At first glance, it seems like only six savages are responsible for the horrific rape, brutal assault and tragic death of the 23-year-old Delhi rape victim who passed away a few hours back at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

But the young girl’s killers go beyond the six beasts.

Six Savages

Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay and Raju are the six animals that raped and violently snuffed out an innocent life.

* Ram Singh is a bus driver and was arrested in Rajasthan

* Mukesh Singh (brother of Ram Singh) was also arrested in Rajasthan

* Vinay Sharma is an assistant gym instructor. Sharma was arrested in Delhi

* Pawan Gupta is a fruit seller in Delhi

* Akshay Thakur is a Bihari who had gone to Delhi looking for work. Thakur was caught in Aurangabad in Bihar

* Raju is a minor who was nabbed in Budaun, Uttar Pradesh

Confessions

Mukesh Singh Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma have already confessed to the monstrous crime.

Given the outrage and strong public reaction, the killers will most likely receive the death sentence or be encountered (non-judicial police killings) by the police.

Why Did the Rape Happen?

First, the rape was an opportunity crime. A gang of savages happened to come across the rape victim and her boyfriend at a Delhi bus stop. Once the victim and her friend boarded the bus, the six beasts feasted on the opportunity by savagely beating the two and raping the girl.

Second, the Delhi police is notoriously corrupt and incompetent. A carpenter Ramadhar had been robbed by the six beasts just before the rape. But the police failed to act promptly on the robbery leading to the horrific rape a little later.

Third, Indians by and large have little respect for the law. Rich people like Salman Khan blatantly flout the law and get away with murder. When the rest of India sees the wealthy getting away with murder they too develop little respect for the law in hopes that a bribe here and there will let them get away scot-free from any crime, however horrific.

Fourth, Indian society is in great turmoil. The fruits of economic development have touched and benefited only a small minority, leaving behind vast sections of the country to struggle for survival. The left-behind section of people is struggling desperately, embittered immensely and filled with wild rage that sometimes turns them to horrific crimes. A society without equitable development is doomed to the law of the jungle.

Finally, the Indian government headed by the dotard Manmohan Singh is highly corrupt and impotent. Singh’s government cares little about the common man, squandering its time on pocketing millions of dollars in kickbacks via shady telecom, sports etc deals. Corruption has intensified and the rot has seeped through the entire system providing a fertile and putrid environment for all kinds of despicable crimes to happen.

Bottom line, the six savages were the rapists and killers but the corrupt, inequitable and venal Indian society are no less culpable in the poor victim’s death.

As we’ve explained above, behind these six savages stand countless other Indian savages in purdah.

The six beasts are merely the visible faces of the young girl’s killers.

What About Other Indian Victims?

So much attention has been focused on the Delhi rape victim.

Certainly her death is a tragedy but everyday hundreds of poor Indian souls kill themselves and countless others die due to poverty, malnutrition and hunger.

But nobody raises a hue and cry over these deaths, particularly those that happen in the rural hinterlands of the vast country.

Tens of thousands of indebted farmers have killed themselves in the last few years because of their dire economic plight.

Yet urban India cares not a fig for the plight of the rural folks.

Urban India (read middle class, upwardly mobile, educated Indians) are protesting the rape and death of the young Delhi girl because they fear what happened to the Delhi rape victim could happen to them tomorrow. It’s pure self-interest that drives these students and young women and men to come to the street.

Lost in the din over the Delhi rape victim’s tragedy are the heart-rending cries of thousands of other equally deserving Indian victims whose lives were mercilessly, needlessly cut short.