The entire country is convulsing with anger over the brutal rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad. The ripples of the outrage were witnessed in the parliament as well with Rajya Sabha MP and renowned actor Jaya Bachchan demanding public lynching of the rapists while another member of the house wanted castration.
While such extreme views are being heard across the country, badminton player Jwala Gutta has come up with a well-thought-out and meaningful way of dealing with the perpetrators of rape. The former World Championship bronze-medallist took to Twitter to express her opinion on the course that law should take for punishing rapists.
"In my opinion...the govt should first appoint few psychologists and make them speak to the accused and find out and understand what's driving them to commit such horrific crimes against women...and then the punishment should follow!!," the outspoken shuttler posted on her timeline.
Gutta is known for being frank, if sometimes controversial, in her views. Her Twitter account has seen various posts expressing her opinion on multiple issues. The 2010 Commonwealth Games champion also penned an opinion piece for a news website in the aftermath of the horrific incident. In it, she castigated the Indian society and said that the root causes of such crimes against women should be addressed.
This heart-wrenching incident has shocked the sporting world as much as any other part of Indian society. Various other personalities from many different disciplines have taken to Twitter and expressed their shock at this heinous crime.
Another top shuttler of the country, Saina Nehwal, who also spends a lot of time in Hyderabad for her training, also expressed her sadness on the incident. "Really horrifying incident (sic) to know that vet doctor life was cut short without any fault of her. Really ashamed of this bad incident in Hyderabad..RIP. Culprit should be given severe punishment."
Yogeshwar Dutt, Olympic bronze medallist and now a politician wrote on his timeline: "I can't imagine the pain this girl Priyanka Reddy has to go through because some people just insulted the humanity. Telangana CM must punish guilty. The rapist should be caught and burnt alive in front of public, only then these kinds of incidents will never happen."
Whether one looks at the extreme reaction of Yogeshwar or the more measured view of Jwala, one thing is clear – India wants something to be done. Things can't continue to remain as they are.
