Mastervk posted a story on our news tab about two children in Punjab who were punished with a merciless (and illegal) beating; they had been accused of stealing a VIP’s purse.
Sachin is nine and his sister Bindia just five. But their tender age didn’t stop Punjab police from thrashing them mercilessly after they were caught allegedly stealing the purse of Canadian member of parliament Ruby Dhalla on a visit to Pohid village near here.
The kids begged and pleaded for mercy but the cops didn’t relent; they kept raining blows on them. The two were later bundled and taken into custody. The police action wasn’t just inhuman but a brazen violation of the law meant to deal with underage offenders. For, under Juvenile Justice Act, the kids should have been produced before a magistrate who, depending on the evidence against them, could have referred them to a juvenile home. [TOI]
I hope the children are okay. I think the reaction of the police who were part of Dhalla’s entourage was excessive. If anyone deserves a thrashing, it’s these young people (who are Canadian, incidentally) instead. Part of me is concerned about whether little Sachin and Bindia even did what they are being trotted out and accused of, or if they’re just being scapegoated.
Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla, whose parents were born in the Punjab region, is on a two-week tour of India with other parliamentarians. Her purse was grabbed while she was touring the town of Pohir on Monday, but was retrieved by police a half-hour later. [canoe]
Indian Express says that the purloined purse was pilfered from an NRI who was accompanying Dhalla, and not Dhalla herself. Initially, from the first few articles I read, the MP from Brampton—Springdale seemed tepid in her response to the abuse meted out on her behalf, but the same article which clarified whose bag was actually taken contained this quote:
“I think children make mistakes and they should be taught with love. They should be given love and respect. I will take a look at the whole matter,” she said, when asked if she would ask the police to withdraw the FIR that had been lodged against the kids in the case. [IE]
I hope she does. I also hope that I’m forgiven for not being able to get this song out of my head, from the moment I read this tip on…
There is no value for humanity in india. This isn’t new, it happens every day. It doesn’t matter who you are or if its police etc, it happens all the time. I saw a 18 year old get off a bike and just beat up a 70 year old man who cut him off in traffic (he was on a bicycle nd the kid was on an expensive motorcycle) Too poor you get you ass beat. Wrong caste you get your ass beat. I feel so bad for those kids
This reminds me of the time I went to Bangladesh when I was seven or so. I saw a little kid, who was around my age at the time, get hit repeatedly by a policeman’s stick when the kid was selling packs of gum where peddling was prohibited. So sick. It hurts to see stuff like that. How low can you be to beat a child trying to make a living?
have seen this happen from the time I was young. a policeman’s lathi knows no bounds. A cop is often used as a symbol of fear when feeding small children.
It would be interesting if the issue of child brutality associated with caste, gender, and income, which many NRIs are concerned about, talk about when they come back from trips to India, but almost do nothing about in Punjab was even addressed at the Punjabi NRI Conference that Ruby Dhalla was attending? Most NRIs finish there sentences with “well that is just how it is there … you just have to deal with seeing it”. I highly doubt this topic was addressed at all … there were some social issues, but the main purpose was how to increase the Punjabi Diaspora’s foreign direct investment into Punjab. These conferences tend to forget that you can not increase and sustain economic prosperity without eradicating social injustices.
Does the article say if Ruby D was present? If so, why didn’t she has the courage to stop the police?
I wish Ms. Singh (I.e. Indian prime minister’s daughter) would use her intellect and India specific connections to deal with the S.O.P brutality of the Indian police. Sure her ACLU/WoT activities are crucial to the US, but there are tons of brilliant Harvard & Yale American grads who have the inclination and capability for this.
I understand that Indian police can’t be the 1st line of child services (as they often end up being in the US) given the immense level of poverty, but you would think it’s not too much to ask that they don’t abuse kids. There’s nothing particularly remarkable about this event without the Canadian MP
I really don’t see how Ms. Singh is at all relevant. Her advocacy is around immigrant rights in the U.S., which has translated into work around detainee rights because of the intersections of immigration law and criminal law vis-a-vis Gitmo. I understand your frustration on children’s rights, but I think the target is misplaced.
1 · Mankanwal said
I think you’re fooling yourself if you don’t think the rest of the world doesn’t have that problem.
Camille, for once (!!) I agree with you 100%! Ms. Singh bears no unique or special responsibility for this issue’s resolution/improvement.
The scamps got what they deserved says the dawg. Me remembers getting the hiding of me life for my mistakes when I was little and I turned out well for that.
Let’s get to discussing what’s interestin…Ruby D is hot y’all!
