Reminder to Modi: Bachegi Beti tabhi toh Padhegi Beti

NT Correspondents

New Delhi: iMore than a month before the horrific video of two women being assaulted publicly in Manipur went viral, activists had informed the National Commission for Women(NCW) about not only this case but other brutal instances of rape as well, besides incidents of kidnapping, lynching, immolation and even murder in the strife-torn state.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday attacked the BJP over sexual violence against women in Manipur, asking the BJP what had happened to its promise of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (save girls, educate girls) Beti Bachao turns Beti Jalao."

During campaign speeches, PM Modi passionately advocates for girls to be educated and empowered to prosper. However, the question arises: does he truly grasp the pressing need to protect them from anti-social elements?

After all, "Bachegi Beti, Tabhi Toh Padhegi Beti" (Only if daughters survive can they study) emphasizes the link between safety and education for them. In a letter written to NCW chief Rekha Sharma on June 12 by two activists who had visited the state and the North American Manipur Tribal Association, it was claimed that there was "numbing silence" and under-reporting of sexual and gender-based violence dimensions of the conflict and how Kuki-Zomi women unequivocally and disproportionately experienced rapes, sexual assaults, and murders by "Meitei vigilante mob".

On May 4, two women of Manipur were disrobed, paraded naked, beaten, and then encircled by a marauding mob and raped in public. "The state police commandos remained mere spectators to the lynchings and torching of homes...," the letter claimed.

After the video of the May 4 incident went viral on July 19, Sharma took suo-motu cognisance and claimed the NCW had reached out to Manipur authorities but did not hear back from them.

“There were many complaints, not one specific complaint – that too, from people outside India and outside Manipur” she said, according to ANI.

“They [Manipur government] had to clarify whether whatever was written was true or not.” She said that she wrote to the Manipur government on May 23, May 29 and on June 19.

Meanwhile, no anger, shame here, PM ji?

PM Modi spoke of pain, anger, and shame over the Manipur sexual assault, but will he share the same rollercoaster of emotions with his fellow BJP MP and former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who's accused of sexually assaulting six wrestlers?

After months of relentless struggle and persistent protests, the wrestlers finally succeeded in getting a simple FIR filed against the accused BJP MP.

Despite the immense pain they endured to ensure a proper investigation into the case, their efforts culminated in the accused man being released on bail. And with no shame on his face, the alleged sexual harasser entered Parliament.

"Triumphant & jubilant after getting bail for sexual harassment and assault... Delhi Police did not oppose bail. Maun Guru Hon’ble PM-pls ask your conscience how wrestlers must feel seeing this image," tweets Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.

Home more dangerous than battlefield: Kargil soldier whose wife was paraded naked

The husband of one of two women paraded naked and molested by a group of men in Manipur is a Kargil war veteran who rued that though he protected the country but could not save his wife from being humiliated.

He reportedly said though he went to the war, his own place has become more dangerous than the battlefield.

“I fought for the nation in the Kargil war and was also in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. I could not protect my home, my wife and fellow villagers… I am sad, depressed,” he told a Hindi news channel.