Convicts in Bilkis Bano case are ‘Brahmins with good sanskaar’: Gujarat BJP MLA
Hyderabad: CK Raulji, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Gujarat, who was part of the state government’s panel that recommended releasing 11 men convicted of the 2002 gang rape of Bilkis Yakoob Rasool, has defended the controversial decision on the grounds that the rapists were “Brahmins and have good sanskar (values).” In an interview […]
Hyderabad: CK Raulji, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Gujarat, who was part of the state government’s panel that recommended releasing 11 men convicted of the 2002 gang rape of Bilkis Yakoob Rasool, has defended the controversial decision on the grounds that the rapists were “Brahmins and have good sanskar (values).”
In an interview with Mojo story, Raulji was heard saying “I don’t know whether they committed any crime or not. But there has to be an intention of committing crime.” The MLA added, “they are Brahmins and Brahmins are known to have good sanskaar. It might have been someone’s ill intention to corner and punish them.”
The video, which is now widely circulated on social media, has sparked outrage from people all over the world, with many condemning the MLA’s words and criticising India’s deep-rooted caste system.
“They are Brahmins,Men of Good Sanskaar. Their conduct in jail was good": BJP MLA #CKRaulji who was on the panel that recommended release of 11 convicts who gang-raped #BilkisBano & killed her child. @ashish_ramola from the ground.
Full interview here: https://t.co/uyPBGyRRnr pic.twitter.com/WRWZ6PjVMh— Mojo Story (@themojostory) August 18, 2022
Reacting to the interview, a user commented, “Wow, caste in action in modern times. In premodern Sanskrit texts, different punishments are prescribed for people depending on caste, with Brahmins getting off easiest. Why? Because they’re Brahmins. (sic)”
Here are a few other reactions from the twitterati:
#Manusmriti : If you are a Brahmin, you get less punishment even when you rape or murder. Even if the Brahmin commits a very serious offence, he should not be tortured or hung. He should be sent away with his belongings. (Chapter 8, Shloka 380) #BilkisBano
— The Dalit Voice (@ambedkariteIND) August 18, 2022
BJP MLA who freed the rapists of Bilkis Bano says "they are good men because they are Brahmins" & and "Brahmins have good sanskaar." Such blatant caste privilege in 2022 where you will be forgiven for raping a woman because of your caste. What a travestypic.twitter.com/5jJkxKtWNf
— Sankul Sonawane (@Sankul333) August 18, 2022
The banality of this statement that “They are Brahmins, accha ghar se hai” is so insanely internalised that it is even okay to let rapists free who potentially can repeat the crime. https://t.co/cxPX00JhMM
— UrbanShrink (@UrbanShrink) August 18, 2022
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang raped during the Gujarat riots in 2002. Seven members of her family were murdered, including her three-year-old daughter, whose head was bashed with rocks. Seven other relatives, whom she claims were also killed, were declared ‘missing.’
