Hypocrisy

“Haven’t you cooked meal yet, Reeta? asked Harka Bahadur to his wife”. Harka seemed to be in a hurry today. He had already donned a grey shirt, a black pant and a new coat that he had sewn at the district headquarters when had visited the place to meet government officials as to the drinking water project the village was soon going to commence. Reeta was slicing vegetables at the kitchen on the top floor of the house. Upon hearing husband calling her, she climbed down the stair to inquire what he was intending to say as his words were inaudible. “Why are ready so early? Where are you going?” she bombarded him with questions with a look of surprise on her face.

The far-flung vicinity in the countryside had seen surge in the incidents of violence of late. This had the local folks unnerved. After a series of meetings, the people in the village had made up a mind to do something to keep the social malady at a bay. “I have an invitation to inaugurate a campaign to check the violence against women”, Harka responded dictating his wife to ready the meal without further ado.

Everyone in Taluwagaun revered him which accorded him a sense of gratification. As he was  educated man, villagers sought advice from him. If someone had to marry off a daughter or send his/her son to the Gulf to work, his decision would be final. When the village required a tap, a road or school, Harka would be at the forefront. So, he was a hope for the rustics.

The ambiance at the Bhorle Primary School was quite different today. The school premise looked neat and tidy as it had been cleaned up. The route that runs from the village to the school was neatly swept. Chairs were placed in myriad rows on the school ground. As time went by, people started filling the vacant chairs. Soon, the school compound turned into a sea of humanity. But, the mass was staring at the road. They were eagerly awaiting  Chief guest to turn up. In a matter of few minutes, Harka strolled to the school premise. With mouth wide open, he smiled. When he entered the venue, everyone stoop from chair and applauded to welcome him.

With the arrival of the Chief guest, the programme has kicked off, proclaimed the announce. We are here today for a noble work to launch a drive to reduce the injustice meted out against the women by males, said a thin boy of early twenties giving the background about the mass gathering. After he introduced the objective of the programme, he cordially called upon  the chief guest to inaugurate the campaign and air his his views pertaining to the atrocity women face at the hands of men in the family, neighbourhood and society. With a great pride on his head, Harka started to address the gathering. “Dear mothers, fathers, sisters, young and others present here, I feel immensely glad to be here with you. When I hear a husband thrashing his wife, it hurts me. When a youth in mid-twenties rapes a teenage girl, this breaks my heart. We hear the cases of violence escalating by the day. So, we an utmost duty to save our sisters and  druthers from the evil-minded people to establish a society that treats both man and woman with equality”,  the chief guest addressed. He continued, “Man and woman are two wheels of the same cart. If a cart goes dysfunctional, the cart can not move”. To run a family happily, a husband and wife have an equal role to play. Those who discriminate women, harass them, inflict physical and mental pain are subject to harsh punishment, Harka spoke energetically.

While Harka was delivering a speech, the mass was felt uneasy and disturbed owing to the show up of a team of police personnel in uniform. They were accompanied by a middle-aged man. The unanticipated presence of police personnel had sent a chill down Harka’s spine but he managed to have calmness outwardly. An Inspector accosted to the Chief Guest and took over the microphone from him. There was a pin drop silence. The mass could even feel the gust of air as it turned still.  None dared to react why their leader was being prevented from delivering speech. “We are here to arrest Harka Bahadur for his involvement for raping a 13-year-old girl at his neighbourhood”, the Inspector said. Meanwhile,  an irate man in his early thirties stood from his seat and challenged the Inspector to show the evidence before placing such a heinous accusation on his chief guest.

The Inspector furnished a report on the case. The report said: “It was the day of Maghe sankrati. Ila came home from the headquarters after her school was over. She was studying at grade VII at Himalayan Boarding. Her father had stayed at the headquarters-based rented apartment as he had workload at the District Administration Office where he worked as a clerk. Harka was heading home. On the way, he saw Ila playing at her home  courtyard at the dusk. The girl offered a cot to sit generously as she used to call him uncle. The darkness grew thicker. And he came to know that her mother had been to the filed to irrigate the wheat crops. Concluding that she would be late, Harka  took the minor under control with ill-intent. Scared, the teenage girl screamed. But, he pressed her mouth with his right hand and satiated his lust”.

By the time Inspector read out the incident, Harka’s body had begun to perspire. His body was trembling. Joining his hands, he pleaded that he was not guilty. The middle-aged man accompanying the police team bemoaned, “I am heartbroken as my daughter is struggling for her life at the district hospital due to profuse bleeding in her private part following the incident”. After the Inspector ordered, his subordinates nabbed Harka  before they handcuffed him. Soon after, men in uniform took the chief guest with them. Shell-shocked, everyone left the venue. A man was heard saying, “How fool we have been by a hypocrite?”