EDITORIAL : THE HINDU, INDIA

The depths of depravity

Just what is this awful sickness that lies within us? What malodorous disease could lead a random mob of men to molest a minor schoolgirl, stripping her and beating her by turns in the middle of a busy downtown street, as if they were engaged in some casual sport? Surely, this appalling crime — which took place barely a kilometre from Assam’s State secretariat and in full view of many — is more than just a reflection on a criminal mob of some 20 or more young men and the deteriorating law and order situation in Guwahati. Surely, it should hold up a mirror to all of us and lead us to ask what has gone so horribly wrong in our society. The sheer savagery of the gang molestation, the video of which went viral on the Internet, has fuelled outrage across the country even as it has triggered a sense of national shame. The Assam police, which took a full 30 minutes to arrive at the crime scene, should lose no time in arresting all those involved in the bestiality, many of who have been already identified because of the video. It is debatable whether or not the onlookers who passively watched the mortification of the schoolgirl are legally culpable. But their moral complicity in the crime is beyond question.

We live in a time when crimes against women — which climbed over 2.25 lakh in 2011 according to the National Crime Records Bureau — are growing alarmingly. The data also clearly reveals that over the last couple of decades, the (reported) incidents of rape have increased at a far steeper rate than other serious crimes such as murder and theft. Even so, we assiduously cultivate the patriarchal lie that women are fundamentally responsible for many of the crimes against them. The panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Bagpat region which recently issued a diktat against unescorted women visiting the marketplace, entering into love marriages or even carrying mobile phones, was guided by the same warped mindset. The stated objective was to protect women from being teased and harassed by men. But rather than take steps to punish those responsible for such harassment, the panchayat chose illegitimately to restrict the freedom of women and infringe on their rights. Sadly, it is not uncommon to find police officers and politicians subscribing to such a regressive belief system. Justice is rarely done in the face of such attitudes. This is why organisations such as the National Commission of Women, which is sending a team to Guwahati, must track the molestation case closely and work towards seeing that the guilty are severely punished.

Still no room for optimism

It is a measure of the very low expectations from the economy that even an anaemic 2.4 per cent increase in industrial production in May should be viewed positively in some quarters. It is only on a comparison with the previous months that the index of industrial production (IIP) data looks tolerable, though it is quite a stretch to claim that it marks the beginning of a turnaround in the economy. Industrial production had contracted in March and April by 3.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively. But “a return to positive territory” is, by itself, hardly a cause for celebration. In May 2011, industrial production had grown by a relatively healthy 6.4 per cent, which at that time was considered to be inadequate. The dip in industrial production has been the prime reason for the steep fall in overall GDP growth rates during last year. A break-up of the May data reveals that manufacturing, accounting for more than 75 per cent of the overall IIP, grew by 2.5 per cent after contracting 1.25 per cent in the preceding month. If that is seen to augur well for future growth, the decline in mining — it contracted by 0.9 per cent — and in the output of capital goods by as much as 7.7 per cent are real dampeners. Capital goods are a proxy for short-term investments while the poor performance of mining points to the need for proactive, holistic government policies towards the sector.

The relatively strong performance of consumer goods might be short-lived if the monsoon remains erratic, dashing hopes of a robust rural demand. The performance of various sectors that form the IIP is, therefore, mixed and merely reflects the ground realities. Interestingly, even at a much broader level, the value of this index to policymaking has, for quite some time, been questioned for very basic reasons. Even in the new series, revised with 2004-05 as the base, the index has been extremely volatile and subject to frequent revisions, a glaring, recent example being the April number which was revised downwards to negative territory from a small 0.1 per cent increase. The IIP series has been considered unreliable and inaccurate by important users of economic data including, notably, the Reserve Bank of India. Its governor has, more than once, complained that the index’s negative attributes hinder monetary policy formulation. There is of course a case for improving government statistics including the IIP. As for the May figures, while they may not indicate a bounce-back, they do send out a clear message to the government to frame policies that will put industrial growth back on track.