Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

SHOULD RAPISTS BE CASTRATED?

….AJ…….Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen! Here we are…Navdeep (..and Ajay) and we represent

a group of six boys…..(they get up) Bhumil, Manoj, MJ and Kundan. When our topic was selected a

few days back and we sat down to join our heads, we could not help but travelling back in time to

that fateful day at Indraprastha when Draupadi was publicly molested. We all would like to believe

that had it not been an interference by Krishna, things would have gone worse, shaming us for good.

And as the luck would have it, Indraprastha of those days was located in Khandva Forest. It may be

an ugly co-incidence but humiliating act of Mahabharta and the recently acquired status of being

the crime capital of the world have one thing in common…….. our beloved Delhi.

And this leads us to the topic of today’s presentation ie SRBC? At the very outset, I would

elaborate a bit upon the subject line itself. While all of us here, I am sure, are pretty clear about the

crime called, ‘rape’, the term ‘castration’ needs to be explained a bit for ease of assimilation and

common understanding. When we look at the rape as a disorder, per se, it is as much psychological

as it is physical. A cursory study of such crime cases involving rapes and incidents of molestation,

prove the fact that the process starts in the mind of the assaulter much before it is actually

executed. Sadly, in many cases, victims are not even pre-identified during the planning process but

the crime is committed apparently at the spur of a moment. But as we dig deep, we realise that the

stalker or the criminal had been planning the execution for days before the actual assault even

though target had never been identified. His mental focus would have, for all we know, been on

situation, location and circumstances rather than a particular Ms A, B or C in many cases. Such a

study brings us to the two main reasons or two main links in the chain of the events, one being

psychological and other being physical. This is where ‘castration’ comes in. It aims at addressing one

Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

or both these triggers. So, it could simply involve a kind of chemical treatment wherein certain drugs

may be administered to neutralise the guilty hormones that have been known to be the main cause

behind the triggering of such a sick thought process. Such a treatment needs to be continued on

periodic basis and over a long period of time. The same term, ie, ‘castration’ , however, also involves

physical removal of those very organs that act as the storehouse of such hormones or very means of

delivery of serums and secretions. Needless to say, such a process involves specific surgical

procedures. While other causes, especially those related to anger, revenge or such like issues, need

to be tackled separately, castration remains an effective way of killing the urge and neutralising the

vital organs involved in the process. It may also be noted that such cases exceed cases due to sheer

anger or vengeance by almost 75%.

Having understood the meaning of this term, let us move on to some sad but hard facts. In a

country like ours which has a corrupt and weak police system, it does not come as a surprise that

one female is raped every 18 hours. And if we were to include related incidents like molestations,

child abuse, attempted rapes and unnatural sex, it is as frequent as one incident every hour. It is

against such an unfortunate backdrop that our group has decided to touch upon this sensitive

subject as also to speak in favour of the argument that rapists must be castrated, of course, after

they have been convicted and proved guilty in a court of law. So much is our disgust and loathing

towards such a heinous crime, that our group actually wants castration as well as a stamp on the

visible part of bodies of such animals. I shall now handover to Navdeep for the next part of the

presentation!

…..Naudie….: This issue hit the headlines and numerous debating platforms of our country in April

last year when, peeved over the spurt in rape and sexual abuse cases, a Delhi court suggested to the

government to explore the possibility of allowing imposition of chemical and surgical castration as

punishment to serial sex offenders. The judge, Kamini Lau had, in fact, simply reiterated what

former Supreme Court judge Justice Krishna Iyer had said way back in 1979. While deciding the

Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

sentence of a man who had killed his wife and children after developing forced sexual relation with a

girl, Justice Krishna Iyer had suggested voluntary castration as a better alternative as against an

outright death sentence. In a way, by re-initiating the debate, Justice Lau had urged the law makers

of the nation to give a serious thought about addressing the issue if they were really serious about

the same. And there is a reason for the same. When we cite the statistical data to prove the size that

this menace has now attained, we must also remember that for every case that is reported, there

are three such cases that go unreported. And these stats are from FBI files and in a developed

country like US of A. By the way, frequency of rape/molestation/child abuse and attempted acts in

the US of A has been fixed as high as one in every two minutes through 2011 and 2012, irrespective

of official lodging of the complaint or otherwise. What must be the ratio in our country, could be any

one’s guess!

To most of us sitting here today, it may seem like going back to era of kings and autocrats.

While leading a protected life, such a notion may actually creep in even though our own capital is

now the crime capital of the world. We are sure that our female colleagues here will agree that

scenario is pretty dismal out there even during broad day light. Such a situation can only be

attributed to the fact that all kinds of legal provisions and lawful penalties, as in vogue till now, have

not only failed to control the crime but, in fact, have given an epidemic like rise to such a sinful act

against humanity. And with incident rate as high as has already been touched upon, we do not need

a very high level of intellect to establish the need for such stringent measures. In any case,

Castration as punishment dates back thousands of years and crosses all world cultures. The methods

have evolved from brutal knife swipes that removed entire genitalia to chemical treatments. Drugs

that lower the testosterone and dampen the sex drive are now available.

