link : The Little Girl of Kathua
The Little Girl of Kathua
'And when the baby girl who is buried alive will be questioned about;
For what offence was she killed?'
---Surah Al Takwir, Ch:81: 9-10)
Last month, the kidnapping, gang-rape and brutal killing of an eight-year old little girl in Kathua, in the Jammu region, caused a national outrage in India. And the country witnessed a series of popular protests against the rising tide of horrific incidents of violence against women and girl children in recent years. The government’s woeful record of abject failures in dealing with the question of safety and security of women and girl children was highlighted in these mass mobilizations. Across several cities and townships, public meetings called for ending the prevailing culture of impunity around sex and gender-related crimes. That the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was reminded on Indian women’s safety by well-meaning foreigners during his recent tour of Britain speak volumes about the national dishonour these institutional failings represent for the people.
The Kathua incident came to national prominence for a number of reasons, including safety of women and the place of Muslims in India in this era of Hindutwa chauvinism. For one, the victim was in her tender years, a girl child-all of eight years of age; belonging to a nomadic, tribal community of Muslims- one of the most marginalized sections of the people in the land. Second, the perpetrators belong to the Hindus and the crime was perpetrated inside the village Temple, right in front of the deities they worshipped and they chose her as a victim not just because of her identity as a girl-child, but also to send across a message of intimidation, fear and violence and thereby expel her community of Muslims from the area. Third, the perpetrators had powerful political patronage in seeking impunity from prosecution for their despicable crime. In the cauldron of communal politics being practiced by the ruling ‘Hindutwa’ forces in India today, even ‘Hindu’ groups and their cabinet Ministers in the province chose to close ranks and come out openly in support of the perpetrators and even abused the national flag so as to obstruct the legal proceedings, including the filing charge sheets in the judicial system!
Ever since Prime Minister Modi has come to power in India, the Hindutwa thugs under his ideological wings have been brazenly and wantonly indulging in the politics of hate and oppression against the national minority. Scores of Muslim cattle-traders and other common youths have been victims of mob lynchings by Hindutwa marauders operating in the name of ‘Cow Protection’, ‘Love Jihad’, etc. Politics has been abused to obstruct the course of justice in almost all issues where the interests of Muslims are under trial. The fact that even an offence like rape and sexual assault is ought to be justified in the name of racist chauvinism and religious affiliation indicates the dire state of affairs now. More than ever before, India needs to have a public debate on the dignity and rights of its Muslim citizens and their legal entitlements.
The little girl of Kathua is asking the Indian State and its people certain hard questions beyond the issue of child safety. We can look the other way only if we do not want to accept the haunting reality that surrounds us. These questions pertain to the quality of our democracy and rule of law; the integrity of our value systems and the commitment of our rulers to constitutional ethos of the State and the type of men and women we want our society to be. Thoughtful people will find much to ruminate on the Qur’anic wisdom:
“Surely, Allah commands you to make over the trusts (such as the affairs of the state) to those who are competent to it, and that when you judge between the people you should judge with justice. That which Allah exhorts you to do is best indeed. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing”.(Surah Al Nisa, 4:58)
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The Little Girl of Kathua
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