Rajasthan is India's showcase state. It draws the largest number of foreign tourists.Some of the most evocative legends of love, bravery and chivalry come from there. It's obviously all from another time. Going by the Rajasthan of today, it could also be from another planet.In a country that ranks among the highest in the world with regard to crimes against women, Rajasthan is notorious. The repeated gang-rape of a woman in Jaipur recently only caps a series of atrocities ranging from murder to disfigurement and, of course, rape, female foeticide and infanticide.The incident shows up the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Government as one which doesn't care about one half of its constituency even after the ruling BJP took a battering in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The state has done nothing to help the victim or apprehend the culprits. Rajasthan is the only state that does not have a special cell or commission to inquire into and follow up crimes against women.Amazingly, Chief Minister Shekhawat doesn't seem to be in any hurry to institute one-even when it's as clear as daylight that women are the target of rampant hooliganism and the law and order machinery seems completely defunct. For his regime's sake, as much as for the women of Rajasthan, Shekhawat has to wake up..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}There is already evidence of grassroots discontent in Rajasthan. Activists have lit a fire so large under the administration that the right to information is inevitable.If the atrocity exhibition continues, Shekhawat and the lumpens of his state will face a women's movement so strong that no amount of callous silence and macho posturing will be able to blunt it. Shekhawat should act now. It could win him new support. It may even help the BJP claw back some electoral advantage. It will certainly help Rajasthan win back its pride.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Jun 8, 1998--- ENDS ---
