Sick to the Gill

So where the hell does he get off insinuating that liberated women can have no claim to their "modesty"? So-called retired "Supercop" K.P.S. Gill - him also of bum-slapping infamy - said so quite plainly while appearing on a television debate about India's attitude towards molestation.

Cases of molestation are suddenly in the media spotlight in India after a former senior police officer was convicted of sexual misconduct against a schoolgirl (who later committed suicide) nearly two decades ago. But the sentence slapped on S.P.S. Rathore was a horrifying light one - six months in the slammer and a paltry fine of Rs. 1,000. The prosecution did not make a case of abetment to suicide against him even though Ruchika Girhotra's family fought hard for it.

Also in focus has been a German minor's rape in Goa in which a minister's son is the main accused. And the alleged molestation of an airhostess by three players of Goa's prestigious Churchill Brothers football club.

So NDTV 24/7's We The People debate was about whether Indians have a very casual attitute towards molestation (which, I feel, they do). After all, in this land a girl/woman feeling completely violated after being pawed or groped against her will is described merely as being a victim of "eve teasing". And on this debate appeared Mr. Gill, who was convicted of "outraging the modesty" of bureaucrat Rupan Deol Bajaj at a party in 1988. A drunk Gill had allegedly patted her behind.

Gill said anti-rape/molesation laws were being grossly misused. I suppose he meant against poor, innocent, saintly men who never so much as ogled a woman. He said - now I can't regurgitate his exact words, but this was the gist - a woman can't claim to be liberated on the one hand and object to having her modesty outraged on the other! Now where's the connection, Mr. Gill? If a woman goes out into the world and builds a career on the basis of her diligence and competence, does she become fair game for every man with a glad eye and wandering paw? Is it too much for her to expect to go through life without having her bum slapped or grazed, breast brushed against or sexually explicit remarks muttered as she passes? That is really, really crass, Mr. Gill. And this from a decorated retired policeman!

Most women in Indian cities have suffered molestation to some degree, especially if they use public transport. Men will brush against you or try to grope you in crowded buses and trains. They will flash you even in open, public places or masturbate in plain view on lonely avenues. I can personally vouch for this. It happens for a few fleeting seconds but leaves you feeling sickeningly violated. There's not much you can do. Who do you report? You've never before seen the molester and probably won't again. So you shrug it off as yet another nightmare and get on with your life even though you feel rage and outrage in equal measure, at least for a while.

I hope Gill is reincarnated as a liberated woman. I'd kill to know how his avatar feels after being sexually harassed.