Where is our moral fibre?

A few days back,a case of rape was reported in my district.The victim was a 13 year old village girl and the rapist, a 65 year old man, a co-villager, whom she referred to as "dadu". when I met the victim, she was still in a state of shock. She had apparently gone to the jungle in the wee hours of the morning to collect firewood,"dadu" had followed her. He abducted her, raped her and then took her away to a neighbouring town where they were finally apprehended by the police.The victim's family was immediately informed and she was sent to a Home for children. The distance between this town where the victim was apprehended and that of her native village was around 80 kms.The father took 3 days to arrive at the Home and claim his daughter. The reason?

All the time that the victim was in the police station and narrating her tale of horror or dealing with her trauma and shock at the Home, her father was negotiating with the accused's family..for money! The father wanted Rs.50,000 not to push charges against the accused.A village panchayat was convened for the purpose;the deal fell through when the accused's son-in-law refused to go beyond Rs.40,000. The father waited for another 24 hours in the hope that the accused's family would come around...when nothing materialized, he howled rape and went to get his daughter.

Having been in the police service for 3 years now, a case of child rape doesn't shock me beyond measure. Of course, the sense of outrage persists coupled with piety for the emotionally scarred child but yes, i dont get sleepless nights as i used to in my initial months in the service. What bothers me, tears me apart is the attitude of the parents. Time and again, i hear of parents demanding compensation for rape! And village panchayats considering it!! i feel ashamed of my race, my people. Can there ever be compensation for rape? Is any compensation enough? And how does the parent face the rape victim after taking the compensation? I agree we live in a society where most of our people are wallowing in poverty,cannot deal with the insensitivity of the police and the complexities of the judiciary.But i refuse to take poverty as an excuse for a largely absent moral fibre. Why do the same poor, oppressed people rush to the police station or knock the gates of the court when the compensation money is not paid and the accused makes good of the bargaining time and flees.

Being a student of Sociology, i have come across numerous articles dealing with the weakening morality and diminishing values in an urban society. But what about the moral strength of our villages-our shrines of culture? why are they degenerating so fast into blatant materialism and shallow emotionality? I am no one to sit judge over their conduct, but yes, one does feel moved by the sight of a weeping child, complaining of pain and hurt, traumatised and tortured oblivious to the fact that her parents have been bargaining a few fistfuls of currency notes to 'compensate' for her pain and trauma.In my opinion, they are committing an offence more heinous and despicable than rape.

This is definitely not our "Shining India" of the 21st century.