Mulayam Singh Yadav’s views unfit for civilised folks

Samajwadi boss Mulayam Singh Yadav’s outrageous comments on rape on Thursday are beyond the pale of civilised society. His insensitivity at a time when most of India is up in arms over heinous crimes against women, particularly the despicable act of rape, reflects a cynical disdain for society’s views, which even a hardened cynical politician like him can’t afford. The timing of his “boys will be boys” logic to suggest that rapists be let off the hook under the new laws with stringent punishment for such crimes easily lends itself to the suspicion that, at election time, he is pandering to his constituents.

Bizarrely, his Maharashtra colleague Abu Azim seems to have derived inspiration from his leader to add fuel to the raging fire: he declared Friday that women who had extramarital sex should be “hanged”. It’s hard to imagine such a mediaeval mindset could exist in our modern age, particularly in an elected leader, at a time when social norms are sensitive towards gender equality, protection of women’s rights and an individual’s right to make his/her own choices. Modernity should have taken firmer roots in our globalised world, with no space left for cultural backwaters to exist. Sadly, perhaps, this may not yet be true for Mulayam’s backyard.

Having been a member of the Lok Sabha that debated the Delhi gangrape horror of December 2012 in graphic detail, before passing a stringent law against crimes on women, it is surprising that Mulayam should now hold such a contrary view. Had he participated in the debate back then and put forth his views, however regressive, it could at least be said that he was playing true to form. National perspectives on law and order in Uttar Pradesh may vary slightly from the median of most other states, but in speaking as he has, Mulayam leaves himself open to accusations from activists that he is handing out an “open invitation” for attacks on women.

The SP may well hold views different from other parties on the larger issue of the abolition of the death penalty. But that argument is hardly relevant when it comes to the Shakti Mills gangrape horror in Mumbai recently: we are dealing here with a despicable crime, and the question is how best to prevent its recurrence, particularly given the imperfections of our legal processes. It was with this in mind that the Justice J.S. Verma Committee had recommended the enactment of stringent new laws, to which the SP chief was also a party. But far from considering these factors, the regional satrap with ambitions of becoming Prime Minister is seen justifying his regressive views, while India’s women are boiling, and justifiably so, with rage over his insouciance.