Daily Times

On the heels of the Indian government’s scandalous handling of a grisly rape case in the northeastern state of Manipur, shocking details of a minor getting gang-raped at a hospital in Rajasthan where she was about to deliver a child as a result of a prior episode of assault has profoundly shaken Indian society.

The state authorities have yet to respond to the devastating details making rounds on social media but going by the heart-wrenching string of gender-based violence in the last few weeks, the tragedy does not appear too far-fetched. India is in no mood to learn from its mistakes. More than a decade after the brutal rape of a young woman in a bus in New Delhi, those at the helm of the affairs still feel content with a few feel-good headlines and the same-old character assassination of victims.

The horrifying details of the broth brewing right underneath their noses are clear to everyone but those who take great pride in their great “modern” civilisation. That the rape capital of the world is the most dangerous country to females is old news but the goddess-worship does not force its worshippers to extend the same degree of respect to ordinary women walking on the street.

From being attacked by acid to being stripped in broad daylight to being raped on the slightest of excuses, the heart-breaking episodes should have rattled the largest secular democracy in the world to pull its socks and ensure justice is served. But since these women are not in great peril in the Muslim world, both the Modi Administration and the Western world feel half-hearted messages of denunciation are enough. Why bother meddling in the affairs of a strategic partner even if it means those living under its flag languish in an everlasting fire? The whataboutism could not be more glaring! *