The rape case that shook the city

Shocked by the Delhi gang-rape incident? Author Meena Alexander, is set to re-tell the 1978 gang-rape incident that rocked Hyderabad

Author Meena Alexander, part of the Hyderabad Lit fest, on Saturday gave the city an uncomfortable history lesson.

From the night of March 29, 1978, comes the case of Rameeza Bee. News of her horrific gang-rape by policemen, and the violent death of her husband, after being beaten by cops, shook the twin cities and for weeks, Hyderabad experienced tensions. Authorities even had to resort to firing at protesters. For about 50 days, areas of the city were under complete lockdown.

And there are eerie similarities between the 1978 incident and the Delhi gang-rape case. Both victims were coming back from movies. In both cases, there was character assassination. In fact, Hyderabad officials even tried to claim that Rameeza was a prostitute and the deceased, her husband, was a pimp. Later, findings from the Muktadar Commission said Rameeza was raped by a sub-inspector, a head constable and another constable. After her husband protested, he was beaten to death by policemen. And author Meena Alexander now hopes to re-publish the book that chronicles the atrocity. “Nampally Road is a short novel. But the whole process of writing it was disturbing.”

Meena, who spoke about the book on Day-2 of the Lit Fest, still has a regret. “I never got to meet Rameeza. She was taken to a safer custody. So, I had to imagine her agony. I realised victims don’t have words to speak of what they go through. I had to find those words.” But is the re-publishing intentional? Especially after the Delhi gang-rape incident? “It’s just co-incidental. There was no social media and the kind of protests that Delhi incident has prompted. But the Hyderabad episode rocked the country.”

The writer also had instructions for the movie industry. “Filmmakers should take caution of what they are depicting. There are more people who watch movies than read.” “In the movies, we see the hero rescuing the girl from unruly men. Why do we need men to be our defenders all the time? Where are the cops?” she asked.

Strangely, it seems that in 35 years, the country has done nothing to make its cities safe for women. And most importantly, it is doing nothing.