Crimes Against Women: The Bestial Lows!

 Accept it or not: feudalism had never left India. The feudal forces of exploitation, torture and crimes still flourish, particularly in the northern belt of the country including, prominently, the most populous state of India, Uttar Pradesh (UP), with its around 20 Crore people. This state has been the hotbed of crimes against women, communal violence, maximum custodial deaths, fake encounters and so on for decades, even though its crime rate does not still top the list thanks to its enormous population.  

 

The powerful upper castes here continue playing the dominating roles as landlords, politicians, criminals, rapists and mafias. And they work in tandem forming a huge empire of vested interests that percolates down favorably to the local authorities, including the police in particular. Naturally, there has always been an overpowering spirit of mutual protection between them. Whenever any of the feudal lords is under a cloud of doubt or danger the corresponding forces get into motion by engineering cover-ups or the like, finally ensuring their protection against all odds.

 

All low-caste inhabitants are untouchable for them, except their women. The upper-caste men or their off-springs or their domesticated goons prowl constantly for an opportunity to torture, rape and kill low-caste women, sometimes as measures of punishment for what they decide is wrong, and sometimes just for carnal pleasures. The poor down-trodden low-caste menfolk, subdued in a continuous process of oppression, watch dumb and numb, and if some dare to protest the feudal counterparts in the local administration act immediately, suppressing them ruthlessly. Of course, there would be exceptions always when low-caste individuals manage to infiltrate the upper-caste bastion, assuming important positions of power.

 

During the last few COVID-19 infested months the notorious state has been witnessing a series of brutal rapes and rape-murders, one after the other as if those beasts achieved acquired immunity to possible action by the administration or the justice system. One of such inhuman acts happened on the 14^th of September 2020 at Hathras in UP when a 19-year-old low-caste girl was waylaid, abducted, gangraped and physically brutalized by four upper-caste beasts, almost to the point of death. With her bruised-battered body, her spine broken and her tongue cut the victim just managed to reach home, and was immediately admitted in the local hospital. Later, as her condition became critical, she was transported to a hospital in Delhi. Details of her treatment there are unclear as the media that time were head-to-foot engaged in the investigation of some glam gals.

 

The media or some of it, hopelessly polarized as they are in India, woke up only when the unfortunate girl died on 29^th September. They were forced to stay awake as the UP police hurriedly took away the body to Hathras, and cremated it around 2.30-3.30 AM on the next day, without the victim’s family’s wish or consent or permission. And then only, the media decided to make it a national outrage recalling, justifiably, the horrors of the Delhi Gangrape case in 2012 that shook the nation leading to a mass movement against the rapists and drastic changes in the legalities of crimes against women.

 

The UP police went on with its brazen act. Some of their top cops even said that it was not a case of rape at all: the girl died due to a neck injury the intensity of which made her bite off her tongue. Their sayings were supposedly based on tests done one week after the incident, and the final autopsy report. More acts followed in apparent haste: the victim’s family was isolated, their phones being allegedly snatched away; the whole village of Hathras was sealed not allowing anybody to enter or exit; political leaders of the opposition parties were blocked, arrested and even manhandled; the now-desperate media were also not allowed to enter Hathras.

 

First, the police gave the COVID-19 excuse for such coercive measures, and then, as the state Chief Minister announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, they said no one would be allowed to enter till the probe was over. The family must be protected from outside influence and any possible tempering of evidence must be prevented, they also maintained. The top cops further strengthened the apparent cover-up by saying that it was a conspiracy to fuel upper-caste versus lower-caste community tension.

 

The nation exploded then: people, women activists and political parties coming out on streets protesting; the High Court giving a notice to state government to explain the hurried cremation; Human Rights groups asking for explanations and so on. But crimes against women in the state continued unabated, at least two more women being brutalized and murdered in the last two days. The feudal status-quo and the brazenness only got heightened, with the state being ruled by the most powerful national political party. Instead of promising stern action and preventive measures the ruling dispensation chose to make mockery of protesting opposition leaders and others. In many instances of rape-murders in the recent past leaders of that political party were found to be involved, at times directly. A well-known former judge added more fuel to fire by building up a theory as to why men rape women, the COVID-induced unemployment being the main reason for such crimes, according to him.

