A DEPUTY inspector-general of police in Uttar Pradesh has made headlines around the country with his remark that he would commit suicide or murder his sister if she eloped with her lover. The police officer said this to a man who had come to plead with him to help find his daughter, who, he alleged, had been kidnapped. Cases of young women being kidnapped, and eloping, are reported in the news every day. The reason this particular case has gained notoriety is the attitude of the police officer. Evidently, he is in favour of honour killing. This is shocking at first, but it should not be. After all, our policemen are also products of the same societies that they police. Social evils often have the sanction of the conservative elements of any society. Thus sati, for example, enjoyed religious and social sanction in Hindu society across large parts of India. It didn’t go because the conservatives changed their minds. It went because of a combination of factors. One was reform movements….

Another was the crackdown by the British authorities, who made it illegal.

A similar combination may work in eradicating evils such as female foeticide and honour killing, which continue to blight our country’s life to this day. The laws against them exist, and must be stringently observed. With film-star Aamir Khan donning the mantle of social reformer, there is hope that the message of reform will be heard even in the villages of India. — (May 11)

Modi’s let off

WHEN it comes to holding top political leaders accountable for communal riots that happen on their watch, India has a poor record. And that trend holds true with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi … with the latest SIT [Special Investigation Team] report having exonerated him for complicity in the riots. But while amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran’s report has suggested further investigations into senior police officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s charge that Modi suggested that Hindus be allowed to “vent their anger” following Godhra’s train carnage instead of taking a neutral approach to the riots, the final SIT report decided to set aside Bhatt’s evidence. There are also many incompatibilities between the final SIT report and a preliminary report filed … in 2010, which had raised many questions about Modi’s actions.

What gives rise to serious misgivings, however, is the final SIT report’s contention that even if Modi had made the alleged statement … that shouldn’t be taken seriously as it was uttered “in the four walls of a room”. This may or may not be legally correct, but the moot point is if the chief minister of a state directs an administration to stand aside during riots, then he stands guilty of abetting them.

And if politicians are let off lightly on such issues, that’s as good an explanation as any for the culture of impunity that political leaders enjoy. But there’s still a price to pay. Consider the reduction in Modi’s stature … which now stands in the way of his national ambitions. — (May 11)