Step Forward India!

QMUL Indian Society is affiliated with National Indian Students Union, UK

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

Dear Sir/Madam,

We, as British students, write to you today for us individually and collectively to become this change. 

Following the recent horrifically brutal rape cases in India, we wish to express to you the urgent changes we, as a student body, want to see in India. These incidents are indeed atrocities; nevertheless, we feel that the ensuing shock, sadness and anger can be used as a platform to make the world’s largest democracy great again.

In this way, we support the Justice Verma Committee Report and propose that the following judicial, political and social changes be implemented:

Social Service

•         Access to public helplines and contact to social workers to help women who have been ‘survivors’ of sexual violence.

•         The establishment of 24 hour help centres for rape and sexual assault victims, with the provision of free public telephone booths in every village connecting the caller immediately to the closest help centre.

 

Police Force

•         Training: Police officers must be trained to deal with rape cases and to deal with every case sensitively, seriously and with urgency. Better training, will also mean that rape victims might be more willing to approach the authorities when in need and overcome social stigma.

•         Representation: the police force should be representative of Indian Society. It is currently predominantly dominated by the male gender as only 7% of India’s police force are women. This makes, rape ‘survivors’ hesitant to report their cases, due to lack of empathy received.  If more women were recruited, then there are higher chances of crimes being reported and justice being done. This is because women tend to be more understanding; hence, not only women would reach out, but also men and children too.

 

The nation’s trust in the police force will not be re-instilled if strong action is not taken immediately.

 

Judiciary

•         Representation: similar to the representation point with regards to the police force, the same stands for the judiciary. These judicial leaders must reflect the people they represent.

•         Arbitrariness: as proposed by the Justice Verma Report, there should be a minimum sentence of 7 years to life for criminals convicted of rape. There should be no discretion in the judiciary as to the minimum sentence and it should be strictly and objectively enforced. Wide discretion in the sentence will result in unfairness and might not have the effect the sentence intends to have on the perpetrator.

•         Equal rights laws: the current laws in India need to be reviewed and reformed to promote gender equality. This is required in order to expect changes in the public’s mentality. 

 

Education

•         Adverts and social media: the government should use the impact of the media to change social attitudes by promoting gender equality, discourage sexual violence and emphasise the need for a greater role for women in public services. This goal can be achieved by effectively creating advertisements, scripting applicable story lines in films and television serials, PSA’s and nationwide campaigns. Additionally, the government could offer subsidies to broadcast networks to encourage the empowerment of women and gender equality.

•         Careers: encourage schools to urge more girls to pursue careers in government, the police force and judiciary. This will help to create a gender balance within the two branches in future years.

 

Political process

•         Screening:  MPs and all government officials should have a CRB check. Currently, 31% of India’s politicians, that is 1148 politicians, have criminal charges against them- this is unacceptable. The current system in India is prone to corruption by deleting previous records. Thus, a new high security anti-corruption database should be put in place, to minimise unlawful interventions.

 

 

In conclusion, we submit that a more representative judiciary, police workforce and a review of the law will not only make public services fairer, but it will also reflect the society in which we live in and promote gender equality. We are all proud of our Indian heritage and hope that you support our proposal to bring positive and creative thinking to save the future generations of India.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

QM Indian Cultural Society