Opinion: The Kathua case and Bollywood's pernicious symbolism

It's a season of kitschy symbolism in Bollywood with celebrities after celebrities posting pictures with placards that say "I am ashamed", and demanding justice for an eight-year-old girl who was gangraped and murdered in Kathua. The wordings, style, tonality and content of the placards being the same through all the celebrities.

The trend is not limited to the Bollywood alone most of the celebrities from different walks of life have been pronouncing the arrested people as 'rapists' and the temple as the 'scene of crime'. Adding the prefix "alleged" or using the word "suspect" has gone out of fashion in the new secular consciousness.

The purpose of the above act of the Bollywood celebrities is noble and the symbolism isn't lost on anyone. Yet, the choice of words and the absence of sensibilities are appalling. It betrays not only a lack of research on the subject but also a fanatic avidity to pass judgement on blinkered notions. This is bigotry of another kind where a hearsay verdict is to be hurriedly delivered on the basis of one-sided accounts. No counter view is to be honoured even for the sake of balance, let alone for the sake of justice.

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It's important to find out who's behind this orchestrated campaign that passes judgement on a place of worship even without a trial, and defames it without any consideration of the basic principles of natural justice.

Let's try to understand the complex social-demographic reality of Kathua, which goes to explain the contextuality of the episode and its fallout.

Kathua - or for that matter, whole of Jammu, Udhampur, Samba etc - has become an unfortunate battleground of a desperate social and demographic strife where constant grabbing (and also, purchasing) of forest lands by the Gujjar-Bakherwal settlers and the state government's alleged support to it, has created a deep suspicion in the minds of the locals who believe that the government is trying to change the demographic character of the region.

This, together with illegal presence of thousands of Rohingyas in Jammu region, is a thorn in the flesh of the psyche of the local people. And the fact that these Rohingyas have Aadhaar and ration cards raises questions on the role of local government.

Further, the Rohingyas are believed to have close ties with ISI. But no one knows how many of these settlers are having direct linkages with the ISI. It's a well-known fact that ISI is constantly evolving ideas to create disturbances in the Jammu region. Investigating agencies probing the recent attack on an Army camp in Sunjuwan are looking at the local support angle and the presence of Rohingya camps nearby might come under the scanner.

In the given scenario, the apprehension that ISI may be playing on this communal tension in the region by hatching a plot to get the girl killed and planting it on a temple, needs to be ruled out. It is apprehended by many local residents that the Rohingya may come as a handy tool to be used for such acts. Various reports have appeared in the media that have confirmed the presence of Rohingyas in the village where the girl was killed. Hence, it's important to allay the fears of the local people by getting to the bottom of the controversy through a fair inquiry.

Further, the circumstantial evidences of the murder create suspicion in the J&K government's chargesheet, which has been prepared by a SIT drawing police officials with dubious records. Using a temple for such a heinous act, and that too by an old man in mid-sixties, and that again for seven days - all create ample suspicions. The locals say that the 'Devisthaan' is a prayer hall with no locking facility and hence it is pretty impossible to keep somebody locked and sedated for seven days in the temple, which was regularly being visited by the devotees all throughout the period due to the festival of Makar Sankranti at the time of the alleged incident.

None of us, including the Bollywood celebrities, know what's the reality. Then what's the hurry to jump the gun and to declare somebody a culprit and drag a temple in the act even without a trial? Hasn't the Bollywood erred in pronouncing the Devisthaan to be a scene of crime even without an investigation? Wouldn't it be a good idea to be patient in passing a verdict until the matter was investigated in a free, fair and impartial manner?

Even more atrocious is the attempt to portray the local Kathua demonstrators as rape apologists. They're not. They're equally horrified by the crime. They're saying the same thing that the celebrities are saying - hold a fair investigation, a fair trial and give harshest possible punishment to the culprits, and for that, a CBI enquiry is needed to find out who the culprits really are. This is indeed required because the J&K Police, like the state police elsewhere, is known for its pliability, inefficiency and corruption.

Chances maybe that the persons arrested are the real culprits. But isn't it wise to give them a fair chance before hanging?

We know how state police conducts investigations and invent 'criminals' - remember Ryan International case of Gurgaon, how the bus driver was declared accused and how people were baying for his blood. However, a CBI inquiry proved him innocent. Thus, baying for the blood of the accused ones on the basis of the local police chargesheet, is nothing but a blunder in view of various counter evidences being floated.

The SIT made indiscriminate arrests of locals and subjected them to various forms of torture. People of the village in Kathua have never had such a harrowing experience ever in the past and are terrified. Many have left their village fearing even more trouble. These people are peaceful communities that hold their temples very precious. But, already their sense of pride is under attack.

Thus, asking for a CBI investigation by the Kathua demonstrators is nowhere an atrocious demand. It's rather the most appropriate act in the given circumstance. Maybe, for the first time ever, I have seen anyone asking for a CBI inquiry and being castigated for it. If Unnao rape case can be handed over to the CBI, why can't the Kathua case go to the same agency, especially when so many doubts have been raised on the composition and intention of the SIT?

Hence, for the Bollywood celebrities, the symbolism wouldn't have lost if they hadn't passed judgment on the 'Devisthaan' that demeaned it and, instead, had asked for a CBI inquiry to clear the air once for all.

I'm an Indian and I want justice for the girl through a CBI enquiry. What about you?

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)