Delhi gangrape convict Mukesh Singh is just like Asaram Bapu: Why ban the Nirbhaya film

It is clichéd and yet I have to state it to underscore the message. It's a classic case of killing the messenger. British filmmaker Leslee Udwin's documentary India's Daughter, which takes a look at the 2012 Delhi gangrape and the protests that followed, has incurred the wrath of the moral police and the home ministry. Udwin has interviewed the Mukesh Singh, a convict in the case, who blamed the victim for the rape.

We have women's right activist Kavita Krishnan who wants "solidarity but not a civilising mission". In saying this, I wonder if she is calling for a "candle light" protest march against the permissions given or a silent march to drown out the voices in favour of the documentary. If Krishnan is calling for solidarity, shouldn't it begin with action and not just words?

The Nirbhaya fund, set up by the UPA government after the December 16 Delhi gangrape, has made more news for being underutilised than for making any significant improvement to women's safety. A parliamentary report criticised the government because even after an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore was made in 2013-14 and another Rs 1,000 crore in the Budget 2014-15 there has been no utilisation since the fund was set up. Bring on the outrage women!

Wait, there's more though. The women and child development ministry received Rs 21,193 crore in Arun Jaitley's first Budget, an improvement over the Rs 18,584 crore in 2013-14. However, in this outing, Jaitley slashed it to Rs 10,351 crore.

In the aftermath of the December 16 gangrape, the then chief minister Sheila Dikshit promised to make Delhi safer for women, while slamming the Delhi Police. Her response, though a tad late in the day, did nothing to improve the conditions. Police still refuse to file FIRs stating "iske peeche bhagna padega"; there are plenty of unsafe and unlit street corners. I don't see anyone making a hue and cry about these issues.

You want more issues? Public money is used to build statues and temples, while the healthcare budget has been cut by 15 per cent. Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "Rape accused should not be hanged. Men make mistakes", while opposing the anti-rape law. He hasn't been banned from the Parliament. Moreover, the juvenile rapist in the December 16 case will be out from the correction facility soon. Who is to say his attitude has changed, after being called the "demon" amongst the accused?

To give Udwin fair credit she talked to the victim's family, to protesters, and to lawyers such as justice Leila Seth, who was part of the Justice Verma Commission, which was constituted to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of sexually assaulting women. But, the posters of film state: "For the first time, the face of evil, the rapist speaks on camera". Let there be an uproar about the poster. Clearly, BBC wanted to grab eyeballs.

If there should be a discussion, it should be about finding the root causes of mindsets that Mukesh Singh is a part of. Clearly, he is not alone. He acted on those thoughts. So did Asaram Bapu. Death penalty for just one man will not solve the problem. Bringing out advertisements in favour of a girl child is not going to help the cause either. Educate those at the grassroots. Let there be a movement to lift the ghoonghat.

I do not understand the outrage over a documentary that has shown a mirror to the society. My only sadness lies in that an Indian filmmaker or journalist hadn't thought of it. Guess we have goldfish memory.