5. The woman who tried to change India

Confucius says – our glory is not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall. India has been made by such great glorious people. We are enlightened by great luminaries. These Indians have not only influenced the Indian people, but have also left a cherished mark on the world. Indians like Gandhiji, Tagore, Kalam, Bose shaped this nation. Industrialists like Tata and Ambani lead this nation towards legacy. These are all great names. How about a commoner who contributed greatly to this nation? Any names? Dear Toastmasters and Guess good afternoon. Her name is Bhanwari Devi from Rajasthan. Anyone who heard of her name? She was born in a low-caste kumhar (potter) family in Rajasthan. The village was prominently filled with the upper caste Gurjars. In the 1980s, child marriages were rampant and the caste system was dominant. Bhanwari was a saathin, who was part of the Women's Development Project. She took up issues related to land, water, literacy, rape, health etc. She had the support of the villagers. In 1992, the Rajasthan government decided to launch a campaign against child marriage during a festival. Bhanwari was tasked with convincing local villagers not to conduct child marriages. The campaign was largely ignored by the villagers and faced disapproval from everywhere. However, one Mr. Ram Karan Gurjar had planned to marry off his one-year-old daughter. Bhanwari made attempts to persuade the family to stop the wedding. Even the police went to the village to stop the marriage. While they succeeded in preventing the marriage happening on that day, the marriage took place the next day. No police action was taken against this. However, the villagers associated the police visits with Bhanwari. The village boycotted Bhanwari and her family. The villagers stopped selling milk to the family or buying pots they made. On 22 September 1992, while Bhanwari and her husband were working in their field, five men Ram Karan, Ram Sukh, Gyarsa, Badri and Shravan Sharma attacked her husband, leaving him unconscious. When she came to her husband's rescue, Gyarsa and Badri raped her, while the other three pinned her down on the ground. When Bhanwari tried to lodge a FIR she faced lot of suspicion and indifference by the surmounting police. At the police station, Bhanwari was asked to deposit her "lehanga" (long skirt) as evidence. She had to cover herself with her husband's blood-stained turban and walk 3 km to the nearest village at about 1 am in the morning for medical examination. This indifference continued everywhere she went, one of the male doctor refused to medically examine, while no female doctor was present. One of the doctors wrote in his referral that she was being sent for a test "confirming her age and not rape. Another refused to conduct any tests without orders from a Magistrate; the Magistrate refused to give the orders until the next day, as it was past his working hours. As a result, the medical examination was done after 48 hours of the alleged rape, whereas law requires it within 24 hours. Police and physician’s acts damaged the evidence and resulted in the impediment of justice. Still she approached the court, but five judges were changed and the sixth judge ruled that the accused were not guilty, stating that Bhanwari's husband couldn't have passively watched his wife being gang-raped. Very unfortunately the court infamously ordered, “Since the offenders were upper-caste men and included a brahmin, the rape could not have taken place because Bhanwari was from a lower caste”. Bhanwari Devi was accused of fabricating the rape by the alleged rapists and their supporters, and faced public humiliation in her village. She refused monetary compensation to avoid allegations that she did this to get money. In 2007, 15 years later, the Rajasthan High Court on appeal, held only one hearing on the case and two of the accused were dead. Bhanwari Devi and her family were ostracized by villagers. When her mother died, her brothers and others did not allow her to participate in the funeral. We all know that Bhanwari didn’t get the justice she deserved. But, guess what happened? Her example encouraged several rape victims to prosecute their rapists. That lead several nationwide protests and campaigns. Also in some time, the average age of the first-time mother in Rajasthan had gone up to 17 years. An NGO Vishaka took her case up and a number of women's rights activists and lawyers filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India. As a result of the efforts of all of them today we have the famous - Vishakha Guidelines. One of the landmark judgments in the history of India to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace. It’s a victory to all men and women in India who want this nation to reach its zenith. A small woman made an enormous change. She stood up for justice, she stood up for what’s right, and she stood up for humanity. Its souls like her that makes India proud. As they say, Leader is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another, and she really does.