Anger at the Nirbhaya rape case should lead to reform, not revenge

She is known as Nirbhaya, the fearless one. She has been turned into a modern Indian heroine. Poems and plays have been written about her and people have poured on to the streets to support her cause. Yet, when the first sentencing in the case of her gang rape and murder was delivered by a special juvenile court last Saturday in New Delhi, the anger against it was palpable.

Nirbhaya’s family has been outraged by the judgement, feeling cheated by the fact that the underage rapist, now 18, has been sentenced to just three years in a reformative institution. Her brother said the verdict was “unacceptable”, while her father asked whether it was a crime to be born a girl in India. Amid tears, her mother spoke of how she had hoped that all the rapists would be hanged. In this, they are joined by a multitude of voices.

Yet this case is at least reaching its conclusion, unlike so many others. And the sentence is the maximum the offender could have received under existing law. He was just a few months short of 18 at the time of the attack. He raped Nirbhaya twice, and even inserted an iron rod into her, pulling out her intestines and damaging other organs. The verdicts and sentencing of the remaining four adults are expected over the next few days. The sixth defendant, Ram Singh, was found dead in jail, allegedly having committed suicide.

Despite the outpouring of public anger, little appears to have changed in the nine months since Nirbhaya’s rape. In fact, on the day of the sentencing last week, four people, including two policemen, were arrested on suspicion of raping a woman outside Delhi.

Yet, India had hoped a more empathetic police force and judicial system would lead to enhanced security for women. Apart from the anti-rape legislation, the government had promised all kinds of measures.

But the reality is that it is doubtful whether the same attention will ever be paid to less high-profile cases. In 2012, according to government figures, out of 100,000 pending cases in courts, only 14,700 resulted in a verdict being delivered at all. And out of these, only about 3,500 of the accused were convicted.

And then, there are many who question whether nine months — the time since the December gang rape — really indicates speedy justice. Given the sense of anger and the mood of the nation, the overall sentiment is that the pronouncement should have been made within weeks, if not days. Thankfully, despite the pressure, the case has been dealt with according to all legal procedures; the prosecution, basing its case on the police investigation, has done a thorough job and the defence has also been allowed sufficient time to state its case. This is important in a country where even the judiciary has, sometimes, been accused of corrupt practices and endless delays.

But no matter how carefully the judge sifts through the arguments and delivers the final verdict, the fact is that nothing less than capital punishment is expected or will be accepted by an angry people for the rest of the accused. Politicians and activists, both men and women, have vociferously advocated hanging not only for these men if found guilty, but for everyone else who is convicted of rape as well.

This desire for retribution and summary justice is born out of frustration at the longstanding failure to address rape and other forms of violence against women. If this case does finally change Indian attitudes, we must hope that the change is not simply an increase in the desire for bloody revenge against rapists, but a demand that police and judicial effectiveness be ratcheted up. Then, perhaps, there would be less clamour for the harshest possible punishment.

— Guardian News & Media Ltd

Kishwar Desai is the author of The Sea of Innocence and Witness the Night, which won the 2010 Costa First Novel Award.