Atrocities on Dalits are on the rise in Indias Haryana State Slug: India rape Date: 11/10/2012 Reporter: Bismillah

Geelani INTRO Indias northern state of Haryana is among the most prosperous states with an impressive economic development indicator. But the state has mostly been in news for all the wrong reasons. Earlier it grabbed headlines for the worst sex ratio caused by the large scale female feticide. The world is celebrating the first International Day of the Girl Child this week, but Haryana is making headlines for a series of sexual assaults on women. More than a dozen women have been raped in the state in the past month alone. Bismillah Geelani has the story. TEXT SFX-1 Jyoti speaking---- Bed Under Narration Jyoti is a 16-year old Dalit girl from Haryanas Hissar District. She was on her way to visit her grandmother in the neighbouring village when a group of young men from upper caste Hindu families abducted her. Jyoti CLIP 1 ( FEMALE HINDI ) They were eight and came in a vehicle. They put a gag in my mouth and pulled me into the vehicle. Then they took me to the riverside and raped me one by one. They also made a video of all this and then they gave me a sleeping pill and left me there. The assailants later threatened Jyoti that they would make the video public if she lodged any complaints against them. Jyoti didnt tell anybody about the incident, not even to her parents. But the men still circulated the video in the village through mobile phones. Jyotis father Krishan Kant could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide. The villagers say he had been receiving threats and was under tremendous pressure. Natwar Singh is Krishan Kants neighbour. Singh CLIP 1 ( MALE HINDI ) He wanted to file a case against the accused but people stopped him from doing that. Everyone was scared because they were threatening that they would do this and they would do that. So when he saw no way of getting justice, in sheer helplessness he decided to end his own life.

Another teenage Dalit girl Meenakshi, set herself on fire after she was raped by two upper caste men from her neighbourhood. She died in hospital after naming her attackers. Meenakshi also revealed that a police constable stood guard while she was being raped inside a locked house. Raman is Meenakshis cousin. Raman CLIP 1 ( MALE HINDI ) The police is meant for our protection. We expect them to guard us against various threats but if they become partners in such heinous crimes and become a threat themselves, who will remain safe and how? At least 15 such rape cases have been reported from Haryana in the past month alone. Like Jyoti and Lakshmi, most of the victims belong to the Dalit community. Paul Dibakar is coordinator for the the National Campaign of Dalits. He says atrocities on Dalits are on the rise in Haryana. Dibakar CLIP 1 ( MALE ENGLISH ) Lets accept that it is caste-based discrimination that has caused these heinous crimes not just in Haryana but elsewhere too but then, no stringent measures have been taken and Haryana is one of the most noticeable states where crimes against Dalits are going unabated. I think it is a gross impunity, crimes can be committed and people can get away, this attitude is there in most of the states but Haryana seems to be taking a leads in this. Dibakar says that police and other government agencies are putting pressure on the victims to compromise and not seek prosecution of the accused persons. Dibakar CLIP 2 ( MALE ENGLISH ) The state machinery, especially the police and the executive including the political representation are as a matter of fact trying to pressurize the victims and trying to implicate them in false cases in order to compromise. In many cases we have found that this is done to prevent Dalits from accessing justice after the crime has been committed. The police however deny these charges. Rajive Singh is Director General of Police. Ranjive Singh CLIP 1 ( MALE ENGLISH ) We are not doing any such thing we are not putting pressure on these people we are putting pressure only on the families of the accused persons. SFX- 2 Protest The series of rape cases have sent shockwaves across the country evoking protests from human rights activists and womens groups in and outside the state. All major political parties also reacted strongly, some even sending their delegations to meet the victims and their relatives. But the response from the local elders was quite unexpected.

SFX TV The village elders council known as Khap Panchayat holds television and films responsible for the situation saying that the youth are hitting puberty in early age because of over exposure to films and TV programs. And the solution they are suggesting is lower the marriageable age for girls from 18 to 15 years and for boys from 21 to 18 years. Bhajan Lal is the member of a Khap Panchayat. Lal CLIP 1 ( MALE HINDI ) It is because of their sexual desires. The inability to meet these desires is driving them to such extreme measures. In this situation the best thing would be to lower the marriage age and marry them off. Khap Panchayats are considered an authority on social issues and their dictates, which sometimes even go against the law, are seldom violated. Some senior politicians including the former chief minister Om Prakash Chauthala were quick to back the Khaps proposal. Chauthala CLIP 1 ( MALE HINDI ) When the Mughals ruled India, they used to kidnap young girls and rape them, and to deal with the situation people used to marry their children especially girls in early age in order to protect their honour. I think the suggestion to lower marriageable age is a wise one because it can help us protect our honour and dignity even today when things like gang rapes have become a routine. But to many the suggestion is as shocking as the crime of rape itself. Indira Jaisingh is a human rights lawyer. Jaisingh CLIP 1 ( FEMALE ENGLISH ) What the suggestion points to is the fact that marriage is being used to legitimize rape. In other words if you marry off your daughter it is okay for her husband to rape her but it is not okay for any other man to do so. A rape is a rape whether a woman is married or not married, whether she is 15, 16 or above 60. Jaisingh says the society and the government must strongly resist institutions like Khap Panchayat, protect individual and womens rights and create an environment where there is zero tolerance for crimes like rape. Jaisingh CLIP 2 ( FEMALE ENGLISH ) Why cant we as a nation agree to two things, one we will not tolerate any marriage of any girl below 18 years of age, and Two, a rape is a rape whether the women is raped by her husband or a stranger and whether it is a Dalit women or any other women it cannot be dealt with except by the severest form of Punishment. From New Delhi, this is Bismillah Geelani for Asia Calling.