Damini December Kranti at Vijay Chowk

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Damini December Kranti at Vijay Chowk

The widespread outrage against the brutal gang rape of Nirbhaya, as TOI has symbolically named the victim, peaked on Saturday with thousands of boys and girls from different colleges and schools turning up at the President's doorstep, on Raisina Hill, early in the morning, setting the stage for a confrontation with the police that lasted through the day. In the absence of a political response, which came only at the fag end of the day, the demonstrators clashed with the police many times, inviting many rounds of tear gas and lathicharge and extensive use of water cannon. By the time darkness descended, the thousands of agitators had been pushed to the India Gate lawns where they regrouped and later dispersed late at night. The police said that 35 protesters were injured in the clashes. A lathicharge was carried out seven times - five times in the morning and twice in the evening. A total of 125 rounds of tear gas were fired. Three water cannons were used at least seven times. In all 38 policemen and 13 CRPF and RAF men received injuries. This includes the additional DCPs (Central) Rajesh Deo and Sanjay Kumar Tyagi (New Delhi), who have been hospitalized. While most of the protesters got injured in the repeated lathicharge, the cops were hurt in brickbatting. In the violence, two DTC buses, all the fancy light fixtures at Vijay Chowk and two motorcycles were damaged. About 1500 policemen from five districts and paramilitary forces, led by special CP (law and order), had been stationed at Raisina Hills. He was being assisted by two joint commissioners and five DCP level officers. "We have registered a case of rioting and destruction of property at Parliament Street police station. We are studying the media footage in depth and identifying the hooligans. We will arrest them soon," said additional DCP ( PRO) Rajan Bhagat. According to home ministry officials, five policemen have been suspended for dereliction of duty and using excessive force without "provocation." All the suspended cops SI Rajeshwar, head constable Inder Pal and constables Jagmal, Pardeep and Chottelal are from Connaught Place police station. The police action came after the agitators had in a frenzy started pushing down police barricades and vandalized police vans in order to enter the high-security zone. Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed and a large numbers of policemen fielded to control the surging crowds. Every time the police tried to disperse the crowds, they would return in a more aggressive manner. Bleeding protesters were seen being rushed to hospitals. Some broke down with

tear gas stinging them in the eye. Angry protesters hurled empty bottles, shoes, bangles, coins and stones at the police in retaliation. They called it a 'revolution,' an expression of an 'overwhelming discontent' against the authorities. "We are angry. This is a climax of all our pent-up emotions. We will not tolerate such insults," said an angry protester. By around 9.30 am, the area around Raisina Hill had got filled in by a young crowd that was shouting slogans and waving banners. When the frantic protesters tried removing the barricades, the huge contingent of police retaliated by directing the water cannon at the crowd. People were seen running away but resumed the protest in a few minutes. Youths climbed on top of police buses, shouted slogans like 'we want justice' and 'Delhi police hai hai' again and again. People raised their hands repeatedly to show the cops the finger. Some tear gas shells fell on people, injuring them badly. That was only the beginning of hours of rioting and protest. "You cannot call this rioting. Where is the prime minister? Why is he mum? They could have easily responded by now. They are our elected leaders. They are bound to answer," said a student, a member of SFI. Significantly, these protesters were not from a single organization and didn't have a leader. They were a motley bunch. The students were during the course of the day joined by angry citizens, activists, professionals, families and NGOs whose demands were not aligned. Some demanded capital punishment for rapists while others called for castration. Many just wanted a speedy resolution of the case. There were human rights activists who cried foul over the people's demand for a death penalty and politicians who made the most of the occasion to make an appearance. "Do you see only women here? There are more men than women who are absolutely disgusted with this city and our leaders. All we are expecting is a response. Now leaders have to face the music," said another student of Delhi University. Some protesters who were at the front, near the barricades, claimed that a team of seven protesters were allowed to go inside Rashtrapati Bhavan but the President's office told them that they were not allowed to meet him without prior appointment. This angered the crowd even more. "There is uncontrollable outrage among the youth. The girl who was raped is also one of them. I think the issue is of utmost importance to the youth and no wonder this protest is so fiery," said Bhupinder Chaudhury, professor of history, Delhi University. "Most people here are students or young professionals. They are not just demanding justice but a complete abolition of patriarchal attitudes in the city," he said. Banners and slogans reflected the underlying resistance against moral policing and patriarchy. "Asking women to wear less provocatively is like presuming a man's natural instinct is to be a rapist. We are fighting the character of this city which stinks of feudalism. Of course we

