A Rape, Many Bodybags

The Unnao case underscores the clout powerful people wield, the damage they can do

- Salik Ahmad

A girl from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh—in her teens, raped, and her family and well-wishers killed one by one like in a B-grade potboiler—beseeched everybody she could for justice. But there’s not a pittance of justice to be had, leaving a trail of questions instead. What must a human, living under the rule of law, do if they’re wronged? Approach police? Move court? Attempt self-immolation? Lament before the press? Write to the state’s top authority? Seek justice from the country’s top court? And what do the victim do if she draws a bad cheque from every door she knocked on? Perhaps, just send a curse from the pits of your being, hoping against hope that it will harm the perpetrator.