindagi Gulzar Hain, Aunn Zara, Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain and Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti. All the four serials given an insight into the everyday life and struggles that people in Pakistan go through. It presents the problems existing there. It is presenting the extreme rich and poor divide, the problem of polygamy and the problems faced by women. Why did the channel pick on these shows? What is the relevance?

By picking up these shows, the channel is doing something more important. By presenting the everyday struggles, the everyday stories of pain, the Zindagi channel is able to show that we, Indians and Pakistanis, are not only similar in our language, culture, values but also in our problems. These problems are relatable. We are also struggling with them here. There is an extreme level of rich and poor divide in our country as well. The problems of marriage are also as relevant here. There is a serial by the name of “Kitni Girhain Baaki Hai”. The stories in this serial are as relevant to Indian audience. The stories presented in this serial pertain to the struggle of women, the changing society and human nature.

This representation of struggle has another element to it. It breaks the image of Pakistan that has been painted by our biased media. Pakistan has been painted as a Muslim conservative country. It is being seen as riddled with severe problems which people in Pakistan have accepted and glorified. This image of Pakistan is quite problematic. While Pakistan has its problems, the people of Pakistan have not accepted it and are struggling to change it. There does exist a counter culture in Pakistan that is trying to oppose the forces of religious fundamentalism and intolerance. These serials are also representing this counter culture. It is breaking several myths about Pakistan. While polygamy is prevalent in Pakistan, there are voices against it. People are struggling against it. It is being popularly rejected. Same goes for women’s rights. In all the four serials, women are not being shown as passive and submissive.
Thus, this representation of women in sarees will also have another important connect. It will break the stereotype that muslims are “conservative”. One of the most common stereotypes about muslims is that muslim women would always wear a burqa or atleast a hijab. It must be noted that while considering burqa and hijab as a sign of “conservatism” is a debatable issue but popularly it is seen as “conservative”. This stereotype is also very apparent in the representation of muslims in Indian electronic media. The representation of women in sarees breaks this popularly-held stereotype. It also again shows that how Indians and Pakistanis share a similar culture even in terms of their dress.

The representation of the counter voices and elements of cultural similarities like the saree are extremely important details that are breaking the popularly held views about Pakistan and Pakistanis. In one of our aman chaupal sessions in which we tell Indian students about Pakistan, when asked about the official language of Pakistan, several students were confident that it is Arabic. With this and some other views expressed, it was clear that how they had stereotyped Pakistan to be a “conservative” country with one religion and one language (Arabic). They had a completely opposing picture of Pakistan. For them, Pakistan was completely different from India and there were no similarities. This was also not just an experience of one school but in all the other schools that we have done sessions, students had more or less the same views. Their views reflect the popular conceptions.

Thus, I feel that Zindagi Channel is a great and an important initiative that has been taken by the Zee network. By breaking these stereotypes and emphasizing on similarities in terms of language, culture and challenges that people of India and Pakistan share, it will become an important contribution to creating a culture of mutual peace and understanding among the people of India and Pakistan.

This article was published at Countercurrents