Another negative article on Sepia Mutiny about anything to do with the punjab or the Punjabi people. When will the punjabi bashing on Sepia Mutiny ends.
It’s amazing how much jealousy there is from non-punjabi desi’s toward us punjabi’s. Any chance they get to bash us punjabi’s they do it.
Yeah punjabi pride rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[vid] dhalla screws the lightbulb and turns the doorknob
oai! you got gas?
Uhh, ok–[search around for pro-Punjabi sentiment]–I am in awe of her Scythian-ness.
This could have been an opportunity for an NRI, who had just attended a conference on development in Panjab, to assess the situation and perhaps speak to the issues this incident raised (poverty? human rights?). I was disappointed to not hear that in her response.
I agree … why didn’t Ruby Dhalla say anything as an NRI representative besides:
Unfortunately, Ms. Dhalla you are going to leave in a couple of weeks and this police brutality is the “love” the Punjab Government will continue to give these children. Her response sounds like a cookie-cutter politician’s response to me, rather than an NRI genuinely concerned with poverty and human rights issues. As an “official guest” of the Punjab Government who was getting “red carpet” treatment she had a lot of power in her situation to voice-out against this brutality and be heard, particularly with all the media attention she is getting.
NRIs forget that our strength is not only in our dollars but also in our voices to speak out against social inequity in Punjab … this incident was an opportunity for Ms. Dhalla to use that voice as an NRI representative. I hope at the very least she does “… take a look at the whole matter†while still in Punjab and say something besides “all you need is loveâ€.
These words make little sense when I consider the totality of your commenting history on SM. I guess…you’re…joking?
And here I thought that if anything, you would probably comment on the Canadian angle of the post, especially the horrible (non-desi) news story I linked to (via the phrase “these young people”) about those evil boys who tortured a cat to death in Camrose by microwaving it.
I have a question – why do all politicians pronounce the name of the state as if it were an elective surgery option on a lady’s privates?
They need to change the spelling to Pun-job in-line with American/Canadian politician pronounciations. For that matter, let’s rename Iraq as Aaye-rack, Pakistan Pack-is-Tan, Aghanistan as Aff-gun-is-tan and Iran as Aaye-ran.
When you own something you have the right to rename it right?
she should have laid into the Panjab puls (sic). You would of course not expect that from a politician( who is a quackopracter to top it off).
6 · louiecypher
If this issue bothers you, YOU work on it. What business do you have directing Ms. Singh on what she should be working towards?
What song? That video is unavailable.
Anyways, everyone HAS to see this:
http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/backissues.php?season=4 Go down to Week of February 6, 2007, and click on ‘Rick goes Bollywood with Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla’
I’m guessing Jane’s Addiction.
Dr Ruby Dhalla She is nice. And Dahi Bhallas
The link works, as far as we know. I just tried it. Anyone else not able to see it?
FSOWalla is right, btw.
ouch! I know what a police lathi feels like! It’s funny now when I recollect the incident, but sure wasn’t back then.
At times the police goes overboard on the pretext of bandobast, and when there are VIPs involved it may also end with some bakshish.
Rahul:
This was because when the politician was making out with the state last night, the state mentioned that it was picked on in high school for having a name like, well, you know. Unfortunately the next day the politician forgot the state’s real name and referred to it as “Klitor-ek-Tomi”, causing the state to walk out in a huff. Only then did the politico remember that the state was named “Hister-ek-Tomi”. The two “-ek-Tomi” states are neighbors, but they don’t like to be confused with each other.
Well as long as thrashing of kids by parents for misbehaviour or mischief, in the family inside the house, is considered acceptable, human rights organization or anybody cannot do anyhting abt thrashing outside the house. First the “Indian” mentality of parental beating has to change and only then can you make a change outside. I guess here in America it is illegal to for even parents to beat their kids ( ?? ).
Scorched!!
more on dhalla’s callous response and the state human rights commission
… am just waiting for the handwringers to show up moaning, “this is india. nothing ever happens”, “Typical”. etc.
11 · Clueless said
Yes, just as it is in pakistan 🙂
Khoofia,
I will oblige, this is typical of India, nothing ever happens, everyone beats their kids etc 😉
Also reading your handle reminds me of an Old movie, Peecha Karo with Anupam Kher and Farookh Sheikh where a PI gives a blank card to one of the characters as it was a khoofia, I am not doing justice to the joke but those who may have seen the movie may remember.
I didn’t see it posted above (sorry if I missed it) – here’s a news video with photos of the kids and Dhalla’s reaction.