demand justice for the girl, but it's also time the police and government change their ways. Girls will go out whenever they like," said Rahul, an engineer. Around 5 pm, clashes broke out at Vijay Chowk with the people and police getting into a catand-mouse chase. The crowd ran from South Block towards Parliament, breaching security. The police then hit out at people, irrespective of gender. The lathi-charge left the youth angry and they again started throwing bricks and water bottles at the police, hurting a few constables. The drama continued for over 30 minutes until police succeeded in barricading the road towards Parliament again and pushing the people out. Channel this anger to secure real changes Over the last five days, thousands of people, largely young girls and boys, have turned up on the streets of Delhi and other cities to express their anger at the gang rape of a 23-year-old in a moving bus last Sunday. They have braved lathicharges, tear gas and water cannons to register their rage. Their message is clear: this kind of crime against women will not be tolerated. However, this is time to give the people's movement greater relevance by thinking how this unprecedented energy can be channelized to secure more effective and durable outcomes. If we do not seize this opportunity to force some fundamental changes in the way our women are treated by officialdom, hoodlums and society at large, it would be a pity, and indeed, a fantasticopportunity lost. What do we want? That calls for clear thinking informed by a firm conviction that women deserve and must be given respect. Justice in this particular case is a must, but not enough. We must demand much more. The goal must be to create an overall environment in which women feel safe and comfortable. Today, women live with the threat of molestation and worse hanging over them all the time. We must, therefore, look at how the law can best deter incidents of rape and molestation, how the police can better ensure the safety of women and how society at large can contribute to this effort. In today's highly charged atmosphere, 'death for rapists' seems the slogan of choice in terms of deterrence. But we must think this through, especially when women's groups say that death penalty could be counter-productive. If a rapist knows he could get death if convicted, he might be tempted to get rid of the strongest evidence against him the testimony of the victim by killing her. That's why TOI had instead suggested chemical castration. Chemical castration depresses a man's libido and leaves him incapable of sexual arousal. In other words, we proposed that a rapist should be made "namard" a powerful deterrent, you will admit, in our society.

Together with deterrence, there must be a much higher conviction rate and speedier trials. That calls for the use of every technological tool available for catching the accused and gathering foolproof evidence against them. It also means we need special courts to deal with sexual offences so that cases finish fast and punishment is meted out while people still remember the crime. That way, the heavy price can be related to the crime. On the policing front, we need many more boots on the ground, and many more policewomen. We also need a police force with modern sensibilities, one that does not share the criminal's mindset that every woman out late at night or on a date with her boyfriend is of 'loose character' and hence fair game. So, it's the job of police seniors to educate their force. The police must learn that today's 'eve-teaser' a euphemism that makes sexual harassment seem like the innocuous chhed-chhaad of Bollywood is tomorrow's potential rapist. If we need to cut down on crimes against women, there must be zero tolerance for apparently minor ones too. The police must also recognize that drunken groups intimidating passers-by on the streets or in pubs are a major part of the environment that makes women feel unsafe and uncomfortable. There must be no tolerance for such behaviour too. But if we demand such zero tolerance from the police, we must practice it ourselves. We must speak up or at least complain to the police every time we see a girl being harassed or drunken louts creating a nuisance. If we ourselves take the easy option and look the other way every time we spot trouble, we would be letting down the brave girl fighting for her life in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

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