Rape case against Sadananda Gowda's son: Bad news for Modi and the nation's women

It was not a very good morning for railway minister Sadananda Gowda. A Kannada model-turned-actress said that the minister’s son, Karthik Gowda, allegedly raped her. Following her complaint, the Bangalore police booked Karthik Gowda under Sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. [caption id=“attachment_1686535” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Karthik Gowda allegedly promised to marry the model. Screen grab from IBNlive[/caption] News channels kept us abreast with the happenings through the day and the entire episode created quite a stir with youth Congress leaders in Karnataka staging protest against the railway minister and his son. Karnataka women’s commission too sprung into action. They issued a statement saying they are planning to issue a suo motu notice against Karthik Gowda. So this is the story so far. While Sadananda Gowda’s son, Karthik was busy getting engaged to Rajasri near Kushalnagar in Kodagu district, a model-turned-actress claimed that he had married and abandoned her. She filed a rape, kidnap and cheating complaint against him on Wednesday evening. Maithreya Gowda, while speaking to the media said that she met Karthik while her family was looking for a groom and on June 5, 2014 they both tied the knot . Although, she clarified that they both were seeing each other since May 8, 2014 “and became very good friends, following which Karthik married her.” Following this blasting revelation, reactions poured in from all sections. While senior Gowda was heard saying, “My son tells me everything” and this is an “attempt to tarnish my image,” junior Gowda was a well-behaved son and was quoted as saying, “I just go to office and come back home. They are using me to malign my father’s image.” While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shaina NC refused to comment on the incident saying it is a personal matter, former Aam Aadmi Party leader Shazia Ilmi pitched for a fair probe saying that the investigation shouldn’t be coloured in anyway as a railway minister’s son is involved. What one cannot ignore is the timing of the incident. Yesterday we were busy jostling with Rajnath Singh and his son Pankaj’s controversy. Social media and news channels were still hungover with Rajnath when VOILA another Union minister’s family crisis came to the fore. This does not spell a very jolly time for the Prime Minister. For a leader who captured the public eye with dynamic speeches, lively rallies and a strong publicity campaign, Modi government is at the wrong end of public attention now. The Modi lovers are dubbing the Rajnath episode a ploy.  But that has almost always been the norm, hasn’t? The ruling government always is under flak. However, the frequency of BJP politicians’ ‘personal’ dirt making it to the limelight makes you ask a lot of questions. At least a lot of questions were asked and answered when in a run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a spate of tell-all books nailed the UPA government. Books by the former PM’s media adviser Sanjaya Baru, former coal secretary P C Parakh and former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai have all been severe on Singh and his government. And most recently former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh’s book released to tell the world a little more than they knew about Congress and the Gandhis. Timing of the books were questioned even then. Modi government just completed their three-month anniversary and it is already busy dousing ‘personal’ fire erupting from all corners. Firstly, ‘rumours’ were doing rounds that the Union home minister Rajnath’s son Pankaj Singh was ticked off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for improper behaviour. Rajnath was quoted as saying, “In the last 15-20 days, there have been continuous rumours in the air about me and my family. I thought rumours have no basis and these will end in some days. But I am seeing that these rumours are gaining momentum day-by-day. I want to assure the nation that the day allegations, even prima facie or even small, are proven against me or my family, I will quit politics and public life and sit at home…” The PMO and BJP president Amit Shah immediately issued a statement backing the home minister. And today, Sadananda Gowda trying to fight off reports about his son raping an actress said, “Everyone knew about his engagement. I suspect political conspiracy but law will take its own. I am the last person to interfere.” Modi’s discomfort and BJP’s travails aside, none of this is good news for the nation or its women, and here’s why. The model-actress’ media statement was on loop on all the channels and this is what she said to Times Now : “We got to know each other after election and before the results were announced. He kept calling me and we became good riends. He always wanted to get physically close to me but I told him if anything has to happen it would only after the marriage. On June 5, 2014 we got married. Parents weren’t around and the wedding was witnessed by his driver.” Let’s just clear something up at the onset. We no more live in the Victorian era. A woman judging herself for having sex before marriage brings us to the same old question, are we doing a shabby job raising our girls? This woman is an adult. She is a model and an actress in the Kannada film industry. Mythriya Gowda has appeared in slick TV spots for Rexona soap and Navaratna Oil, the New Indian Express reported. There never is a good enough reason for rape, sexual assault or harassment but to describe what is essentially either a breach of promise or – if her allegation of a secret wedding is true – a case of bigamy as ‘rape’ does a huge disservice to rape victims. It tells us that the source of the biggest problem plaguing our country right now lies in our mindsets. While the problems with male misogyny have been repeatedly underlined, it is also clear that we need to educate our daughters that marriage should not be a criterion for the decision whether or not to have sex.  When it comes to a woman having sex with a man it should only be guided by one question - whether she wants to or not. The zillion other reasons - marriage, society, family, parents - really do not matter. The poisonous effects of hitching virginity, marriage and sex together become clear in Mythriya’s response when asked what she expected from the railway minister and his family. This is what Mythriya had to say, " I want his family to take me as their daughter-in-law. I’ll be very good daughter to them." No rape victim – scratch that, no woman who has been wronged should ever aspire for this kind of khap panchayat “justice.”