Dear
Sir/Madam,
Allow
me the first congratulate you on your steadfastness and courage in standing up
to the majority of Indians who are baying for vengeance. A lynch mob stands
outside your door and yet you have vehemently maintained that the juvenile,
even if he was a rapist and the most violent at that in the Nirbhaya episode,
deserved a lot more understanding and empathy. I salute you.
Now
that the first phase of the judicial process is over, one of the rapists
committed suicide in custody, four have been sentenced to death by the trial
court and the juvenile given the harshest punishment available to be meted out
to a juvenile ... three years. Not in a jail mind you, because a jail is not
conducive for reform for the impressionable mind of the juvenile, but in a
reform home where he will be ostensibly well looked after, watch Katrina Kaif
and Kareena Kappor gyrating on television extolling the viewer about their
respective jawanis or telling them to join their two hearts with the strongest
adhesive on Indian retail shelves. So what if another actress shakes her famous
hips declaring that she has become talli. I suspect the juvenile will get
pizzas from Dominos, an occasional Happy Meal from McDonalds or a bucket of KFC’s
finest. After all hunger is not the best way to proceed on a path of self
realisation and transform into a paradigm of virtue at the end of three years.
However,
as you and your community also keep reminding us, reform homes in India leave a
lot to be desired. There are not enough psychologists or psychiatrists, the
wardens and guards and the sundry other administration staff often look
lustfully at the juveniles under their care, there are cases of sodomy and
violence in juvenile homes. Yes a lot needs to be done as far as reform homes
are concerned which house juvenile offenders. Not an ideal place for reforms to
happen, I hear you say.
Let
us start with the most public of cases to hit the Indian psyche in recent
years, the juvenile convicted (can juveniles be called convicts?) in the
Nirbhaya case. You need to prove your point that juveniles are not criminals
and need to be treated with empathy, with understanding, with juvenile gloves.
Why throw away an entire life that lies ahead of them just because of one
stupid act of stupidity which they committed without comprehending what they
were doing? They are like our own children and need to be treated as such so
that they can grow up to be responsible adults. Well, Master Juvenile Rapist
has a little over two years in which the “system” needs to step forward and
deliver what he deserves – understanding and kid gloves.
However,
since the “system” will send him to a reform home which might not be the best
environment to expect the changes that we expect from him in the next two years
and a few months, I have an alternative suggestion that might be a lot more
helpful. Why don’t you volunteer to “adopt” him for the remaining period of his
“sentence”. Do bring him into your home and turn it into the reform home that
the judiciary in its wisdom has sentenced him to.
A
few words of caution though.
He
is prone to violence. So do not say anything that might turn on the violent
streak that he displays. He has been known to insert iron rods through private
parts, without remorse.
Be
careful with the female members of your family and be careful when you invite
members of the female disposition to your house for a get together or a kitty
party or a tambola or a Tupperware get together. Our friend is frustrated that
the gyrating heroines displayed so blatantly on cinema and television screens
are completely out of his reach. To give life to his fantasies, he just closes
his eyes and fantasises that the women in his grasp is the woman of his dreams.
And once he embarks on this journey, there is no saying where it might lead or
how violent this role-play might get.
He
is also a history sheeter and has a background of thievery. I can only advise
to keep your cupboards locked, but then you will know better having dealt with
unfortunate juveniles like him in the past. And thievery for him is not just
for jewellery, but for anything that might pay for his next fix – silverware,
rugs, items on your mantelpiece. He will take whatever he can lay his hands on,
make an effort to sell it, head for the closest supplier to get his fix.
Talking
of fix, he has been on drugs for many years. And if he does not get it, his
mood swing can be quite unpredictable.
He
is of extremely short temper. And it is almost impossible to guage what will
tick him off. An extra ladle of daal might do it, a roti burnt, an extra half
spoon of sugar in his tea, the heat, the cold, the rain, broken shoelaces, you
never know what will tick him off. Just be sure that you or your loved ones are
not in direct visual contact with him in a 20 feet radius since he is known to
throw objects at anyone in front of him to vent his anger, inflicting blunt
force trauma.
Expletives
are a part of his vocabulary. If in his more lucid moments links your husband
with your daughter, or your son with you, or indeed your son with your
daughter, do not mind it. I am sure that with your constant intervention, he
will understand the error of his ways and become a person in two and a half
years who will only recite verses from the Bhagavad Gita.
I
agree entirely with you that our institutions are not in a position to provide
the love and care that you could give in your own house. I urge you ardently,
for the future of this poor unfortunate Master Juvenile Rapist to come forward,
to put your practice where your preaching is, and welcome him into your home.
There
are a lot of juveniles in reform homes across India. There are a lot of ongoing
cases where juveniles are involved. I also urge you to start a nationwide
programme encouraging activists such as you to follow in your footsteps to
welcome convicted (again, can I use this term?) into their homes to provide a
conducive atmosphere for their mental development.
Meanwhile,
we the general public, will try and follow the advice of the lawyer of the four
“adults” when he suggests that we should burn our daughters if they dare to step
out of the home at night.
Jai
Hind. Satyameva Jayate. Mera Bharat Mahaan. India Shining. All these phrases remain
just that ... phrases.
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