 

In spite of the fast-tracking justice system in regard to crimes against women that was developed post 2012 Delhi case and the recent executions of three of the perpetrators, there seems to be no deterrent to the enemies of humanity who continue to wreak havoc on the society as they wish. This issue is seemingly beyond laws and the justice system. The society at large must take the final call, to prevent more horrors like Nirbhaya, Hathras and others in future. The society must break out of the exploitative feudal values and the vested interests’ nexus. Governments can only provide more effective laws, if at all; the society only can implement to ensure a protective environment for women.  

Legendary Indian Playback Singer SP Balasubrahmanyam Succumbs to COVID-19 Aftermath!

The legendary playback singer and composer-actor-producer, SP Balasubrahmanyam has passed away in a Chennai hospital today after a spirited fight against the COVID-19 disease. The singer-composer who dominated the film industries of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Mumbai (Bollywood) for over five decades had tested positive on 5^th August 2020 and was in hospital since. Although the artiste was doing well in the initial stage serious complications developed later and he was put on the ventilator and ECMO (Extra-corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) support. He did test COVID-19 negative on September 7, 2020, but as his breathing problems persisted, he continued to be on ventilator and ECMO support. His condition became extremely critical in the last two days, and finally the music legend had to give in. He was 74.

 

Born into a Telugu family in Tamil Nadu in 1946 and raised mostly in Andhra Pradesh, SP Balasubrahmanyam, better known as ‘SPB’ or ‘Balu’, showed his lively interest in music from an early age, and over the years started singing in various local competitions winning prizes all the time. He made his debut as a playback singer for a Telugu movie in 1966 where the music score was done by his music mentor SP Kodandopani. Within days he made his Kannada playback singing debut and forayed into the Tamil movies in 1969, and then to the Malayalam film industry in the same year. SPB’s illustrious and spectacular musical journey began: his becoming the voice of the legendary actors of Southern India like Gemini Ganesan, MG Ramchandran (MGR), NT Rama Rao (NTR), Shivaji Ganesan and to Kamal Hassan for whom he sang for Hindi movies too, Rajinikanth and then to the super heroes of Bollywood, from Salman Khan to Shahrukh Khan.

 

Balasubrahmanyam achieved international fame by singing for the unforgettable Telugu movie Sankarabharanam in 1980, directed by K Vishwanath. Balu was never trained in classical music, particularly the Carnatic style; but yet, he made history by adapting his singing aesthetics to suit the character of a classical music protagonist in the movie. SPB won his first National Award as the best male playback singer in this movie. The very next year, that is 1981, he took the Hindi film industry, Bollywood, by storm: singing lilting numbers for Kamal Hassan in the superhit movie ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’, a remake of an original Telugu film, for which he got his second National Award as the best male playback singer in Hindi. And SPB became the most sought-after voice in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films with music directors ranging from the legendary Ilaiyaraaja, S Janaki, KV Mahadevan to AR Rahman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, RD Burman, Ram-Laxman, Anand-Milind and others.

 

In a career of over five decades SPB sang over 40,000 songs in 16 Indian languages. He had won 6 National Awards for his playback singing in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi; won 6 Filmfare awards for southern zone; he was conferred Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2011; he was honored with the ‘Indian Film Personality of the Year’ in 2016; and numerous other state awards from his four southern states. For an achiever of his stature the list of national awards seemed to be lesser in numbers which is largely due to the fact that the ‘national’ Hindi film industry or Bollywood enjoyed far greater reach, visibility, popularity and patronage across the nation, and therefore, many legendary greats of southern India had to remain content mostly with state recognition.  

 

SP Balasubrahmanyam is perhaps the only Indian playback singer to have enjoyed five-decade long fame without a plateau with fan following across India and the world irrespective of the language barriers. His greatness was in his delightfully melodious yet manly voice, his immense prowess of natural modulations, his intrinsic ability to play-act with the required emotions and his inborn talent to adapt his singing style as suits the characters/heroes of movies across five main and numerous other languages, like the legendary Mohammad Rafi did so naturally from the forties till his demise in 1980. Incidentally, Rafi had been his model singer and a real guru throughout his career, loving the Hindi film-song icon always. Perhaps, for this reason he thrived in Bollywood for much longer than other southern-region singers like Yesudas and Vani Jayram. Of course, he too did have hiatus of about 15 years from Bollywood, coming back only in 2013 to sing for Sharukh Khan in the superhit movie Chennai Express. However, the great artiste kept on singing-composing in southern languages till his last days.

