Indian Soldiers on a Rape Spree in Tamil Nadu
TAMIL TRIBUNE, October 1998 (ID. 1998-10-01)
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(Author's Note: This article was written in late May 1998. So the events referred to are from that month. If you search newspapers you will find similar incidents in the past also, although these news items are usually buried in page eleven or twelve as short, single column news reports.)
When an enemy army occupies conquered territory it is common to hear of soldiers raping local women with no fear of punishment. But Tamil Nadu is not a conquered territory and the Indian army is not an occupation force. Then why are Indian naval personnel, soldiers and Central Reserve Police men stationed in Tamilnadu allowed to rape Tamil women with impunity?
A number of Central Reserve Police, Indian Army and Navy bases have been established in Tamil Nadu. Central Reserve Policemen, soldiers and naval personnel from these bases are raping or attempting to rape local women and not a single one of them is punished. If some Tamils go and rape women in Hindi speaking Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh, they will surely spend years in prison. But Hindi-speaking soldiers stationed in Tamil Nadu are raping and attempting to rape Tamil women and go unpunished. Can Tamils get justice in India? Is Tamil womanhood cheap in the eyes of the Indian government?
Here are some incidents in just one month (month of May 1998).
Attempted Rape at Daylight
According to reports, a navy man from the Rameswaram Naval Base tried to rape a local woman taking bath. She cried out. Neighbors rushed to her help and beat the navy man. Though a complaint was filed with the Indian Navy, he was not punished.
Attempted Rape at a Refugee Camp
Here is another incidence involving the Rameswaram Naval Base again. Five drunken navy men, including an officer of the rank of Lieutenant Commander, went to a nearby refugee camp to rape the women there. A brave Tamil watchman at the gate tried to stop them. The Hindi-speaking navy men beat the watchman. The Deputy Collector in charge of the camp came to inquire what was happening. The navy men attacked him also. As more people came to see what was happening, the scared navy men retreated and left the camp. Though a complaint was filed, not a single one of the five culprits was punished.
Attempted Rape at Night
A Central Reserve Police check point is located in Vedaranyam, with 9 central reserve policemen posted there. On of them named Ramkishan (a typical Hindi name) went to the house of a local resident, Mr. Pakkiri Swamy, at night when he was away and tried to rape his wife. She shouted for help. Villagers from nearby houses came and chased him away. Soon he returned with eight other central reserve policemen carrying guns and threatened the villagers. Next day the villagers complained to the local politician and Tamil Nadu police. The matter was taken up with the Central Reserve Police. Ramkishan and the 8 other policemen were transferred to another area. None of them was punished.
If the Indian government cannot stop the soldiers, central reserve policemen and navy men from raping our women, Tamil Nadu state government should ask the Indian government to close down all army, navy, air force and central reserve police bases in Tamil Nadu. If the Indian government believes that such bases in Tamil Nadu are absolutely, positively necessary for the security of India, they should staff these bases in Tamil Nadu exclusively with Tamils. We do not want soldiers raping our women.
(Author's Note: Foreigners reading this article may wonder why all these incidents are attempted rapes and not actual rapes. This is the reason. In Tamil society, if a neighbor is attacked, others will invariably come to help. So rapes can happen only if a woman is attacked in a secluded place away from any neighbors. If a woman is raped in such a situation secretly, in a conservative society like Tamil Nadu, the woman and her family are more likely to hide it out of "shame" than report it to police. That is why we have reports of attempted rapes than actual rapes.)
(NOTE: The name Rameshwaram is sometimes spelled as Rameswaram, Rameshvaram and Ramevaram. They denote the same place.)
RELATED ARTICLE
Are Indian Soldiers above the Law in Tamil Nadu? (by Usha Ramanathan), TAMIL TRIBUNE, December 1998).
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