A Guwahati Mass-Molestation in Mangalore

30 July. If comparisons are unfair, so are criminal acts against humanity.

If Assam’s heinous Guwahati-Molestation be the yardstick to conjecture the inhuman gravity of the crimes against women in public places in Mangalore, the latter outweighs the former. This is not to say, the dastardly act against a girl walking out of a pub in Guwahati, on 09 July 2012, was any less inhuman. The agony and humiliation of that girl cannot be compared to anything else, anywhere; more so because the immoral police of Guwahati were actively aided in that act by the immoral media themselves!

But what happened in Mangalore on Saturday night was unacceptable, anti-national, inhuman, and condemn-able, to say the least. No civilized society can and should tolerate such incidents.

A private party at a private resort. Some students, said to be an engineering college students, seemingly with the permission of their parents. (Never mind the permission-or-no issues regarding adults!)

There barge in some 40-50 members of an secretly-political outfit (but “dressed in” religious garb) called Hindu Jagaran Vedike (HJV). Well, don’t go by these names. They are all the same. Subhash, the main culprit who attacked girls in a Mangalore pub in 24 January 2009, is the same assailant this time too! The last time, he and his gang claimed to be members of Sri Ram Sene! What’s in a name after all! Attacking elements are the same! On TV channels, last night after the Padil incident, most leaders of SRS, HJV, and some other “religious-cultural” organizations condemned the youngsters and supported the brutal attack! They uttered some non-sense like “Our culture”, “rave party”, “illegal activities”, etc.

Padil is roughly 3-4 km away from Hampankatta – the “heart” of Mangalore city, if you like it that way. It’s on the way to Bantwal, B.C. Road, towards Bangalore highway. Mangalore’s “new” railway station “Kankanady Junction” is located in this area. The area has a history of some communal elements. So, you expect some “sensitivity” tag to the area. But unfortunately, there are human beings also living – citizens of the country who fit the democratic requirements.

And there, in Padil, is a private family resort Morning Mist. Some students (seemingly five girls and eight boys) -on Saturday the 28 July 2012- were at a birthday party.

The time is around 6pm on 28 July 2012, Saturday, according to some sources. The local TV channels are waiting much before the criminal elements barge into the party hall! Ditto Guwahati-molestation? (Or should we compare the 09 July 2012-Guwahati-molestation with the 24 Jan. 2009-Mangalore attack on girls in a pub?) Comparison does not stop there, though.

The unruly elements slap boys and girls. Strip them semi-naked, probably to portray them as engaged in “unlawful activities”. When girls cover their faces, some gang-members squeeze and fondle the girls’ faces, force them, drag them and open their faces to face the cameras! TV cameramen gleefully record these indecent visuals to entice larger viewership and make money. Public humiliation is the dominant motive. Some even slapped and dragged girls by their hair!

The goonda elements ask, is this our culture, and take law into their hands!

Whose culture anyway? Whose law is it? Who should follow, and why?

There is a massive rage in Mangalore and across the country. Everybody is asking, ‘what is the police doing?’ I say, a few months ago, a police inspector (PI) in Sullia thrashed some moral police (though he did not know that it was a Bajarang Dal member; and Sullia is the “native place” of the-then chief minister of Karnataka Mr Sadananda Gowda; colour saffron rules these hamlets). And the PI was immediately transferred from there! The same police force in Mangalore, put on their web home page the picture of RSS cadre marching with ‘danda’ and short pants, as the symbol of service! If you know who rules Mangalore, you won’t ask such naive questions like “what is the police doing?” or “why can’t somebody take action against such anti-national elements?” No! You can’t. Power is the most dangerous thing! Be it political or religious! In the name of morality, rectitude, rules and regulations, they destroy human dignity and spirit.

Unfortunately, democratic ways don’t exist in Mangalore. Nor will democratic protests have any impact – at least for the time being. Those who respect and try to preserve the Constitution of India are not respected or preserved in India. That’s my personal pessimism.

Facebook and website comments are replete with people’s anger. Youngsters’ rage on the social media is understandable. Protests and anger unlimited. But youngsters, your FB rage won’t take you too far; most of these unruly elements don’t read anything, don’t listen to anything sensible – except “pose for”; they stand for irrationality, blind-selfishness, and destruction. Any effective protest, should take perceptible forms – the way these goons and the public see and feel it.

The pity is those well-meaning, decent ones who adhere to norms and live their life quietly protest on social media and small-scale publicity; those dangerous elements do it in public and go unpunished! (Eg: Mahendra Kumar, former State chief of Bajrang Dal, who attacked Churches across Karnataka in Sept. 2008 (which has been going on even now!), is the Janata Dal leader, now!)

What do you say?
Stern action should be taken against such self-styled moral police, the paid-police who refuse to act, the politicians and media who instigate and support such crude behaviour, and all those support such vandalism.

Today’s Udayavani daily reports the unfortunate incident with a heavy saffron slant. Earlier it was Vijay Karnataka. Fortunately, those responsible for such publication in VK have been thrown out. But other media and media persons still exist. What about UV?

How long are we going to tolerate these molestations, “Hindu-cutlure” and “Rave Party”-attacks! There should be a full-stop!