The new moon day of Savitri Brata was celebrated a few days ago. Women observe fast on this day praying for a long and healthy life of their husbands. It is also customary that on this day the women concerned receive gifts like sarees, etc.. from their parents and in-laws. On such a day, in Samalpur village of Kalyanpur panchayat in Jajpur district, a woman was burnt alive by her in-laws over issues relating to dowry. Archana Sahu, wife of Sudipta, was the unfortunate woman, who tried to save herself. Villagers heard the screams of Archana and rushed to her house. They broke the gate, rescued her in a critical state and admitted her to the District Headquarters Hospital. Archana succumbed to burn injuries during the early hours when the “Savitri” day was about to end. The entire village was in a state of turmoil. Amidst a tense atmosphere in the entire area, the agitated villagers brought the body of Archana back from the hospital. Anger also motivated the villagers to cremate the body in the courtyard of the in-laws of the deceased.
Reports from the police and others indicate that Archana, daughter of Sridhar Sahu of Sundarpur village, was married to Sudipta two years ago and was blessed with two minor daughters. She had to countenance hell as the husband and in-laws started torturing her for dowry within months of marriage. It was only two months ago that the in-laws had thrashed her and she therefore moved to live with her parents. About eight days before the shocking event, Archana’s father-in-law had visited her parents and persuaded her to come back to their home. Archana must have hoped for better days!
At village Kantabania under the Rajkanika police station in Kendrapada district, a 19=year-old wife Pramila was beaten to death by her husband on the very Savitri Brata day on May 17. The force with which she was attacked by the husband and the nature of injuries she suffered resulted in her death before reaching the local CHC.
During the last five years, domestic violence and dowry demands have led to the death of about 200 women in the State of Odisha. It sounds ironical that the faithfully fasting women should receive such criminal and cruel treatment on the day of Savitri Amabasya. To repeat, it is well-known that this is a day on which the wife fasts and worships for long and healthy life for the husband. On such a day, the cruel and criminal husbands have been insensitive and beastly enough to cause the murder of their wives.
The distortions and degradation in our social framework are now too dominant to be brushed under the carpet. The rural society, which mostly depends on agriculture and allied activities, had its own decent norms and a rich culture. Rank and gross materialism has debased some minds. The youth are often found to be easy victims of such disquieting trends. The youth power in urban areas had started being debased much earlier. The rural society, including that of Odisha, is in disarray. There is disorientation in the sphere of the traditional values and they are tending to be replaced by naked craze for money. This is ominous. This is also a signal for alarming us regarding what lies ahead. Remedial actions can brook no delay. leaders in our society do not anymore inspire any idealism in the hearts of youth power. It is by building castles in the air that the aspirations of the youth for materialism have been disturbingly heightened. Very often, they are not equipped and competent enough to fulfil their aspirations. This leads to frustration, which does not remain confined to the aspirations only. This frustration becomes political capital in the hands of the elder ones styling themselves as leaders. The youth power is misdirected towards non-productive and illegal activities. They are also utilised for giving protection to those who have to be behind bars. Such youth power becomes intertwined with unscrupulous obligations. In view of the unequal bargaining power, the youth tend to become prisoners of the system.
This trend has snowballed over the last two decades or so. It has subserved the improper grip of criminalised political leaders. This has brought into existence a vicious circle contaminated by vandalism and unethical practices, neither being conducive to a healthy and vibrant polity. There is every reason for alarm and concern as the trend continues to move on at a dangerously fast rate.
There have been devices to penetrate this vicious circle and loosen the shackles of power of those politicians who tend to control the youth power by curbing them by criminalising them and by making them tools for implementation of illegalities or crimes and also in hushing them up. A section of the youth in every village now should have their conscience still clicking. Wake them up to this survival necessity of the hour. They have to gradually extend their influence over the mass of them who have gone the wrong way. Alongside, there must be constructive actions building future assets serving the needs of the society. This frustrated power could very well be channelised into the hitherto ignored basic necessities of the village and the adjoining areas. Some catalyst has to emerge and cast its spell on the misguided youth power, utilise the section of the youth power, who are still sane and sound, and inch towards bringing under one banner the misdirected youth power into constructive and beneficial work in the interest of their community at large. Unfortunately, this catalyst cannot sprout out of the rat race of materialism. This requires a blend of Gandhism (or Gandhigiri) for halting the first steps towards distortions and degradations. When we look for a catalyst, it need not be an individual but could very well be a group of them. This could be of varying age groups belonging to different avocations and professions. But to save the society, we have confined ourselves to spending more time in locating Darus and carrying them across with fanfare. There has to be a social soul searching. And this concerns us all!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former President of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. yantdas@hotmail.com)