Let’s admit we have erred too

We, the the people, are as good or as bad as the politicians we elect. Since we have voted for six state lawmakers who are facing rape prosecutions and two Parliamentarians facing charges of crimes against women that fall short of rape, let’s at least admit that there is something terribly wrong with us.

Even more startling is the fact that in the past five years, political parties across India nominated 260 candidates awaiting trials on charges of crimes against women. That shows politicians of all spots and hues are not intrinsically different, and implies that the electorate has forfeited the right to take the moral high ground.

If the Supreme Court, hearing a petition on Thursday filed by a retired government administrator, decides to suspend the six lawmakers from office, it would be cleaning up a system that reeks of the common man’s indifference.

Why didn’t we bother to drub the six at the hustings when we have the power to decide the fate of our politicians? That’s because we are too lazy to exercise our rights, too lazy to act unless one of our very own has been raped or violated or stripped naked in public, or thrown acid at.

Let’s face it: these six people and so many others like them have been patronised by us, and today we are waging a battle only to rectify our mistakes. The death of a 23-year-old Delhi girl has finally made us realise that if we do not act now, the day is not very far when our sister, daughter, wife or friend will suffer a similar fate.