Suryanelli

Had meant to keep away from the subject rape since I think I wrote too many posts on the same but yesterday's revelation by an "eminent" judge gave me a sleepless night and I had to vent my fury on this poor blog!

The Suryanelli case must have got the attention of the entire nation since PJ Kurien, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha is also one among the accused. He never faced trial owing to many reasons while the victim continued to stand by her accusation. Initially all accused were punished by the lower court but later when they appealed, the High Court punished only one person to 5 years and let the others free. The reason being the the rape happened due to the consent of the victim! The two esteemed judges ends the 2005 judgement thus:

201. In the fiercely consumerist society that we live in, a young girl child is also exposed to so many temptations that it is difficult for the child which has not been groomed in proper atmosphere with a proper value system inculcated in it, to resist such temptations. Such children can be termed deviants but cannot be merely condemned and left to their fate . They too deserve the sympathy of the system as it is no crime of theirs that they are born and forced to grow up in such atmosphere. It is the duty of the secular state to give the requisite education to instil a proper value system in such future citizens. That must be reckoned as the incident of the constitutional obligation of the State to give free primary education. That obligation cannot be relegated by the State to religious or optional institutions. They too deserve the protection of the law against unintelligent, imprudent and immoral consent being extracted from them at that early age. No one should be permitted by law to rely on such alleged consent given by a minor aged less than 18 years, the fond child of law and equity. I may sum up by stating that raising the age of consent for sexual intercourse to 18 consistent with the stipulations in the saner subsequent enactments appears to be the unavoidable imperative before the system. At least the Kerala Legislature must take bold efforts to bring in suitable local amendments to S.375 of the Indian Penal Code and give leadership to others.

Yet, the reverse is what the judges have done by their judgement. Yesterday Basant reduced this girl to a child prostitute and also added that child prostitution is not rape but is only immoral! One girl's infatuation reduced her to a child prostitute; and all thanks to our eminent judges. With one stroke of the pen these "eminent" judges reduced the  victim to a child prostitute while letting loose potential molesters onto an unsuspecting public!

I doubt if these two gentlemen have ever raised children. We parents do not raise angels; they show many faults and if any childhood offence automatically reduces them to future criminals or prostitutes then strange are the laws that guide this society! 

56. When we read the evidence of PW3, we have to be cognisant of her psyche - her mental make up. Her past conduct and behaviour have to be borne in mind. She was only a student of 9th standard. She had squandered Rs.450/- entrusted to her by her father for remitting hostel fees, whether it was given to Arun as stated by the appellants or to the first accused as stated by the Prosecutor. 

A 9th standard girl's infatuation forced her to give money to her lover; how does this make her deviant? Instead it is very clear that a criminal tendency was shown by the much elder lover who took advantage of the girl's naivety. I know of much older girls with higher education who have fallen for such lovers. 

The case also talks about a letter that was supposed to have been written by the victim stating that she is leaving the house on her accord but this was never produced in court, yet the judges makes a bid deal out of it.

9. It is submitted by the appellants that no conspiracy is proved in this case. There is no cogent evidence in that regard. On the other hand the letter said to be written by PW3 to DW3 in the second case which has been suppressed by the prosecution will cut at the root of the allegation of conspiracy, it is contended.

Throughout the judgement care has been made to make it look as the girl willingly consented to all the accused.

11. It is further contended that even if PW3 is found to be believable otherwise, a conjoint reading of her evidence in toto will show that she was not an unwilling partner for intercourse. So far as the accused are concerned, there was no resistance from her part, so that those who approached her could discern that she was not willing for intercourse or there was absence of consent from the part of PW3. Absence of consent on the part of PW3 has not been satisfactorily proved in this case to bring home the guilt of the accused under Section 376(1) or 376(2)(g). It is further contended that the unwillingness now spoken to by PW3 before the court below is really an excuse found out by her to save her face in the family and among the relatives for her long absence of 40 days from her house. 

When the judges themselves agree that absence of consent has not been satisfactorily proved how did they arrive at such a judgement? Yesterday the judge repeated the visit of the girl to two hospitals and wonders why she never raised an alarm. Were the doctors too a part of this conspiracy? Or was she threatened to behave?

But after reading the entire judgement I now believe that an attempt was made to tarnish the image of the girl and her family and thus make the case weak. This has happened in every rape case and our nation is very familiar with the same. This case has been no different. The judges made no attempt to see through the usual patriarchal turf. They refused to see a girl in captivity raped endlessly by many but they saw a child prostitute willingly submitting to each visitor and taking either pleasure or money in return! I heard one lawyer heaping praises on Basant; but after reading the judgement I find no reason to support her. She should remember that if this incident was to happen to her or me, we would face the same fate. Our imaginary life and character will be written in courts and we will end up as the criminal while the accused walks free as victims of circumstances!

