RIP BRAVE HEART

RIP BRAVE HEART

An incident that lead to a horrific crime that stunned and shunned India.

In her death, that saw the government lock down the city yet again, Damini became an epitome of valour, with many asking if the incident would bring about any lasting change. The victim-turned-heroine story is a potent symbol now.

Will her death, be in vain?

On December 16, 23-year old Damini, was yet another victim of a brutal gang rape in the national capital, lying on the roadside bloodied and battered. After watching a movie in Saket in south Delhi, the victim and her friend had reached Munirka, in south Delhi, where they took a private bus parked by the road where, six men in the bus caught hold of the victim. Then followed an agonizing 40 minutes where the victim was gang raped and tortured, after which the battered woman and her friend were dumped at a roadside at Mahipalpur, about eight kilometres away. They lay there naked, shivering and bleeding for almost an hour. No one seemingly bothered to stop by. It was a routine patrol of the National Highway Authority of India that saw the two and alerted the police.

As the enormity of the crime became known, India was shocked. Doctors at Safdarjung Hospital said they had never seen any rape victim like this. Over the next 13 days, as she battled her grievous injuries, the horror of the incident and her indomitable courage moved the nation as a crime rarely has. Outrage poured on the streets and as news trickled in of her struggle against incredible odds, the country witnessed her morph from victim to a fighter. 

As the woman struggled to live, at one point telling her family that she did not want to die, and her burning desire to live, angry citizens hit the streets across India, and New Delhi saw the largest protests, as demonstrators ranted against the callousness of a system that let buses to ply illegally and allowed such violence to take place, officials were forced to act.

The young woman was put on ventilator support right from the time of her admission. But her condition kept deteriorating. Later, she was shifted to Singapore in a last attempt to save her. It was too late by the time she entered the Mount Elizabeth Hospital, she was already sinking. Her distraught family watched her pass away.

Infuriated protesters largely youth painted Delhi's streets with their rage. Her sheer will to live and to meet the friend who was with her and demand that the rapists who assaulted her be brought to justice might help rid the tag of 'shame' from a rape victim and reduce the benchmark of tolerance against sexual violence. 

The nation came to know that she didn't take the assault without a fight. She fought till her last breath, even biting one. After Delhi government and Delhi Police were locked in scoring brownie points, she even gave a second statement as her condition further worsened. 

At a time when politicians lack the courage to face protesters and the angry crowds lacked a rallying point, Damini stood for bravery and the indestructible human spirit. And in her death, India found a martyr.