Rape-of the body and the being of a woman

RAPE- OF THE BODY AND THE BEING- OF A WOMAN-

I had not finished writing a piece on `rape of the body and being’ in the context of the recent crimes against women- when crime most foul and the unkindest cut struck my heart … and I cried when a news anchor was quite welled up in the eyes and his voice mellowed with sadness over the murder of a 25 year girl by her father, shot point blank not to miss the kill and so sure of his shots…But why? Because she had dreams and was an independent girl…that there are many investigative angles to the crime…the father’s plea of societal pressures and the people taunting him of living of his daughter’s earnings who ran a tennis academy and was a national level tennis player with an international game promise…
She shared with her friends that she was under tremendous pressure from her family as they were very conservative and controlled her life in myriad ways…

If a people of a country do not `self-reflect’ or if they do not raise their voices or if they relent in the face of arbitrariness, repression and the highhandedness of authority ( be it in any form- whether of the private individuals, groups or community or of the wings of governance), they are pitting themselves against progress and the best values of modernity and tradition. And that marks the decay of a society or the people and apathy that sounds like `shut your doors at best and don’t worry about the rest’ or simply look the other way. I am afraid that this `looking the other way’ is a staple in our social fabric and some strange kind of dependence on authority figures in politics and governance.
So the more organized a fraternity , the more efficacious the voice, otherwise who cares about an individual’s sigh, even in death and rape of a woman…The sigh dies in the din of noise and crowd…Then they say that you must and should be happy unconditionally…so in other words be a slave and be happy in the choking of your voice and your life-breath…any attempt to hold to your life-breath would be met with the thud of death and rape, insult and ignominy – so you are expected to wait for a `gang rape’ to undo your body and being , your life-force and your spirit, not just attempted upon, or threatened with … It is a real travesty of dignity and self-respect that such is the `Rule of Law’ in practice with the police and the authorities who have the power of governance.
Melancholy …only Melancholy after insult and ignominy, after the stripping off of your life-force and being …and those clothes literally and figuratively against your will and consent- you have been raped…so where do you go from here?
Yes , rape is real and alive – and then death by the rapist – and if not death, then living with the feeling of dying each moment – when you are expected to `fight’ it out in the law courts and `explain’ to the police – the police who will do their best to prove you wrong and wriggle out of its responsibility – then the rest is staple – character assassination of the woman/girl… the `history’’ of her conduct and so on and so forth.
So is it time for women to take `exit’ and those men who are with the feminine. This exit can be in many ways…
1. DO NOT FORGIVE
2. Move law Court
3. Commit suicide
4. Renounce to `wilderness’ ( could be forest)
5. Rebel and fight back
6. Pick up arms-Become an outlaw
7. Renouncing life as an escape to some `ashram’ or a `nunnery’ ( not an option at all).
8. Seminars on Rape and other crimes against women ( only academic exercises and not at all with any spark of rebellion.)
Different women and some men respond in different ways …all are valid- for what is left when all is lost?
Melancholy- Melancholy has a force – tears rolling down your / my eyes have strength- they speak – listen to them-A moment of mindfulness( or meditation) is seeing reason when all is lost and picking yourself up to cry , to shout, to rebel, to express zero-tolerance and decide not to forgive under any circumstances, melancholy is a way of loud mourning…mourning is real…and it may not heal …it is important to realize the insult and ignominy , the pain of the body and the being…that feeling of being undone…because it is real…it will remind you in looking at what you have lost – your laughter and your nonchalance that was a part of your being- your `couldn’t care less’ streak of swaying with music or re-imagining yourself in romance , whether with a man or with an idea or even the simple yet scintillating bounties of nature- and that is your moment of rebellion- preparing your mind against the injustice which makes life wanting to take a leap- be it in the form of revenge and vindication of your rights for sure- Do all of this before your life becomes a `journey into nowhere’ , a `cul-de-sac’ …you can make `looking back’ your strength… an athlete has one foot as the back step when he gets set to run…but that is what melancholy has the potential to lead you to-
You must be wondering- `What is the trigger?’- There are many triggers- but the immediate trigger is the Rape of a woman Law student in Calcutta Law College- What is expected of this woman? And her family? To frequent the law courts and the police-stations- to be a witness to the insult and ignominy everyday – the stripping of your being everyday- for there will be no dearth of obscene analysis of the body and the rape on it and the plunder of it- what would be the price that one would pay for justice?
Melancholy again! Why can’t women and men stop for a while and cry? What’s wrong with shedding tears? This is not weakness- this is not being a`victim’ but your interface with the human `will’, your meeting with yourself – but fueling yourself for the war ahead…
************************************************

