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ShareI am not a friend of Bina Ramani's, but each time I see her being herded like a sheep into a pen by over-zealous police personnel, a wave of sympathy wells up inside me.
This is not about the absurdity of going after someone on the minor offence of forgery, or even destruction of evidence when the murderer has been allowed to go scot-free.
This is about the fact that a woman is being harassed and made to pay for her lifestyle.
Because let's not kid ourselves, Bina--before she has even reached the courts-is being tried in the media and public perception for her lifestyle. Every TV channel, every newspaper has referred to her as a 'socialite' page three personality. In the context of a party, that's fine, but in a murder case, it takes on a far more negative connotation. The implication is that somehow, because of her page three ways, and the fact that she didn't have a liquor license makes her somehow responsible for astranger pulling out a gun and shooting an innocent victim in her premises.
The tragedy is that such an incident could have occurred anywhere --in a bank, at an office, in the blue chip home of a top flight industrialist--anywhere. For an unhinged inebriated man to shoot someone for no reason, you don't need a page three party, an unlicensed restaurant or even a socialite as host.
But that is exactly the negative connotation those hounding Bina are trying to establish. I am not familiar with the intricacies of the case, but from what I recall, Bina and her daughter Malini have been among the only few witnesses to the ghastly crime who have co-operated with the police, been steadfast in their commitment to unearthing the truth and who have not turned hostile.
As a consequence they suffered a great deal professionally as well as personally. Their business ethics have been questioned, their private lives exposed, and they've had to spend many years under police enquiry. And instead of being rewarded for their troubles, or receiving even a modicum of sympathy, it is as if the police, the public and society at large has decided that they deserve their harsh fate, for the way they chose to live their lives. A terrible case of give a dog a bad name--and hang it!
In all of what is most shocking is the lack of support from Bina's circle of high society friends. When the warrant for her arrest was issued, I thought there'd be a tsunami of sympathy, sms', phone calls, and emails among the chattering classes. After all, these were the people who thronged to her parties and drank her (allegedly unlicensed) free booze like it was going out of style.
But guess what? There's been a deafening silence on that front; the air-kissing lot has preferred to look away as one of its leading lights is being unjustly victimised.
What a sad indictment of the way we choose to stand up for our friends, what a chilling thought for all those in the public eye to live with: if you live by page three--you are made to die by it too.
s_malavika@dnaindia.net
