At the end of the horrifying ordeal of Varnika Kundu – when two men allegedly stalked and attempted to kidnap her – she was thankfully safe. For countless other women, something like this could end in actual abduction, rape and/or murder. In this instance, the woman revealed her identity to the world at large and made sure that the perpetrators were brought to book (even if they promptly got bail). In countless other cases, the perpetrators escape any punishment. This case as well as the events that followed, show stark evidence of the entrenched sense of entitlement of the Indian political class as well as the deep-seated misogyny that continues to blame the victim for crimes against them.
It was a little after midnight when Varnika Kundu, DJ was driving home from work when she was chased by two men in an SUV. The car was being driven by Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala. Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar who was also in the car, were allegedly drunk. Varnika managed to dodge her would-be attackers and also called the police. She narrated her experiences via a Facebook post which quickly went viral.
The accused in this case is from an influential and politically powerful family. In India it is assumed that those with political clout are practically above the law; that a different set of rules apply to these people. The sense of entitlement that this class has is evident in the way the CCTV footage of the incident was mysteriously unavailable and appeared to emerge only days later. The police’s alleged dilution of charges and the duo getting bail instantly is also more evidence of the way that the high and mighty manage to get away with anything.
She is the daughter of an IAS officer, a person with some amount of influence and connections. According to her own admission, this is the reason why she got the sort of prompt and efficient response that she did from the authorities; particularly the police. She feels that the end of her ordeal could easily have been gruesome; that had she been the daughter of a common person, the matter may well have been hushed up.
Varnika's ordeal did not end that night. While she had the support and respect of countless people on social media she also faced a backlash that questioned her being out late at night, her conduct and more. A photo of hers was circulated on social media to try and build a fake back story to the incident and the trolls were out in force calling Varnika’s character, her job, activities and relationships into question. This brought out the average Indian’s complete incomprehension of the concept of consent as well as the deep-rooted patriarchy that demands that women circumscribe their own activities to remain ‘safe’ rather than control those of aggressors.
In an interview, Varnika has made it clear, that in spite of her ordeal, she will not be changing her lifestyle out of fear. If she has to, she will still go out at night; she refuses to be cowed by the fear of what some goons nearly did to her. “Men should not be able to count on my getting scared so they can do whatever they want with me” she said. She also has the support of her family; her father stating that care will be taken that charges are adequately framed and not diluted. If only other women had the same support and were permitted to be similarly strong and resolute.
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