Here are the news items –

The Calcutta Law College Rape of a young student in the College premises- ————– Source: Internet-` The Hindu’
In that case, a 24-year-old first-year law student was gang-raped on June 25 ( 2025), allegedly by a former student and two seniors on the college premises. The incident triggered widespread outrage and demands for a central agency probe. The victim’s lawyer recently submitted key details to the Calcutta high court.
So far, four individuals have been arrested, including the prime accused Monojit Mishra, a former student, and two senior students — Promit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed. A security guard, Pinaki Banerjee, was also taken into custody after giving “incoherent” responses during questioning.
The student alleged that Mishra sexually assaulted her inside the security guard’s room on the college’s ground floor between 7.30 pm. and 10.50 pm on June 25.
During a hearing on Thursday, the Calcutta High Court directed Kolkata Police to submit an updated progress report on the investigation within four weeks.
****************************************************************************
Student of IIM Calcutta arrested for allegedly raping a woman on campus –

(Source- The Hindu- on the internet )
This development comes within a month of the alleged gang rape and assault on a 24-year-old student in the premises of the South Calcutta Law College

Updated – July 12, 2025 12:42 pm IST – Kolkata This development comes within a month of the alleged gang rape and assault on a 24-year-old student in the premises of the South Calcutta Law College, raising questions on the safety of women in the educational institutions of the city.
Published – July 12, 2025 11:56 am IST

*************************************************************************************************

Madhya Pradesh: 12-yr-old girl bleeding from rape shooed away by people in Ujjain, priest rescues victim
India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | Sep 27, 2023, at 09:49 pm
#MadhyaPradesh #CrimeAgainstWomen #Rape #Minor
Ujjain: A horrifying video of a 12-year-old girl, raped and bleeding from injuries, helplessly wandering in a semi-naked state, seeking help door-to-door, has taken the nation by shock. The incident occurred in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, the state with a dismal record of violence against women and girls.
People stared at her, apathy clearly visible as they refused to help despite her pitiable condition. One of them even shooed her away as she begged him for help, NDTV reported.
People’s indifference to the traumatized minor girl, who begged for their help and protection, was caught on CCTV camera at Badnagar road, about 15 km from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.
The girl eventually reached an ashram where a priest suspected sexual violence, said the report.
He covered her with a towel and rushed her to the district hospital. The medical examination confirmed rape, it said.
She was rushed to Indore for advanced treatment as her injuries were serious and she needed blood.
Police personnel came forward to help her with blood, the report said.
Her condition is now stable, said the report.
She could not respond clearly to queries about her name and her address, said police, it added.
A case of rape against unidentified accused has been registered under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Ujjain police chief Sachin Sharma said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to identify and catch the culprits at the earliest.
He said the location of the crime will be soon found as the investigation has just started.
He added the girl’s accent indicates that she could be from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh
The blood-curdling incident has once again put Madhya Pradesh under the scanner for being a hub of crime against women.
In 2021, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of rapes in the country in 2021- 6,462 – as per the National Crime Records Bureau data.
Minor girls were victims in over 50 percent of the crimes, which is equivalent to 18 rapes per day.
Madhya Pradesh along with Maharashtra also reported the topped the cases of disappearance of women and girls between 2019 and 2021.
******************************************************************

India police volunteer gets life sentence for rape, murder of junior doctor
The killing of the 31-year-old medic at a state-run hospital in Kolkata city highlighted the chronic issue of violence against women in the country.

Doctors in New Delhi shout slogans during a protest demanding justice following the rape and murder of the trainee medic [File: Adnan Abidi/Reuters] Published On 20 Jan 202520 Jan 2025
An Indian court has awarded the life sentence to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital she worked at in the eastern city of Kolkata.
Judge Anirban Das on Monday rejected demands for the death penalty for Sanjay Roy, saying it was not “the rarest of the rare cases”, and ordered that the 33-year-old convict must spend his life behind bars.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4
Police volunteer found guilty in India doctor rape, murder case
list 2 of 4
Doctors in India’s Kolkata resume strike, demand action on safety
list 3 of 4
What happened in the Kolkata rape case that triggered doctors’ protests?
list 4 of 4
Sombre mood after a Kolkata rape and murder dampens Durga Puja celebrations
end of list
Roy has consistently maintained his innocence, alleging he had been framed. He can appeal the judgement in a higher court.
The 31-year-old trainee doctor’s bloodied body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. An autopsy found she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
Her parents broke into tears inside the court on Monday, saying they were “shocked” at the sentence and had hoped her murderer would be hanged, for a case that highlighted the chronic issue of violence against women in the world’s most populous country.
“We are shocked by the verdict,” the victim’s father told the AFP news agency, tears running down his face. “We will continue our fight, and won’t let investigations stop… Come what may, we will fight for justice.”
Family members cannot be identified in keeping with Indian law on the reporting of sexual violence cases.
The federal police who investigated the case had argued the crime belonged to the “rarest-of-rare” category and demanded the death penalty for Roy. The state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party had also demanded death for him.
*******************************************************************************
Sexual assault in a police station in Odisha-
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 24, 2024 20:50 IST
Written By: Abhishek De : INDIA TODAY
In Short
• Alleged custodial assault of Army officer, his fiancée sparks outrage
• General VK Singh (retd) seeks immediate action against police personnel
• Police say couple were drunk, created ruckus at police station
The alleged torture of an Army officer and sexual assault of his fiancée at a police station in Odisha have led to Army veterans and retired police personnel firing off allegations in the case that has triggered nationwide outrage. While Army veterans, including General VK Singh (retired), have called the incident “shameful and horrendous”, retired police officers – while calling for action if cops are found guilty – have also questioned the behaviour of the couple, claiming they were drunk.
ADVERTISEMENT
The accusations and counter allegations came as videos purportedly showing the couple engaging in a brawl with a group of people went viral on social media.
The woman has alleged that she was thrashed and sexually assaulted at Bharatpur police station, while her Army officer-fiancé was illegally locked up in a cell by the police. The incident happened when the couple went to lodge a complaint over a road rage case.
********************************************************************

