The Correspondent, October 2014, Editorial

The Correspondent, October 2014, Editorial Men are the suckers! By M K Tayal Most government institutions have over a period of time become weak and ineffective in their ability to tackle the rich and the powerful. Infact this category enjoys the perks of being so. In no other country do the R&P get so much leeway as in our country. It is so because we are a nation of haves and those wanting to have, who can do nothing. The haves have it all and nobody can touch the lopsided and twirled system and them. They are a super closed group. You will only get filtered information. A few odd ‘examples’ will go to jail, one or two will get convicted. And that is all. The visitors’ diary of Central Bureau of Investigation director Ranjit Sinha’s residence containing the names of the ‘haves’ group – from big shot industrialists to scam accused – is interesting in more ways than one. The Victoria Secret slip is showing. It hides the interesting parts, ignites imagination but reveals nothing. There are few possible players - the IB, the ITBP, RAW… Who leaked? Now the name is locked in the Supreme Court. Remember, you are getting only filtered info. Nevertheless the expose is enough to get you all charged up. And charges are plenty. The likes of Sinha - top bureaucrats and Netas - have been instrumental in ruining the remains of whatever is remaining. We are at the nadir. If I say, the police are not corrupt - you may laugh at me. If I say, the judiciary is not corrupt - you may still be sneering. The administration, the licences, the taxes… alright, we are getting the drift. And to top it all, we have very vague laws. A woman even after nine years or so of marriage can accuse her in-laws of harassment over dowry. No questions asked, the in-laws stand a remote chance of not going in prison. A female in a live-in relationship for six years can accuse her partner of rape when marriage is not happening between the two. You can ideally move legal proceedings under some sane laws like laws of betrayal, breech of misunderstanding etc if marriage is not happening between the two. But this is not so. The concept of live-in is not to commit while having all the fun of staying together. Where does rape come into the picture? The picture is ‘f***ing’ blurred. Men are the suckers in our system. Mutual sex by two consenting adults cannot be read as rape by any stretch of imagination. It is Rape of law to read it with a capital R. But so is the system today. What can you do? You decide. Is there hope! editor@thecorrespondent.in