‘Our daughter was full of dreams and hope. She dedicated her life to helping others. Now her life has been cruelly taken from us’
As India celebrates 77 years of freedom, it is a time for reflection — a moment to recognize how far the country has come, yet in addition to standing up to the significant difficulties that persevere. The new misfortune, including the assault and murder of a lady doctor, a youthful post-graduate learner- specialist, has by and by tossed into sharp help, the basic issue of women’s security in our country.
Her horrifying rape and murder on August 9, 2024 at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, is a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by women in India. Found in a seminar hall, her body was discovered in a semi-nude state with severe injuries, including evidence of sexual assault, extreme brutality and strangulation.
Now there are reports that 150 grams of semen have been found in her body. This should be 15 grams if one man carries out the ghastly assault. So, were there more then one man who carried out this macabre crime all through the night?
How come the Calcutta Police and administration continue to remain so totally clueless? Were there efforts by the Mamata Banerjee government and her top cops to bury the case? Is the one man who has been picked up, the ready-made scapegoat? Will the others be arrested and punished?
The murder and assault has sparked nationwide outrage, exposing the stark reality of how women are treated in our society. For the first time after the mass outrage against the brutalisation of Nirbhaya in a bus in South Delhi, the entire country has risen up in anger and angst, with thousands marching on the streets.
“We sent her to the hospital to save lives, not to have hers taken,” her mother said, her voice chocked with pain.
Her father added, “She had so much to offer, so much more to live for.”
In the aftermath of this ghastly crime, the streets of Kolkata and other towns and cities in West Bengal and India have become a massive stage for collective grief, outrage and resistance. Activists, ordinary folks, students, parents, civil society groups and doctors across India have taken to the streets, demanding justice for her. Doctors and nurses across the country have gone on strike.
Many of them have organized a spontaneous series of protests under the ‘Reclaim the Night’ banner, standing in solidarity with her. The mass protests in Kolkata, which lit up the city with banners, candles, mashaals and lights, became a powerful symbol of the fight for women’s safety.
Tens of thousands of women in West Bengal and all over India marched through the streets, a culmination of nearly a week of sustained outrage, ignited by the brutal killing of the 31-year-old doctor. The protests have been marked by a call for accountability and justice, with demands for the resignation of the principal of RG Kar Medical College.
This public outcry is a testament to the widespread frustration over the repeated, systemic failures to protect women. The attack has highlighted the urgent need for better security measures for women in medical and other educational and professional institutions. Yet, it also serves as a grim reminder that no space is truly safe for women — not even the halls of learning and healing.
Our nation’s independence was meant to herald a new era of freedom, justice and equality for all. However, the grim reality is that women in India are still fighting for their fundamental rights and safety. The outrage that has erupted in response to her death, is not only an expression of anger, but also a cry for systemic and radical change.
Across India, women face an alarming array of threats. From religious places, where incidents like the Shilphata temple rape have shattered the sanctity of sacred spaces, to workplaces, where recent cases highlight severe safety lapses. The pattern of violence is pervasive.
Public transportation, which should be a lifeline, often becomes a site of harassment and danger, as seen in the tragic Nirbhaya case, which rocked Delhi and the entire nation. Marital rape continues to remain unrecognized as a crime, further silencing women and reinforcing their suffocation and suffering.
Even before birth, the rights of women are compromised, with illegal gender determination practices underscoring a dire need for change. Each of these instances reflects a systemic failure to protect women and uphold their rights.
The disturbing comment often heard in our society, that “girls are given too much freedom” — reflects a misguided and dangerous perspective that blames the victims rather than addressing the root causes of violence. This notion perpetuates the myth that women’s autonomy leads to their victimization, rather than acknowledging the urgent need for societal and systemic reforms.
As we celebrate our Independence day, we must remember that true freedom is not merely the absence of colonial rule, but the presence of equal rights, safety, and dignity for all citizens. Women should not have to live in fear of violence or harassment, whether in public, at work, or at home. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that every woman can walk freely and live without the constant shadow of violence.
The murder and rape of the doctor is not just another headline in a country weary of violence. She was a daughter, a healer, a young woman who had her entire life ahead of her — dreams of saving lives, of bringing light into this world, was so nastily extinguished by an act of unimaginable cruelty.
And, yet, she is not alone in her suffering. She joins a growing list of names, faces, and untold, invisible stories that haunt the hearts of every woman in India — stories that should never have to be told.
How many more daughters must we lose?
How many more nights will families live in terror, praying for the safe return of their mothers, sisters, and daughters?
How many more women will walk through the streets, hearts racing, eyes scanning the darkness, their freedom shackled by an unknown, sinister terror?
This isn’t the freedom our ancestors fought for. This is not the India they envisioned.
The young doctor’s death is a wound, not just for her family, but, for all of us — an open, simmering wound that festers because we have not healed the deep-rooted sickness in our society. We mourn her loss, but mourning is not enough. We cry out for her, but tears are not enough.
The protests, the speeches, the hashtags, the banners, the slogans, the candle lights — they are all screams in the void — unless we turn this moment of grief into a mass movement of radical social and political change.
As we mark another year of independence, we must ask ourselves: what is the value of freedom if half our population cannot live without fear?
What kind of independence is it when women are still prisoners of a society that refuses to protect them?
We must do better, for her, for the countless women before her, and for the women whose lives are still to come.
So, let this Independence day be more than just a ritualistic, annual celebration of the past. Let it be a pledge — a real, tangible pledge that her life will not be forgotten, that her death will not be in vain.
Let her spirit guide us as we build a future where no woman must walk in fear, where no family must mourn a daughter stolen by violence. We owe her that much. We owe all our women that much.
Let us be the generation that finally listens to their cries, that wipes away their tears, and that builds a nation worthy of their dreams.
Let us reclaim not just the night, but every moment of every day, for all our daughters and sisters, for all our mothers.
Only then can we truly say we are free!
Graphic picture by Aayushi Rana.