We reach a new low every day… Front page news and headlines speak only of rape…child molestation…murders…religion and caste based hatred leading to bloodshed…and a complete breakdown in our law and order situation.

We now have a murder accused saffron party MP who has been chosen to lead India’s Asian Games contingent in the next month’s sporting extravaganza in Jakarta. Aside from being accused of murder, Brij Bhushan Singh is also a co-accused in the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992. His appointment as Chef de Mission of India’s Asiad contingent has sparked a huge controversy with members of civil society and commentators demanding his ouster immediately.

It is surprising that those sitting at the helm don’t bother about the nitty-gritty and nuances of who are being chosen to represent our country abroad. Do they understand the repercussions of such a decision and the adverse impact it would have on the other athletes who have been selected to represent our country?

Then we have BJP MLA from Telangana T Raja Singh Lodh who would like all illegal immigrants to be shot if they don’t go back to their countries. “If these people, illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingya, don’t go back with ‘sharafat’ (like gentlemen) then there is a need to make them understand in their own language. They should be shot. Only then India will be safe,” the legislator from Goshamahal in Hyderabad said in a video message on Twitter. In another message posted on the site, Lodh said all Muslims staying illegally in India should be sent back to their countries for India’s safety and, if they do not go away, they should be thrown out at gunpoint.

It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that those that have been elected or chosen as ‘leaders’ have a clean chit with an unblemished (ahem!) history and are capable of handling such a huge responsibility that comes with the title. Provocative speeches that stir up violence and carnage seem to the elected government’s dictum.

The horror story exposed in Bihar sends chills up your back and makes you question the very essence of the kind of world we live in… Such a ghastly and sordid tale of sexual abuse being rampant in shelter homes in Muzaffarpur is sickening…and apparently this is just the beginning. The scale of sexual abuse that has been prevalent underlines the dirty world of politicians and the nexus between them and the local goons that allows them to get away with atrocities in every form. The frightening details expose how deep the rot has set in.

The latest is a 40-year-old BJP leader who has also been arrested for raping a seven-year-old girl in Agar district of Madhya Pradesh. The accused is identified as Narayan Mali, and was raping the child for the past two months after offering her chocolates and sweets. Gruesome stories like this are widespread in every corner of the country. As the numbers go, every hour – two children are getting sexually molested or raped. The list of brutal acts of rape, torture and murder carried out against children across the country seems unending.

It is hard to imagine how adult men can rape infants and children, but the recent acts of extreme violence and exceptional brutality that are just too horrific to comprehend, have transfixed us. The whispers are getting louder now and people want justice. They are not ready to stay silent – they want swift punishments. A darkening public mood has pushed the central government to come out with an ordinance: death penalty for rape of girls aged 12 or less. The public is concerned with the way India has emerged as the country with the world's largest number of cases of child rape and sexual assault.

There is also a constant struggle to probe the deeper source of the problem: the dark, evil and sinister mind of the child rapist – the evil monster lurking around the corner. A senior psychologist says that the ‘monster’ is like any other normal person waiting to pounce on people who are vulnerable, weak and defenceless. Hence, the exercise of power and domination are intrinsic to the psyche of the child rapist.

Experts caution that child rape and sexual abuse reflect a society on a short fuse, just waiting for a spark. Researchers say that family environment plays a decisive role when it comes to sexual aggression. Positive upbringing and socialisation can override baser instincts – now this here holds the key to change. Securing social justice is one area that needs considerable attention as it is influenced by changing times.

But beyond all this… The blame games and the excuses continue… The politics and the protests go on. Over the din… The victim’s cry rings out… The scream is deafening… Let Justice Be Done - Let the Guilty Be Punished.