I can’t help but wonder at the depths we have plumbed in the decade since the brutality of the December 16, 2012 gang rape led an outraged nation to demand justice, compelling the then Congress-led government to tighten rape laws.
Since 2012, violent crimes against women have only gone up, a reflection perhaps of both rising crime and a greater willingness to report it.
In the video, the bleeding girl, her hands outstretched, pleads for help. But the men who stand around are far too busy filming the “scene”, until Manoj Pandey, the policeman in charge of the Kannauj outpost, arrives, scoops up the girl, and rushes her to the hospital in an auto-rickshaw. In the outrage that follows this monstrous display of apathy and voyeurism, several reasons are offered on TV debates: Patriarchy, the desire for social media “fame” and rising crimes against women.