A Concerned Haryanvi Laments Rape Cases: “This Isn’t My Haryana”

How has the land of Mahabharata over a woman’s honour become the epicentre of rape?

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

“Rape is not just physical abuse, but a mental scar that the victims carry for their entire life.”

Whenever I read a news reports about rape cases, this statement of the Delhi High Court comes to my mind. Recently, Haryana has become an epicentre of rape cases. The incidents are so gruesome that all limits of savagery have been crossed.

You can point fingers at the police, government and administration, but what are we doing as a society? Today, an ashamed Haryanvi is asking you this question.

“This Is Not The Haryana I Knew”

What has happened to our Haryana? Isn’t this the same land where Mahabharat took place to avenge Draupadi’s honour? Why are such barbaric acts being committed on the same land? Multiple incidents of gangrape and murders of small girls are being reported.

It’s heart wrenching to hear what happened with a 15-year-old daughter in Haryana’s Jind. It was so gruesome that I will not be able to narrate it, nor will you be able to read the details. The dead body of the victim was found covered in blood near a canal.

These savage people shoved weapons in her private parts. Her liver was ruptured. I feel a chill in my spine even mentioning such savagery.

And when I hear about what happened in Panipat, I feel ashamed to call myself a Haryanvi.

An 11-year-old girl was raped and murdered. After that, her dead body was raped for four hours. Is this a place where humans live or demons? We are behaving like demons.

All lines were crossed in Faridabad. Police, and even we, should be ashamed of what happened. A girl was returning from her office. In broad daylight she was kidnapped from near Rajiv Chowk in Delhi. She was raped for two hours in a moving car and then thrown out of the car. She was discarded as if a sack of straw

Near Pinjore, a 10-year-old was was raped by her 50-year-old neighbour. At her age, she is supposed to play with dolls. And this man played with her life!

Multiple incidents of rape have been reported in Fatehabad, Hisar, Gurugram and Bhivani.

“We Have No Right To Say Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”

From now on, if you see ‘beti bachao beti padhao’ written on a wall in Haryana, then please rub it off or paint over it. We have no right to say it.

Weren’t incidents of Jat vs Dalit violence, fake babas like Ram Raheem and khap panchayats enough to malign the image of Haryana? Haryana was already infamous for female foeticide. Now, we will also be known for their murder. And why just murder? First rape them, then kill them.

This is not a minor embarrassment!

From now on, when Haryana’s daughters Sakshi Malik, Saina Nehwal, Geeta Phogat, Savita Poonia and Pinki Jangda represent India on the world stage in a tournament, they will be ashamed to admit that they are from Haryana.

We used to say with pride, “Desan mein des Haryana, jit doodh dahi ka khana (There is no other place like Haryana, where people live merrily and drink milk).”

But now reword it to, “Desan mein des Haryana, jahan mushkil hai betiyon ko bachana (There is no other place like Haryana, where daughters can’t be saved).”

We also used to claim that we have just one culture which is agriculture.

Now, we should say, “Don’t bring your daughters to Haryana because people here are like vultures.”

Many years ago, when I had come to Delhi, I would proudly claim that my Haryana is crime-free. Forget rapes and murders, not even theft is reported.

Now, what would I say?

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam and Vivek Gupta

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