Reflecting society in convicting rapists : Life term for rape convicts
- Sangai Express Editorial :: June 26, 2013 -

An accused brought before the Court and inset the four convicts :: Pix - TSE

Bouquets are in line.

First to the police for building a strong case and to the judiciary for literally translating the phrase, ‘Long Arm of the Law’ into a reality and in a relatively short time.

A rarity in this part of the country. Life imprisonment is the quantum of punishment pronounced by the Sessions Judge Manipur West for the four persons, convicted of raping a woman in the intervening night of March 21 and 22 in 2012.

Brickbats are also in line. The utter failure on the part of the Government agencies to offer counselling and compensation to the rape victim, which is against the letter and spirit of the Scheme for Relief and Rehabilitation of Rape Victim as published in the June 21 edition of The Sangai Express, is reflective of an insensitive Government to victims of such outrages.

The infamous foursome of Laikhuram Rojit, Chungkham Ibomcha, Salam Rajen and Ksh Kennedy certainly managed to plot and script a tale in giving a new twist to the understanding of U Morok or more specifically U Morok trader and while the verdict of the Court should help in nullifying this distorted understanding, it still remains to be seen how effective it will be in acting as a deterrent in the future.

Gazing at the crystal ball at this stage may be premature but nevertheless, it is important to look beyond the verdict and study the potential impact such a verdict will have on the safety and well being of women in Manipur, a place which gave the world the Meira Paibi movement and which observes the Nupi Lan day annually, religiously.

That the rape of the U Morok trader did stir the conscience and outraged the sensibilities of the people cutting across communal and ethnic divides was clear from the spontaneous reactions across the State.

The slogan ‘Hang them’, the demand for ‘Capital punishment’ was more than a people willing to see the convicts being taken to the gallows.

It was more of a case of the collective reflection of a people against the growing crimes against women as well as ‘little or no belief’ that the system would deliver justice.

In hailing the sentence given by the Court, it is important to keep these points in mind too.

Nobody is born a criminal or a rapist and it is on this premise that the phrase, ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ may be said to rest.

A point which should be digested by society at the level of the individual and at the level of the smallest unit of society, the family.

In many ways, rape has a correlation with the status that society accords on women and while rape as a crime may be as old as the oldest profession in the world, people, especially in a place like Manipur, need to see rapes beyond the ambit of the law.

Sure harsh and tough legislations are indeed needed to tackle crimes such as rapes, a line of thought which has been well laid down in the recommendations of the Justice JS Verma Committee, but what is needed more is a change, a drastic change in the mindset of everyone.

No parents would teach their children that it is acceptable to rape but yet rapes continue to happen, that too at an alarming rate. This is what should worry everyone.

In the conviction of four persons, stands the conviction of society as a whole too, to a certain degree.

A point which many may not be able to accept, but a point which nonetheless needs thorough deliberations and thoughts.

Even as voices of protest and demand for severe punishments of the four accused rang out loud through the nooks and corners of Manipur, cases of rape continued to emerge from different parts of the State.

A reality, a harsh one at that, but which tell a significant story of their own.