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Almost 6 years after Jyoti Singh's murder sparked off public outrage, her killers will face execution, affirmed the Supreme Court today. Yet, is this justice enough?
Almost 6 years after Jyoti Singh’s murder sparked off public outrage, her killers will face execution, affirmed the Supreme Court today. Yet, is this justice enough?
It was a cold night in December 2012, when a young woman was brutally raped and killed by six men. It was not the first time such a gruesome crime had been committed and sadly, it was not the last either.
However, this case that came to be known as the ‘Nirbhaya case’ jarred the consciousness of the entire nation. We realised that enough was enough and it was about time we fought back.
It was due to the media spotlight and the collective outcry of women across our country that the case got the attention it deserved. Jyoti Singh, who came to be called Nirbhaya, survived long enough to tell the horrific tale of her attack and identify her killers before she lost her battle for life. The case was put on fast track and the court delivered a death sentence to the convicts, declaring it one of the ‘rarest of rare’ cases where the viciousness of the crime was shocking.
This should have been the end of this story, but the convicts then filed a review petition with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed this petition and upheld the Death Sentence of the convicts. Though this action of the court restores our faith in the legal system, nonetheless, hasn’t justice been delayed in this case? After all, it is now close to six years after the event.
This case was supposed to set a precedent for all sexual crime cases where no mercy would be shown to the perpetrators of such crimes. Yet, one of the convicts managed to escape the legal system since he was a ‘juvenile’. Nirbhaya’s statement was that he was the most violent and dangerous of the attackers, but he is now free and out on the streets. The other four are managing to prolong the legal battle by using the many loopholes that our system offers.
In this case, there was no chance of mistaken identity as the victim herself as well as the eyewitness to the crime had positively identified the killers. There was evidence collected and proper investigation done, leading to their arrest and final sentencing. In such cases, I believe that the opportunity to file a review petition or appeal to President should be removed. The sentence should be swift and execution should be done quickly. If the escape routes for criminals are closed then the crime rate would fall drastically.
It is about time that Nirbhaya’s parents and all of us who are her supporters were given closure. She lost her life and her death sparked a fire in all of us. An innocent woman was raped, tortured and killed – only because six men took fancy to her. They had no fear that they would be caught, or punished for the heinous crime they were committing, let alone that they would be hanged for the murder they were planning – giving them the impetus to commit this ghastly act.
If today we do not change our legal system to strike fear in the hearts of potential criminals, we may lose many more daughters of the nation.
In one of the interviews, Jyoti Singh’s father said – “But what next? So much time has gone by and the threat to women have gone up in this span.”
It’s scary and true that nothing has changed for women; if anything, the situation seems to be worsening. At least, let’s not delay justice anymore for Nirbhaya anymore. Let’s execute these executions so that she can finally rest in peace.
My first book - Second Chances has just released and is present on all online book stores. Do pick up a copy to read about the adventures of a novice ghost. read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
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