I suspect that this judgement was done in such manner that a re-investigation of the same would be very difficult. But they never expected the Supreme Court to be affected by the recent Delhi rape case. Her death has not been in vain. As someone commented yesterday, the revelation of the judge is also good at this juncture since it revealed the deep prejudices or outside influence that can affect the outcome of a case.

This judgement would also make any future allegation against P J Kurien difficult. But in the case of PJK, times have changed since two alibis( 1, 2) are now talking differently. The most curious fact is that none of them were produced in court or were any written/signed statement produced. I am not sure under what basis PJK escaped law but after reading this judgement any doubt of his innocence have evaporated from my mind. 

I only wish the media will pursue this case with the same vigor that they show now. As for Indiavision TV, the judge accuses them of wrong doing. But the lady reporter did reveal her identity and the judge did see a cameraman accompany her. The eminent Judge must know that journalists are always out for a cause. Basant also repeated the "child prostitute" theory during a seminar. Tehelka might have started sting operations but what Indiavision TV did could not be called such. Anyway, it has been the media which brought out the statement of the two alibis. They need to be applauded. 

But whatever, my only wish is that this girl and her family will be given justice at least after 17 years!

For further reading on gender bias and child prostitution:
http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/ghosts-of-the-past-hover-over-gender-justice
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/02/07/breaking-silence-0

Is Kerala thirsting for water?

Yesterday  I heard in the news that Bharathapuzha has broken into two pieces.. the river has refused to run it's course! It is normal for this river to run a little dry during the dry season but this is the first time that it has been entirely broken up. There were newspaper reports about rampant sand mining on this river.

Sand-mining had led to depletion of the groundwater level and had affected the water flow. Saline water entered the river easily, especially during summer. The three-month ban on sand-mining during monsoon was also not being enforced, he said.

But let me forget this river for a moment and talk about the one that runs in front of our place. It has it's origin from both the Pampa river and Manimala river. Both these rivers originates from the western ghats and from the district of Idukki. It has to be fed by rain and for the last two years monsoon has not been good. The Pamba is considered as the Dakshina Ganga (Southern Ganges) due to its association with Kerala's Largest Pilgrim Centre - Sabarimala. Manimala river passes through the districts of Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and finally joins the Pamba River at Muttar near Tiruvalla in Alappuzha district; very close to our place. From here it runs it's course through Kuttanad and joins the great Vembanad lake. 

The following photos were taken in year 2007. During each monsoon, this river spills onto the road but since the last few years it has not done so.

More photos can be viewed on my other blog : 

I also remember the time more than a decade back when this water came around the house too. This happens very rarely. 

 The following photos were taken during June of year 2009.

You can see the level of water. I doubt if water level will ever rise like before. 

Kerala is indeed going to face tough times. 

The State Disaster Management Authority has declared four districts drought-affected, with the monsoon months of June, July, and August bringing very little rain.

The districts declared drought affected are Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, and Kollam, an official press release said on Thursday. The State as a whole has received only 77 per cent of the normal monsoon rainfall so far. Rainfall was especially less in the above four districts.

Recently during a discussion I realized that most Keralites are not aware of the relation between low lying  fallow lands (Wet Lands) and ground water table. Earlier Kerala had much wet lands either as paddy fields, temple ponds or small ponds dug in each plot to catch the rain water and let it seep back into the ground. This person whom I spoke to wanted to know why we should retain paddy fields if we are not cultivating. Yes it is unfortunate that we are not cultivating and I am sure it looks like a waste of land but these low lying lands are important since only they can replenish the ground water. 

Each rainy season brings enough water to Kerala and can be used wisely. Rain water harvesting has started in Kerala but the decision is late.

The Government of India has directed the State Government to provide certain provisions in building rules, pertaining to incorporation of rooftop rainwater harvesting arrangements in building.

I fervently hope that monsoon will not fail the coming year too or should it? Just so that people will wake up finally? Else like Kuwait, one should build desalination plants for water supplies. But water is not the only issue. Can one imagine Kerala without all the greenery? I would rather quit my state than see it is such a sad situation. Then there is the issue of power too since 35% of power comes from hydroelectric power stations which depend on rain water. 

From March until the monsoon the well in our place becomes muddy since the level of water in the river falls very low. Right now we are pumping the river water and letting it seep into the ground. The water in the well is then just enough for a small household. We are also planning a solar energy system if we get a good company to do the same. A rain water harvesting system is also thought of. The day the river in front of us dry up then one can be sure that Kerala has become a desert!

For sure, if adequate measures are not taken the following scenes will be seen all over Kerala.

http://www.commonfloor.com/news/flat-dwellers-facing-water-shortage-in-kerala-27262
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article2963866.ece
http://www.cedindia.org/2008/10/development-of-drought-indices-for-kerala/