December 19, Delhi: Students from JNU, Delhi University anda majority of affiliated colleges screamed and cried, fought and jostled asthey demanded the death penalty for the Delhi gang rape. Never before has thenation’s conscience been so badly shaken.
December 19, Varanasi, Vishakapatnam, Nagpur, Kanpur,Guwahati, Kolkata: Men and women lefthomes and offices to march, many of them with candles, to show solidarity anddrive home the point that the scene of rape is widespread and no part of thecountry is untouched.
December 19, Goa: On a holiday. Musicians play in the new gardensof Panjim. A rock show started in Campal, women’s groups, youth organisationsand students were unconcerned and not a single politician spoke out.
December 20, 2012: The Goan reporters left again to hunt fora semblance of a reaction on an issue, where the nation as one had cometogether. Some of the reactions were appalling. At a college a girl said ‘I sawsomething on TV. Is it a rape case? Yes it’s really bad.” A woman leader of ayouth organisation quipped “There is something about a rape in the news.” Andthe Environment Minister, Alina Saldanha, said “I’ve never been to Delhibut the horrendous complaints one getsfrom women there are sad.” Saldanhahowever agreed that sexual harassment isrampant in Goa and even teachers sexually harass children.
But there is a larger point. Goa continues to be out of sync with the national sentiment, even whenit comes to a mere show of solidarity with a very young girl, whose life hasbeen destroyed.
Every reaction that we have carried was coaxed out of anaudience who reacted only when The Goan narrated the brutality of the incident,barring some like Advocate Yulette Coutinho who used social networking toexpress outrage. “It is a very shamefulincident in the capital city, serious action should be taken against offendersand it should amount to death penalty as lives of innocent girls are at risk.”
