On the night of 4 September, I returned from a candlelight march and was surfing various TV channels. I felt that the furore in Kolkata was on an increase. Nearly a month has elapsed since the heinous crime at R G Kar Hospital took place. Because of the delay in identifying the criminals and making public the circumstances under which the crime was committed, common people in greater numbers are taking to the streets demanding justice.

While the incident is a matter of shame for those of us who live in Kolkata, it is a matter of pride that we continue to protest against the crime in larger numbers. On 24 August, over 200 persons engaged in science their ages ranging from about 25 to over 80 – marched on the streets silently holding banners and placards. At the end of the march, some journalists asked me to say something about our protest march. This is what I said. “We have come out on our own volition to protest against the degradation of our society. The horrible incident that took place in the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital is an outcome of this degradation.

The incident is neither the beginning nor it is expected to be the end. Therefore, what we are demanding is a complete overhaul of our society so that such incidents do not happen. And when these incidents happen, the perpetrators of the crime should be nabbed rapidly and should be punished appropriately. That’s our demand. And until our demand is met, we will continue our agitation and our march through the streets of Kolkata.” The protest must go on. Even though some individuals have been arrested, the allegations against them are primarily of financial impropriety. Some powerful persons in some medical colleges have been transferred or asked to step down.

The power that they amassed over the last few years, mostly with overt support of the State government, is a correlate of the circumstances that led to the crime. However, our demand is to arrest those who were directly involved in the crime committed on August 9, and to punish them. That will be the proper delivery of justice. The current arrests, transfers and removal from positions, are important for cleansing, but can also defocus us from our demand; we have to be careful. Indeed, we need a complete overhaul of our society. Readers will recall that a few days ago AMMA, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, died. Just 10 days after the R.G. Kar Hospital incident, the Justice Hema Committee report resulted in shock waves. Sexual misconduct, including rape, was reported to be common in the Malayalam movie industry. Violence on women by men is common in our society.

This is not due simply to men being physically more powerful than women. As societies evolved from hunting and gathering to organized agriculture, division of labour became gender-based. This in turn resulted in male dominance because many tasks performed by men were considered to be of greater social value. Patriarchy became the rule rather than the exception. Male dominance has become a social evil. Many men now exhibit aggressive behaviour and oppress women. That’s the root of the heinous crime in the R.G. Kar Hospital. To add to this, other forms of malady have invaded our society. Corruption has become ingrained in us. Politicians of all shades have institutionalized corruption. You can’t walk on the streets of Kolkata because hawkers have invaded sidewalks.

Every week the hawkers are paying money to local politicians so that no one can evict them. Sometimes, the Chief Minister gets annoyed with hawkers, as we recently witnessed in the New Town area of Kolkata. Hawkers are then “rehabilitated,” but they are back in their original places soon. Not many years ago, you could see traffic policemen taking money from truck drivers at various junctions. You don’t see this today. Because the system of taking money has apparently been “perfected” using tokens of various sorts. You can’t complain because men in power are involved. Even if you see a crime taking place in front of your eyes, you cannot tell a nearby policeman on duty; he will turn away his eyes until he receives a green signal from an “authority” to take cognizance of the crime.

I as a teacher don’t teach in the classroom, and force students to come to my tutorial home to learn, by paying a handsome amount, what they should have learnt in their school or college had I taken my classes there. I can go on and on, but all readers would know my examples and more. Power leads to corruption. And, as Martin Luther King has said, “Power is the great aphrodisiac.” The overall social degradation needs to be stopped. However, degradation resulting from patriarchy cannot be stopped by promulgation of laws or by providing exemplary punishment to a few. Education to teach the evils of patriarchy needs to be seriously undertaken in homes, schools, colleges and workplaces.

It is not easy. It is going to take time. However, it is important to initiate appropriate education; sooner than later. Meanwhile, we need to be vigilant against crimes against women and demand justice relentlessly. In the criminal act that took place in the R.G. Kar Hospital, we must not let ourselves become defocused and must continue to protest until our demand for punishment of the criminals is met.

(The writer is National Science Chair, Government of India and Distinguished Professor, John C. Martin Centre for Liver Research & Innovations.)