Compensation is bordering on a syndrome. There are cash doles for the accident victim, the riot victim, the communal clash victim, the natural disaster victim, the dam displaced and even the SEZ affected person. And now, you can also add official compensation for being raped, to this list. The latest in this assurance-by-money politics is the award of Rs 1 lakh to a girl who dared complain that she was gang-raped by her teachers. When news of this alleged gang-rape in the Teacher’s Training College in the Gujarati town of Patan spread, it evoked a sense of ennui at most for a news-weary mind.

There are two aspects to this reward announcement by the chief minister. It could mean that if a woman goes public about sexual abuse or violence against her, there is now a possibility of financial incentive and this could be a government policy precedent, even before the crime is proved in a court of law or an investigation is completed. It can also mean institutionalising the compensation syndrome for a governance lapse, be it of the most serious kind, with just cash. So money can translate into silence of the victim; it can translate into assurance for the angry public that the government cares; it can replicate justice, as it is not to be ensured timely.

Instead of guaranteeing timely legal help and sensitive handling by the three important government departments — education, health and police — the money offer by the government seems to make up for everything, even as the incident and its aftermath are played out sordidly in public realm. It’s another matter that the crime is yet to be established, while a magisterial inquiry has been ordered, the parents agitate; the town boils in rage.

... contd.