Politics and political disturbances take a toll on women’s lives and dignity

India has always been the melting pot of multiple political designations and political cultures, and the effects have not always been palatable for the general public. Right from the time of the Indian independence, there have been cases of minority reservation, and many minorities have already been endowed with many facilities in economic, educational and social benefits, depending on their economic and social status in the Indian hierarchy.

However, this February, 2016 was something different. Me, my husband, my parents and my younger sister, went for a family vacation to the Himachal area. We wanted to cover Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Chandigarh, and adjoining areas, and then come back. The tour was going on smoothly. We had to cross Haryana, Ambala cantonment and then reach Kalka. From Kalka, we took a car to Shimla. The whole problem began, just at the night of reaching Chandigarh station, on 22nd February, 2016, at about 1 A.M. We were supposed to return to our home city Kolkata in West Bengal by the Howrah-Kalka mail, which was cancelled without prior notification, as the Jath mobs and attackers had already burnt down some bogies in the Haryana region, along with some others in Ambala Cntonment. The report was that, in the garb of protest, the Jath youths, middle-aged men and even old men were looting, robbing and heckling passengers. Women, minor girls, and even old women were tortured to give up their belongings to them, and to wait at the station. In the name of political protest, the whole riot turned into hooliganism.

We waited with bated breath at the Chandigarh station. More than 350 trains were cancelled which crossed this same route to Kalka, and we stood helpless, stranded under the sky, in an unknown city, which was nothing more than a tourist spot for us some while ago. We tried to contact with the hotel authorities where we were staying earlier in Chandigarh, but they also denied to provide a new room to us this time, made silly excuses, and charged even three times than what they had charged earlier. They made a casual but very degrading remark that since our family had three women of different ages, we must give them the amount of money that they charged, to keep the dignity of women safe-“it is a form of bartering, you know, you give us more money, and we will give you a room for the preservation of the women’s sanctity.” It was an unknown place full of lecherous people in the outside, men who ogled at me and my sister in a most unabashed manner, and we were not even provided with a single blanket when the temperature was bitterly cold.That night (22nd February, 2016) passed on like a nightmare. We were without food, although ample drinking water was there. We got a bad news that all the trains to this route have been indefinitely postponed, and the government was trying to ‘think about’ some resolutions with the protesters. The next day, at about 8 A.M. in the morning we told the hotel authority to arrange for a car that would go from Chandigarh to Delhi. In return for a whooping amount of INR 15,000 they arranged for a shabby car, but did not warn us about travelling through Haryana to Delhi. We had no options, as there were no trains, flights were postponed and the remaining flight charges were exorbitant.

As we crossed Ambala, we could visualize the extent of damage that the Jath hooligans in the name of political protest, had committed. The entire road ranging from Panipath, Sonipath, Haryana and Ambala, along with Jhajjar and Hisar were littered with charred trucks, private cars, littered bodies of injured people, paddy lands which were burnt down, broken windshields of cars that lay strewn across the highway, garments of many people who have been robbed and killed. The radio announcement was that, more than twenty five women were dragged out form the public buses, taken to the nearest crop fields, gang-raped, molested and robbed of all their belongings, even clothes. Just 5 minutes after we crossed Sonipath, six youths riding on three bikes came and told our driver to stop the car. They were using filthy languages, their body language spoke of their shamelessness and they admitted that most of them were local goons from the villages of Haryana, who took advantage of the political riot to loot and plunder women. They tapped on the window of our car, discussed something in their regional language with our driver, used some more generic terms for us sitting inside the car, the terms were coated with strong sexist touches. They told that we were brave ladies who were out for Delhi in such a situation and wanted to search our belongings. We denied, and they use more cuss words which were too undignified for a lady to hear. The bikes kept on rotating around our car, the youths filled with lecherous glances.

There were few police kiosks which were empty, and by this time, the youths tried to break open the car locks, and the driver was too afraid to protest. Our condition was worsening, and we were almost fatigued due to shortage of food and water, we just wanted to reach Delhi on time. My sister came up with an emergency number from the search engine results, from her SmartPhone, and as the youths tried to grope us inside the car, the police vans were already there. There were no further deliberations, and the police safely escorted our car till the border of Sonipath, and also gave us an emergency number to contact after we reached Delhi.It was a traumatic experience, and the worst part was that, the youths of our country are no longer petrified by the law. They used the most humiliating and traumatizing comments for us, the women, who had to bear the brunt of mental rape for a long time. We reached home as the victims of a political riot that had no impetus and that had no agenda except perpetrating brutal atrocities on women and weak men of the country.

We want to live peacefully, but not by compromising on our dignity as a woman. There has to be the opposite side of violence now!