Now listen to your own voice…let not authority of any kind repress you ….and do not stall your meeting with yourself …you are not becoming a `victim’ in doing this….and please do not look the other way…Rape of the Body, Being, Rape of the journey of life of this woman student at the Law College in Calcutta…Melancholy and tears area valuable emotion – not to be hidden under wraps in the fear of being branded a `victim’ and `weak’ – What happens when the dreams and desires of the heart threaten to sleep….Today I leave you with the interface with your being …feel the melancholy and the claustrophobia which haven’t come out of any `victimisation’ but out of a spark of being close to your human self and human will…feel the attack to rebel….
This brings us straight to the question of Rule of Law- Such crimes give a very poor embedding of the Rule of Law in our country …it is one thing to make laws by declaring them from a pedestal but quite another to validate them in terms of the social fabric to absorb them through lived experiences…education in the liberal arts that teach humanism and humanitarian values , and they are not devoid of scientific temper…humanity has evolved very fine ways of living that set us apart from the `law of the jungle’…and that is how we can imagine life in the best of its human tenets… human dignity, courage and valour in adversity and the understanding of liberty as `self regarding’ and `other regarding’ – which means I can enjoy my freedom to the fullest as long as I do not axe or encroach upon the freedom of others…this is also how the parameters of freedom expand and this is the flavor of `social contract’ and the backbone of Constitutionalism …Constitutionalism being the constant struggle to win and negotiate and earn through the analysis of lived experience , more and more freedom and less censorship with the competition of ideas and opinions.
The above episodes of Rape show that India in terms of its social fabric needs to invoke the literary character and imagination of Draupadi in its spirit instead of encouraging and tolerating subjugation, repression and mental slavery …Draupadi invokes the law, she gives a war-cry for justice and dignity …so instead of the images of women as vulnerable and weak , we can have women with voices and strength …women who ask the tough questions…
And here we need to take a protest walk- walk of Rebellion… Do we need more Rapes to grasp this.. Do we need more women to die in insult , ignominy and violence?
It’s a shame that law students who are supposed to stand for Life and liberty and human dignity are shamelessly committing heinous crimes against women.. they are shamelessly violating Life and Liberty … We as a country , if we have to reap the best of the time that we are in, we must get our perspective and our narrative crisp and sharp as we analyze the lives that we live… these crimes of unpalatable demeanour are to have zero tolerance , and exemplary punishments if we consider ourselves to have even an iota of civilized moorings…
It depends on us as to what narrative we create. If some sick men seek validation by throwing their weight around and flexing their macho imagery by raping women and thus plundering their life and liberty … the social fabric then is surely and shamelessly on a poverty-stricken narrative , stinking of squalor and a grossly crass existence.
Some rascal men, in whatever professional garb they happen to be, are groomed to conduct themselves with strange concoctions of authority, highhandedness and crime against women and in violation of their Life and Liberty.
And having said this, let me say that these are only the basic foundations and far from what can come after this – that is the opportunity to live the lives that women are capable of and women as an agency in the social fabric…
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 24, 2024 20:50 IST
Written By: Abhishek De
In Short
• Alleged custodial assault of Army officer, his fiancée sparks outrage
• General VK Singh (retd) seeks immediate action against police personnel
• Police say couple were drunk, created ruckus at police station
The alleged torture of an Army officer and sexual assault of his fiancée at a police station in Odisha have led to Army veterans and retired police personnel firing off allegations in the case that has triggered nationwide outrage. While Army veterans, including General VK Singh (retired), have called the incident “shameful and horrendous”, retired police officers – while calling for action if cops are found guilty – have also questioned the behaviour of the couple, claiming they were drunk.

The accusations and counter allegations came as videos purportedly showing the couple engaging in a brawl with a group of people went viral on social media.
The woman has alleged that she was thrashed and sexually assaulted at Bharatpur police station, while her Army officer-fiancé was illegally locked up in a cell by the police. The incident happened when the couple went to lodge a complaint over a road rage case.
WATCH THIS SHORT FILM-
Link – DEVI-short Film
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDIyLi4xSM4yYPTiT0kty1QozsgvKlFIy8zJBQCcMwo8&q=devi+short+film&oq=[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]