And in line with our fascination with things western, it is pertinent to mention that many

mature and developed countries as also many not so developed nations have put such practices in

place. The list swings from US of A, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany and Israel to Poland,

Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

Argentina, South Korea, Estonia, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and so on. While many nations

have death penalty in place, even the countries that have legislated castration as a practice, have

different procedures and methodologies to deal with the issue. Some like Czechoslovakia and

Maldova perform surgery as a routine, others may ask for willingness for the first time offenders but

are ruthless on second timers or serial offenders. Many surveys have shown that desire and kink do

reduce by as much as 75% in a few cases and yet there are incidents wherein castrated criminals

have repeated the offence by using inanimate objects on the victims. But one fact remains that such

measures, throughout the history and throughout the globe, have been resorted to when such

crimes could not be controlled. As a deterrent, it has been found as the most effective method

despite many other debatable aspects like its psychological impact on the person or his family. All

such counter arguments have one simple answer and that is the fact that a rapist, even if convicted

and sentenced to usual rigorous imprisonment of seven years or so, gets a chance to come back to

the society and many communities do overlook the past records too even though an innocent victim

of his deeds may live a life full of social stigma. In a society like that of ours wherein some illogical

writers, like Manu of Manusamriti fame, have left no stones unturned in labelling women as objects

rather than living beings, such harsh measures appear to be the only answer.

And finally, before we throw the house open for the question-answer session, we would

sincerely request you to do a bit of introspection and ask yourself if you would be alright living next

door to a rapist who still has the capability to harm someone OR what would be your answer if a

person who is known to us or related to us, gets victimised by one such animals. Sitting in an air-

conditioned environment, we must not forget that out there in the lanes and by-lanes of our

country, lurk some sick minds who will not think twice before targeting an unsuspecting, innocent

and helpless human being who could be a lady or a child or a cripple!

We are now open to the questions please…..Thank You!

Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

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Notes for the Syndicate….. we must know a few facts…

1. This topic has as many pro’s as con’s. Please do your research BUT prepare yourself for IN

FAVOUR stance. We are supporting the argument. Please do some research and look for answers to

likely questions. I am adding a few from my side. You may try this…..

http://www.debate.org/opinions/isnt-castration-the-most-logical-solution-for-rehabilitating-

repeat-sex-offenders

2. Now, 42/ 50 states in US of A have this provision. Most of the countries prefer chemical

castration except a few like Czechoslovakia and Maldova where surgical methods are used. We will

also prefer chemical castration as part of the overall rehabilitation process rather than a strict

punishment to start with. Only for serial offenders and seriously kinky minds, we would advocate

use of surgical procedures. Most of Islamic nations in Arab peninsula and Northern Africa, have

either Sharia Law or a double legal system to honour Sharia. While proving accusation of a rape is

very difficult as per Sharia requirements, once it is proved, the penalty varies from hanging to

beheading or execution by stoning.

3. Some people will call it inhuman….our answer should hover around the fact that it is harsh

but not as brutal as the crime itself. Can we imagine the plight that a victim has to undergo for rest

of her life and that too for no fault of her.

4. They may say that fault lies with our system wherein rapists go scot-free or with minimal

punishment. They may then ask whether it is policing and judicial system that needs to be pulled up

rather than going for such measures. Our answer will be…1. Honourable Supreme Court has already

instructed the govt to separate policing from criminal investigation so that such investigations are

Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

done fast. 2. How many reforms have been discussed and tried but the fact remains that our

system is what it has been for years. 3. Countries like UK, France, Australia and US of A are known

for some of the best police and judiciary but they have also been forced to implement such

measures. There is, thus, a considered approach to the subject that has led them to do that.

5. Why only castration and not death penalty? …..yes, given an option, our group will go for

death penalty as the first choice since we consider such crimes as the ones that leave more than a

physical scar. But since the opposition to death penalty is growing by day and also because of the

painful system that we follow in our country, we are of the view that castration remains a very

effective choice.

6. Do not we think that it is more of a mental disorder? If so, how will it control it?........Yes, we

agree with the view that in many cases, it more of anger or a mental disorder rather than sheer

sexual urge that is the reason for such acts. We would, therefore, recommend a provision where sex

driven criminals may be given chemical castration and anger driven ones may be surgically treated.

We also accept that it is not one single solution but then it is one of the most effective solutions.

7. Why not rehabilitate them?....... Even though our group is of the view that such acts deserve

no mercy, we do consider chemical castration as part of overall rehabilitation process.

8. What about women who may force sex or indulge in child abuse? ……….. As we have already

mentioned, this is not a single dose for all ailments. Needless to say that some thought needs to be

given to this aspect too. Thanks for raising the point.

COMMON ISSUES……

Era Business School, Dwaraka, New Delhi

Ajay K Raina

1. As you people stand facing the class, the first person standing close to the rostrum will take

on the first question even if exact/correct answer is not known. If it is too tough, offer to anyone

else who is willing to take it on.

2. Let answers be attempted in a counter-clockwise manner.

3. We will only use the word, WE and OUR and not I, MINE or MYSELF!

4. Do not feel offended and do not raise voice or show aggression.

5. Control the class, if there is a ruckus (Bhumil is requested to do this job please).

6. If you agree with some one’s point or do not have an answer, please be kind and say so…..

there is no point in bragging or bluffing.

7. Naudie is requested to mug the script up after making changes as per convenience. Once his

own script is ready, there would be a requirement of a few practices, may be in front of the mirror.

8. I will, over the weekend, try and modify my part, especially the opening lines……tc guys!!