Guava– omg, that’s horrid. Thank you so much for that link. Her “initial” reaction seems heartless and my initial perception of her being woefully unconcerned about this brutality might be correct after all. Her “reversal” of position a day later rang hollow to me, especially when she once again declared how she hopes the “bache” learned a lesson. WTF? That was some weak-assed condemnation she mustered.
yes – hurts 🙂 got beaten once and I was a bystander. Taught me a good lesson – dont stand too close to the action.
11 · Clueless said
this jhas nothing to do with punjab…this has to do with a-hole cops…and yes pp (punjab police) is full of aholes. As a punjabi its amazing how you think that cops beating up two little kids represents punjabi pride. I am sure this happens everywhere in India, and having visited this website for a number of years, I don’t feel that they “bash” punjab or punjabis. Anna and the others just post what they think is interesting.
and to Lion… I never said humanity exists other places and not in India. I say this not just based on the incident in Pohir, and the one I witnessed, but I have 5 family members who are dea because of people who did Hit and runs, I have 8 other friends who died in car accidents where people didn’t stop to help them. So I guess you can say that my views of the level of humantiy in India is colored by what I have seen.
I was joking about the punjabi bashing on this website. Any of the regular people know that I’m the biggest basher of anything punjabi here.
Does anybody know that caste of the 2 young kids who were beaten by the police. Why do I feel they were of lower caste, and the cops who beat them more then likely Jatt’s.
With Ms.Dhalla being a strong punjabi women. Did she during her visit to the Punjab bring up the issues of the female/male birth ratio of the Punjab or also the 15,000 punjabi women[most of them of sikh background] who married western punjabi men, but were abandoned by there husbands who took the money and run.
Does anybody know if Ms.Dhalla talked about these issues.
Although your statement on the face of it seems inflammatory, I would agree there is a caste basis to a lot of violence in India. In India people only beat those they deem socially lower (or equal) to themselves. Undoubtedly these were “lower caste” kids. In addition to being poor and voiceless. Which is why the police felt so safe to beat them with impunity.
Maybe, maybe not.
More than caste, these days it’s class. If these kids looked poor and scruffy, then could be brahmins of the highest order and they would still get beaten. There is sometimes no way of knowing somebody’s caste, even surnames do not provide that info in many cases.
The police in India have a superiority complex sometimes and feel they are at liberty to beat almost anyone.
Money is and influence is generally the deciding factor. Police in India appear to be really intimadated by wealthy persons, or well dressed persons driving nice cars. They wouldn’t dare do this to them, but they would pull them over for no reason in hopes of getting paid off.
40, it should be ZINDAGI AISI HAI.
update
<
blockquote>The heart-rending tale of the stolen purse and the street urchins beaten black and blue – spiced up by a supposedly hard-hearted Indo-Canadian MP – has vanished from the pages of the Indian media as fast as it hurtled into the headlines.
In the aftermath, Indian police are now denying any beating took place; visiting MP Ruby Dhalla denies she showed insensitivity toward the plight of the waifs; and questions are being asked about whether the Indian media pounced on an easy target – non-resident Indians visiting from Canada.
<
blockquote>
When commenting about this issue to the Canadian media, she said that she was not aware that these children were beaten until much later. So her saying “I hope they learn from their mistake” right after isn’t a “good they were beaten” but rather a “thank God they were caught and can be educated into not stealing anymore”. I’ve seen her on The Rick Mercer show last year and she seemed like an alright person. :-/
37 · Clueless said
sorry, i didn’t realize
unfortunately Ruby is Mp of the marea i live in.. the story here isnt the police
s reaction, i grew up in punjab, the beating is pretty normal punjab police procedure, routine but wrong nonetheless.. Now on to the real issue, rubys reaction, the MP from Canada where human rights are supposed to be respected… to paraphrase what ruby said “i hope they learned their lesson” which she backtracked on once the story broke. saying “i wanna visit them to show my care and compassion” took the words right out of her publicist’s mouth im sure.ps: Ruby`s ambition was to get into bollywood, made some lameass movie too i think in toronto. just by fluke got this MP thing(got nomination for libral party, ran in an area where libral party was pretty much guranteed to win)
make of it what u will…….
Ruby Dhalla’s comments are being taken out of context. She wasn’t aware of the allegations that the kids were beaten when she said that she “hopes they learned a lessonâ€. She actually asked the people at the conference to forgive the children for what they did and further asked the authorities to show leniency and guarantee the safety of the children. I think she’s being unfairly smeared.