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New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu, in her first public statement on the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, said she is “dismayed and horrified” and called for an “honest self-introspection” in light of horrific crimes against women.
“The gruesome incident of rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata has left the nation shocked,” Murmu said in a statement to the news agency PTI on Wednesday.
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“What is more depressing is the fact that it was not the only incident of its kind; it is part of a series of crimes against women,” she added.
A 31-year-old trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of the hospital early on August 9. Her body was found the next day. Main accused Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer with the police, and several others have been arrested in connection with the incident. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the case.
Murmu shared her hopes for women’s empowerment, saying, “I consider myself an example of that spectacular journey of women empowerment in India.” However, she admitted to feeling “deeply anguished” about ongoing brutality against women.
Murmu recounted her interaction with schoolchildren at Rashtrapati Bhavan, who asked if they could be assured of no future incidents like the Nirbhaya case. She replied, “The state is committed to protecting every citizen,” but also talked about the importance of “training in self-defence and martial arts” for girls. She noted, however, that this is not a “guarantee for their security,” as women’s vulnerability is influenced by many factors.
Addressing the root causes of violence, Murmu called for “honest, unbiased self-introspection,” saying, “The time has come when we as a society need to ask ourselves some difficult questions.” She highlighted that, despite constitutional guarantees of equality and various initiatives, “social prejudices as well as some customs and practices have always opposed the expansion of women’s rights.”
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Acknowledging that efforts have been made, Murmu said, “Plans and strategies were devised, and these initiatives did make a difference to an extent.” However, she said that the task remains unfinished as long as any woman feels unsafe. She noted, “In the twelve years since that tragedy in the national capital, there have been countless tragedies of similar nature,” and questioned if lessons were learned, pointing out that incidents often fade from public memory.
She criticised this “collective amnesia,” saying, “History often hurts,” and urged society to confront and address these issues rather than “resort to collective amnesia.” Murmu called for a comprehensive approach to tackle this problem, saying, “We should not let amnesia prevail over the memory of such criminality.”
The president said that there is a need to honour the victims and “cultivate a social culture of remembering them” to ensure vigilance and progress. “We owe it to our daughters to remove the hurdles from their path of winning freedom from fear,” she said, urging society to collectively declare, “Enough is enough.”
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