The capital city witnessed a magnificent spectacle on 1st December, the opening day of the winter session of Parliament, when thousands of determined women from all parts of the country marched to Parliament under the banner of All India Mahila Sanskritik Sangathan. “Stop atrocities on women, obscenity on mass media, withdraw Supreme Court’s verdict on arrest of women”, proclaimed the giant lead banner of the March, which was led by AIMSS President Comrade Chhaya Mukherjee, General Secretary Comrade H.G. Jayalakshmi, and a host of other leaders of the organisation. Behind the leaders was row upon row of women from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Delhi, MP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, each state with its own banner. In one voice, the disciplined cadres raised slogans, “Strengthen women’s emancipation movement”, “Build up mighty movement against atrocities on women”, “Spread out the thoughts of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh”, and “Uphold higher culture and ethics”. Colourful banners and placards proclaimed the aims of the March in an eye-catching manner.

Starting outside Ramlila Maidan at 11 AM, the March wound its way through the most important commercial areas of New Delhi and reached Parliament Street, which was heavily barricaded. Then the demonstrators settled down and Parliament Street was instantly converted into a sea of women. Comrade Chhaya Mukherjee presided over the meeing held there. In her rousing speech Comrade Mukherjee said, “This is not the end of our protest, but just the beginning. Our demand is that Government severely punishes perpetrators of crime against women. Similarly, we demand of the Government to take firm steps to stop the spread of obscenity in the media. To add to the woes of women has come the most dangerous judgement of the Division Bench of the Supreme Court regarding the arrest of accused women. After bitter and painful experiences of custodial rapes, violence and torture of women, the practice of arrest and detention of women in the absence of women constables and between sunset and sunrise, was prohibited by the Mumbai High Court in 1993. But this has now been overturned by the Supreme Court in 2003, even though custodial rape and violence continue to rise. The recent brutal murder of Thangjam Manorama Devi of Manipur by personnel of Assam Rifles, the rape of two women by police constables in West Bengal, the abduction of a couple and rape of the woman by a police constable in Delhi, and the most recent brutal rape of a mother and her 10-year old daughter by an Army officer in Kashmir laugh in the face of this judgement. We demand of the Supreme Court to immediately revoke this judgement. Because of growing crimes on women, pain and grievances are growing in society and are trying to burst forth. As a result the overall situation is becoming highly explosive. We have seen the outburst of Manipuri women in the form of nude protest, the mass outrage of four hundred women of Nagpur killing a serial rapist who went unpunished, in the court premises itself. We have to prepare women for organised struggles everywhere, and take struggles to a higher plane.”

A message from Comrade Nihar Mukherjee, General Secretary, SUCI on the occasion of the March was read out by Comrade Chhaya Mukherjee and translated into Hindi by Comrade Sadhana Mishra, the State Secretary of the Bihar State unit. In his message Comrade Nihar Mukherjee said, inter alia, “Women have to protect their self-dignity. And for that, the need is well organized and sustained movement on the edifice of higher proletarian ethics and culture, which should have before it the programme of building up movement on each and every burning problem of womenfolk. As the crisis is further deepening, the ruling capitalist class is shifting its entire burden on to the common people. In order to prevent the women from taking to the path of mass movement, the ruling capitalist class is hatching a heinous conspiracy. It is making desperate attempts to destroy the sense of honour and dignity and moral backbone of the exploited people, irrespective of sex. And if this conspiracy succeeds, that will destroy moral strength and higher culture, the source and inspiration of all movements. So, it should be resisted tooth and nail, by consolidating all might. The womenfolk have to build up all their movements in a manner conducive to women’s emancipation and side by side with this, the greatest stress should be laid on bringing about a countrywide awakening of womenfolk, based on the noble ideology of Communism that would act conducive to the revolutionary transformation of the exploitative capitalist rule in India organized under the leadership of the working class to establish the socialist system.”

