Nation witnesses ‘the politics of stalking’

In the last three years, India has been witnessing a steady increase in the number of people arrested on the ‘stalking’ charges. In the year 2014, nearly 5,439 people were arrested in cases of the stalking and eve-teasing. In the year 2015, the total number of people arrested in cases of the stalking and ‘related issues’ increased to over 6,694. In the last year, the total number of people arrested in cases of the stalking and eve-teasing across the country reached a record high of nearly 8,620. The disappointing fact is that this steady hike in the number of people arrested in cases of the stalking has not triggered any serious discussion in the Indian society, which calls themselves a well-developed society which respects women. Fortunately, when the Chandigarh police have booked the son of Haryana BJP Chief Subhash Barala for stalking, the whole scenario has changed. Now, several elite leaders, who hitherto give no heed to the serious social issues, have come forward to press the Haryana government to take serious action against the stalker. There is no dispute that the opposition parties should make sure that the culprit is not using his political influence to dilute the charges registered against him. The big question is that is it right to give a political colour to this social issue. Social observers observe that there are no concrete civil societies in our country to take up these issues and pressure the authorities to initiate feasible policies.

Vignesh

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