Skip to main content

Is this Nari Shakti? 6,000 citizens ask Modi on release of 11 convicted of gang-rape, murder

Counterview Desk 
Expressing their "shock and horror" at the premature release of 11 men convicted of gang-rape and mass murder, about 6,000 ordinary citizens, grassroots workers, women’s and human rights groups and activists, eminent litterateurs and scholars* have said regretted that even as the Prime Minister in his Independence Day address spoke of women’s rights, dignity and nari shakti, Bilkis Bano, a woman who embodies ‘nari shakti’, learned that the perpetrators who killed her family, murdered her 3 year old daughter, gang-raped and left her to die, had walked free.
In a statement, they feared, "The remission of sentences for the 11 convicted of gang-rape and mass murder will have a chilling effect on every rape victim who is told to ‘trust the system’, ‘seek justice’, ‘have faith’," adding, the remission of these men "is not only immoral and unconscionable, it violates the State of Gujarat’s own existing remission policy” and “the guidelines issued by the Central government to states."

Text:

  • We stand in support and solidarity with Bilkis Bano’s 20 year struggle for justice.
  • We demand that the release of the 11 convicted of gang-rape and mass murder be immediately revoked.
  • It has a chilling effect on the fight for justice by all rape victims.
  • We call upon the supreme court of india to undo this grave miscarriage of justice.
  • We call upon all citizens to stand with all victims of rape, against this injustice.
On the morning of August 15, 2022, in his Independence Day address to the nation the Prime Minister of India spoke of women’s rights, dignity and Nari Shakti. That very afternoon Bilkis Bano, a woman who embodied that ‘Nari Shakti’ in her 17 year long struggle for justice, learnt that the perpetrators who killed her family, murdered her 3 year old daughter, gang-raped and left her to die, had walked free. No one asked for her views, or enquired about her safety. No one sent her a notice. No one asked how she, a gang-rape survivor, felt about the release of her rapists.
Bilkis has always said that her struggle for justice is a struggle for all women, and on August 15th the rights of each rape victim in India has received a blow.
It shames us that the day we should celebrate our freedoms and be proud of our independence, the women of India instead saw gang-rapists and mass murderers freed as an act of State largesse. The remission of sentences for the 11 convicted of gang-rape and mass murder will have a chilling effect on every rape victim who is told to ‘trust the system’, ‘seek justice’, ‘have faith’. The early release of these murderers/rapists only strengthens the impunity of all men who commit rape and other acts of violence against women. The remission must be revoked.
Bilkis was just 21 years old, and 5 months pregnant in 2002 when she was gang-raped, watched her 3 year old daughter Saleha’s head smashed on a rock, watched 14 members of her family murdered. Saw several female members of her family raped and murdered. It was the most heinous of crimes. As the sole adult survivor of this horrific massacre, Bilkis Bano then embarked upon on a brave and long battle to secure justice. She did what we tell all rape victims to do – she found inner strength, stood her ground, testified to her truth and trusted the criminal justice system. It was a long journey but justice came. All perpetrators were convicted by the Special CBI Court in Mumbai in 2008. The conviction was upheld by the Bombay High Court, and by the Honorable Supreme Court. As Bilkis herself said in 2017, when the Bombay High Court upheld life sentences for the convicts - “.. this verdict does not mean the end of hatred but it does mean that somewhere, somehow justice can prevail. This has been an long, seemingly never ending struggle for me, but when you are on the side of truth, you will be heard, and justice will be yours in the end.”
Today, that justice stands undone.
The remission of these sentences is not only immoral and unconscionable, it goes against the State of Gujarat’s own existing remission policy which expressly states such remission is “NOT” for those convicted of rape or gangrape.
Additionally, it violates the guidelines issued by the Central government to States on a prisoner release policy to coincide with Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav which also clearly states that among the categories of prisoners NOT to be granted Special Remission are “those convicted of rape”.
Most importantly, in a case investigated and prosecuted by the CBI, no remission can be granted by a State without concurrence by the Centre. That such a remission was even considered and then permitted reveals the hollowness of the public posturing about Nari Shakti, Beti Bachao, women's right and justice for victims.
To those who facilitated the release of 11 murderers and gang-rapists in contravention of the law of the land, we say this: You have let down every woman in the country. Made us more unsafe, more threatened and more at risk of violation. You have diluted our faith in the idea of justice for women of India.
We end with reaffirming our solidarity to Bilkis Bano and every other victim of sexual assault who has the courage to stand up for justice today. We express deep concern for her safety and that of her family. We are pained that this brave woman has to relive the trauma of the past 20 years.
We demand that women’s faith in justice be restored. We demand the remission of sentences for these 11 convicts be immediately revoked and they be sent back to prison to serve the remainder of their life terms.
---
*Click here for important signatories

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

  By A Representative   A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.
Post a Comment
»

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

  By Rajiv Shah   This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.
1 comment
»

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative   The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress. 
Post a Comment
»

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative   A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...
Post a Comment
»

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.
Post a Comment
»

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.
Post a Comment
»

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey  The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians. 
Post a Comment
»

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan*  A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .
Post a Comment
»

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".
51 comments
»