Bollywood’s #MeToo moment, baby raped for ‘revenge’, activist journalism in Rewari
The 1 October edition of Note This — our round-up of media reports and opinions on sexual assault.
The reactions (and non-reactions) of film personalities to actress Tanushree Dutta’s accusations of sexual misconduct against actor Nana Patekar have fuelled an intense media discussion on Bollywood’s “culture of silence”. Several other men are also in the news for allegedly misusing their positions of relative power, including BJP leader Madhu Chavan and Punjab assistant inspector-general of police Randhir Singh Uppal.
Editor’s pick
The sexual harassment controversy in Bollywood comes on the heels of a similar series of events in the Malayalam film industry. In her piece on misogyny and ‘Mollywood’ — where actor Dileep has garnered support despite being charged with masterminding the sexual assault of an actress — Tasmin Kurien explains how gender discrimination not only includes the silencing of women but also extends to how we make and consume entertainment.
Across India: news since Thursday
Actress Tanushree Dutta’s allegations that veteran actor Nana Patekar behaved inappropriately with her in 2008 (he denies it) and then made political party “goons” intimidate her have divided opinions in Bollywood. The English-language media, however, has so far been united in its support for Dutta, with many drawing parallels between her and Christine Blasey Ford, the accuser of US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Eyewitness accounts (see here and here) of the incident on the sets of the movie Horn OK Pleasss and “viral” video footage of a mob attacking Dutta’s car in 2008 have been covered across newspapers and TV channels. Dutta has been interviewed and quoted widely over the past few days, and a cluster of editorials have criticised major Bollywood stars for “dodging” expressing an opinion on the matter.
In Firstpost, Rituparna Chatterjee writes that “#MeToo won’t come to Bollywood if women stay silent and the men non-committal” , while in the Quint Kiran Dhillon explains why “being neutral is choosing a side”. Nisha Susan, also in Firstpost, says that “there is plain evidence that Bollywood, like the rest of the nation, is a casteist, classist, sexist workplace, only with sequins and good music” and that the silence of the men shows that “the chickens are sticking together”.
Nehmat Kaur in the Wire notes that, “Saying that we believe survivors doesn’t cost us much, but it gives a lot of women the validation they need to believe in themselves.” In ‘Dear Bollywood, believe the victim’, Deepanjana Pal in the Hindustan Times points out that “It’s a shame that no one has pointed out that the industry needs to figure out redressal mechanisms that won’t depend on the slow and overburdened legal process.” Khalid Mohamed in the Mumbai Mirror says there are “Hundreds of Tanushree Duttas in Bollywood” and that this story, like others in the past, is destined to soon be “old news”.
Abuse of power
Maharashtra BJP leader Madhu Chavan has been booked for rape on the grounds of “false promises”, but the Hindu reports that the party is standing by him and dismissing the allegations as false. The Shiv Sena has meanwhile appealed to the Chief Minister to dismiss Chavan from his post as the chairman of the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA).
A look-out notice has been issued for a senior police officer in Amritsar, Punjab, after he was booked for allegedly raping and intimidating a law student. The police believe that additional inspector general (AIG-crime) Randhir Singh Uppal may attempt to “flee the country”.
A domestic worker in Delhi has alleged that she was raped by the army major who employed her. She says he was responsible for the death of her husband and made it look like a suicide. No arrests have been made so far.
Assault of minors
In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, a security guard has been arrested for raping a 1-year-old child and molesting her 4-year-old sister while their mother slept. He has reportedly confessed that he committed the crime because he wanted to take “revenge” on the children’s mother for rejecting his advances.
In Nagpur, Maharashtra, a school bus conductor has been arrested for molesting a three-year-old girl during the commute back home. A woman caretaker was present in the bus but was reportedly seated away from the child and the conductor.
Rape culture
A woman in Beed, Maharashtra, died after her husband set her on fire for refusing to have sex with him.
In Yamunanagar, Haryana, a newlywed woman has said that she was repeatedly raped by multiple members of her husband’s family as well as a “tantric” (akin to a witch doctor). She said the women in the family colluded with the men. According to some reports, the rapes were intended to “cure” her of her “mental sickness”.
A former student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences has alleged that he was raped last year by a visiting speaker last year but did not complain then as he feared that he too would be held liable under the recently amended Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. It has also been alleged that a TISS professor “discouraged” the survivor from filing an internal complaint.
Investigation
When a Quint reporter visited Rewari, where a 19-year-old woman was gang-raped by a group of locals, she learnt “through conversations with multiple women” that the Panchayat had covered up an earlier attempted sexual assault by one of the key suspects, Nishu. The police, too, had reportedly not shown an interest in registering her complaint. The Quint “tracked down” the woman and with her “emphatic consent” informed the police. If Nishu had been arrested a year ago “as he should’ve been”, the gang-rape may never have happened, says the report.
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