Friday, January 10, 2014

Trend of rising torture based on religion, caste and gender trigger a sense of alarm


"In ancient republics, torture was tied to citizenship. Torture was inflicted exclusively on non- citizens like slaves, barbarians and foreigners. As an instrument of demarcation, torture delineates the boundary between slaves and free, between the touchable bodies of free citizens and untouchable bodies of the slaves. It is unimaginable that modern democracies like India are as weak as Athenian democracy and the prevalence of practice of torture resemble the Athenian model. Today torture victim include not only terrorists and criminalsbut street children, migrants, socially marginalized group s and religiously discriminated communities. All of them now fall into the class of quasi citizens. It is time to break conspiracy of silence."