 

We salute the great musician and mourn his tragic demise, with the whole nation as condolence messages have been pouring in from film personalities, politicians, leaders, stalwarts in all the professional fields and his millions of fans. Apart from his singing Balu has always been loved by all for his simplicity, his lovable interactions with the public, his communication through the media and his bright jovial nature.

And a Cricket Legend Goes: Dean Mervyn Jones Dies in Mumbai!

Dean Mervyn Jones, DM Jones as it appeared in the scorecards for Australia in the mid-eighties to early nineties for both Tests and one-day internationals (ODI), passed away suddenly in Mumbai today of a massive cardiac arrest. He was in the city for being a part of the broadcast team operating from Mumbai for the on-going new normal Indian Premier League 2020 in UAE. As per reports Dean took part in a discussion, and was then chatting with others in the hotel lobby when he suddenly collapsed, falling on the ground. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. He was just 59 and was in very sound health. Well, in this gloomy COVID-19 times death no longer needs an excuse to strike. The death of Dean Jones is a great tragedy to befall world cricket, and a terrible shocker for all cricketers, commentators and lovers of the game.

 

We remember Dean Jones as the awe-inspiring No.3 Australian batsman when Australia had been a formidable opponent beating all teams of international cricket including India with ease, under the respective captaincy of Allan Border and Steve Smith. Dean was inducted in the Australian team in 1984 during its West Indies tour, and played 52 tests till 1992 when he was dropped under controversial circumstances. In his Test career DM Jones scored 3631 runs with 11 centuries and 14 half-centuries, his batting average at a terrific 46.55. He was equally successful in the ODI format scoring 6068 runs, 7 centuries, 46 half-centuries yielding a very healthy average of 44.61. He was one of the top batsmen of the world during his tenure as per the relevant ICC rankings. He was named the Cricketer of the Year in 1990 in acknowledgment of his towering performance in the successful Ashes Tour of 1989. He had also been a part of the victorious Australian side in the 1987 ICC Cricket World Cup held in India.

 

Among millions of cricket lovers across the world we also remember him specially for his performance in the historic third Test against India in Chennai (Madras then) in September 1986: under extremely humid conditions, Dean Mervyn Jones, suffering bouts of dehydration on the field, scored a definitive 210 runs in the Australian first innings of a massive 574 for 7 declared. That Test match went on to become only the third ever Tied Test in world cricket with India, set 348 runs to win on the fifth and final day, and the hosts getting all out for 347, scores level. Dean Jones played his last ODI against South Africa in 1994.  

 

After his rather controversial exits from both the Test and ODI formats Dean Jones continued to remain in limelight as a commentator in live cricket matches and tournaments, and as a livewire anchor in various television sports series. His special love for India brought him here very often, participating in various new cricket talent-hunt and humanitarian projects, and it is indeed tragic that he should breathe his last in the cricketing city of Mumbai. Dean Jones had always been spirited, dramatic, humorous and outspoken in his roles as commentators and anchors. His speaking-the-mind utterances often landed him in trouble, both during his playing and commentator tenures, leading to sackings from the team or breach of contracts.

 

A cricket legend goes for the heavenly abode; sad, shocking and untimely demise of a lively former cricketer, commentator, television anchor and cricket coach. He will always be remembered as the outstanding No.3 Australian batsman who came in after the fall of one of the legendary openers, Marsh and Boon, invariably and regaled his home fans and all other cricket lovers across the globe with aggressive attacking shots: fours and sixes in abundance. We mourn the death a cricket legend deeply.

 

At a personal level, I would like to mention another tragic loss of an outstanding physician, Dr. Ashwini Kumar Sarma, in a town in Assam on 18^th September 2020; not because he was my brother-in-law, but because of the striking similarities between the two tragedies. The doctor also succumbed to a sudden, massive and inexplicable cardiac arrest during his afternoon nap and it was all over in just five minutes. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and was declared dead on arrival, before anybody could even guess what happened. He was also 59, and in reasonably good health. Humans cannot understand the bizarre ways of Death, ever.