Editorial: Beyond the ‘jungle raj’

The molestation of a minor girl by a group of lumpen youths in Jamui was deeply disturbing, provoking profound moral outrage and disgust over the state of affairs in Bihar.

In the shocking video of the act, widely shared across social media platforms, a teenage girl is seen being sexually assaulted while her courageous male friend is thrashed by a group of unruly youth.

The main accused was caught after police shot and injured him in an alleged encounter.

Among the eight arrested so far, three are minors. It is deeply troubling to note the rising trend of juvenile involvement as perpetrators in serious sexual crimes across the region.

All the political rhetoric of “jungle raj” that the BJP used to unleash against the Lalu Prasad Yadav government in the past has returned to haunt it. Beyond governance deficiencies and political bankruptcy, retrograde and antiquated thinking is evident in the responses of politicians belonging to the ruling BJP-JDU coalition.

Particularly appalling was the statement of BJP MLA and state sports minister Shreyasi Singh, who described the attempted rape as “moral policing gone wrong”. She remarked that it could have been done “in a more decent and elegant fashion”, but instead the youths “mishandled, mistreated the boy and the girl”, which she deemed “absolutely not tolerable”.

For over a decade now, the BJP and its governments in states have either failed to act or offered tacit support to members of the Bajrang Dal to harass young couples in public spaces. In the name of defending religion and Sanatan values, the outfit, a component of the larger Sangh Parivar, would routinely take the law into its hands on Valentine’s Day, indulging in vandalism and targeting young lovers in parks, malls, and cafés.

The Uttar Pradesh government effectively adopted this Bajrang Dal template, giving it a veneer of legality by establishing “anti-Romeo squads” of police officers to curb street harassment, commonly known by the misnomer “eve-teasing”. The administration in effect institutionalised moral policing, legitimised the invasion of privacy, and sanctioned the humiliation of consenting adult couples in public.

In almost any public controversy, BJP supporters routinely search for a “religious” or “caste” angle. In this case, since the prime accused belonged to the Yadav caste, the party attempted to give the crime a political spin by linking it to RJD.

Another familiar ploy is to highlight crime in opposition-ruled states as a complete failure of law and order and proof of “jungle raj”, while dismissing similar atrocities in BJP-ruled states as mere “stray” and “isolated” incidents. Lately, however, such tired narratives are being rejected by the general public.

Although sexual harassment of women in public spaces is prevalent nationwide, it remains comparatively more rampant and severe in socio-economically backward states. The overwhelming presence of men in public spaces, combined with entrenched patriarchal mindsets, is a primary driver.

In the case of Bihar, economic backwardness and feudal social relations normalise and aggravate gender-based violence. Beyond economic development, progressive social movements and sustained civil society campaigns are essential to counter and dismantle these regressive ideas and mindsets.