A message from eminent jurist Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer was read out by Comrade Sadhana Choudhury. In it he, inter alia, said, “The vulgarity and criminality and shameless brutality must and will surrender to the manliness and burning courage which defends the heritage of the inviolable human right, unity which is our pride. This great assembly of womanhood before Parliament today on 1st December 2004, in great fighting spirit under a great organisation AIMSS will no doubt make clear before the ruling classes the real message of awakening women of the land.”

The memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister provided statistics and examples of growing crimes against women, and details of increasing depiction of obscenity and vulgarity in the media. “With the full patronage of Central and State Governments, there is a rapidly increasing trend of vulgar advertisements, pornography, and TV serials and films based on extremely dehumanising sex and violence, along with the promotion of alcoholism and drug addiction” and this, in turn, is leading to increased crime against women. Details about the judgement of the Division Bench of the Supreme Court regarding arrest of women were provided. Examples of crimes against women by men in uniform were given and the dangers inherent in the Court’s judgement highlighted. Comrade Chhaya Mukherji read out the demands listed in the memorandum, “(1) Ensure stringent punishment to the criminals responsible for crimes against women (2) Ensure exemplary punishment to flesh traders and traffickers of women (3) Impose a strict ban on indecent portrayal of women in mass media (4) Check the naked exposition of sex and violence in mass media (5) Ban sale of liquor and crack down on sale of drugs (6) Take appropriate measures to nullify the retrograde Supreme Court judgement on arrest and detention of women in the absence of women police, and after sunset and before sunrise”

Comrade H.G. Jayalakshmi read out the memorandum that was to be submitted to the Chief Justice of India. The memorandum provided details of the Mumbai High Court judgement that prohibited arrest of women between sunset and sunrise under any circumstances, and mandated the presence of female police personnel during the arrest of women. It then gave the reasoning provided by the Division Bench of the Supreme Court while overturning the Mumbai High Court judgement, that it may not always be possible and practical to have the presence of a lady constable when the necessity for arrest arises. Providing examples of recent crimes against women by men in uniform like the rape of three tribal women by police in AP during combing operations, the memorandum expressed grave concern about the impact of the judgement on custodial crimes against women. In support of its concern, it cited a very recent judgement of a two-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court itself expressing concern about the growing trend of custodial torture and death while dealing with such a case from Madhya Pradesh. Pointing out that this judgement directly contradicted the Division Bench judgement of the Supreme Court regarding arrest of women, the memorandum requested the Chief Justice to immediately revoke the Division Bench judgement by issuing a fresh judgement.

At this point in the meeting, a delegation led by Comrade Chhaya Mukherjee, and consisting of Comrades Swayamprabha Naik, G. Lalita, Nagammal and others, went to the Prime Minister’s Office to submit the memorandum. Another delegation led by Comrade Jayalakshmi and consisting of Comrades Sadhana Choudhury, Krishna Sen, Anita Mukherji and Chandralekha Das went to the Supreme Court to submit the letter and the lakhs of signatures collected in the campaign to the Chief Justice. Meanwhile, the protest meeting continued at Parliament Street, with AIMSS Vice-President Comrade Binapani Das presiding in the absence of Comrade Chhaya Mukherjee.

Comrade Pratap Samal, Secretary of the Delhi State Committee of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), conveyed his revolutionary greetings to AIMSS, calling the Parliament March one of the most significant events in the recent political landscape of Delhi. He hailed the nationwide struggle of AIMSS against rising crimes as well as growing obscenity and vulgarity in the media.

A number of State leaders of AIMSS addressed the gathering thereafter.

Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Shri Rajinder Sachar addressed the gathering and called it the largest gathering of women he had ever seen in Delhi. Strongly endorsing AIMSS’ protest against the Supreme Court judgement on arrest of women, Shri Sachar urged AIMSS to be fearless. “For centuries, the ideal of Indian womanhood held up before society has been of the silent suffering woman. With your actions, you are shattering that image, changing it to one of militancy and protest. This is the need of the hour.”

Finally ended a landmark symbolic event in the history of the women’s emancipation movement in India. And here begins a new and higher phase of movement in States all over the country.