Last week, I went to my local kirana store and bought a bottle of ‘acid’.
You know the kind of store I mean -- one those neighbourhood shops that stocks everything from
groceries to greens, to cheap Made-in-China toys, to household germ killers.
I wanted acid
to clean my bathroom. So the friendly shopkeeper called out to his assistant: “Hey,
get that bottle of ‘acid’, will you.”
“Do I need to
wear gloves or any protective clothing,” I asked.
“No, you can
either use it as is, or dilute it,” he replied.
The
shopkeeper did not ask me for either age-proof or id. The other patrons around
me saw nothing amiss, either. They went about their purchases.
So for just
Rs 60, I gingerly carried a bottle of ‘acid’ home.
Life went on
as usual.
But should it? Shouldn't we all be more concerned that acid can be bought so easily? Did you know that the Supreme Court has laid down a number of guidelines against such sale or purchase of acid, in order to prevent acid attacks?
For instance,
the SC has stated that:
● Over the counter sale of acid is completely
prohibited unless the seller maintains a log/register recording the sale of
acid which will contain the details of the person(s) to whom acid(s) is/are
sold and the quantity sold. the log/register shall contain the address of the
person to whom it is sold.
● All sellers shall sell acid only after the buyer
has shown:A photo ID issued by the Government which also has the address of the
person.
● Specifies the reason/purpose for procuring
acid.
● All stocks of acid must be declared by the
seller with the concerned sub-Divisional • Magistrate (sDM) within 15 days.
● No acid shall be sold to any person who is
below 18 years of age.
Source: http://ncrb.gov.in/NCRB_Journal/NCRB_Journal_October_2018.pdf
The actor has been lauded for her role as acid attack survivor Malti. In the run-up to the movie’s release, Padukone was present at a protest in Jawaharlal Nehru University. Some on social media hailed her a ‘shero’; others spewed vitriol calling her ‘anti-national’. Padukone, a co-producer of Chhapaak through her new company Ka Productions, has been undeterred. She has actively promoted the movie across social networking platforms. There have been missteps. For instance, on TikTok, the actor challenged a makeup artiste to recreate her favourite ‘looks’ from three movies -- Om Shanti Om, Piku and Chhapaak. Viewers (and I agree) pointed out that labelling her Chhapaak portrayal a ‘look’ trivialises the message of the movie.
But Padukone and team have done other things right. In a ‘social experiment’ (their words, not mine), they proved what I recently discovered -- that acid is still freely available for sale. They sent actors as various characters -- a drunk, a housewife, a husband, etc -- across Mumbai to “buy the strongest acid possible”. The ‘actors’ bought 24 bottles of acid, just like that.
Watch the
video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=327&v=knAo0t0bSUA&feature=emb_logo
In my case, I went to the store as myself, lugging my yoga mat along (I had just finished my evening yoga class). The bottle I bought for just Rs 60 is being sold as a ‘toilet cleaner’. But it also bears the words HCL. HCL is hydrochloric acid (and in gaseous form, a highly toxic gas, hydrogen chloride). HCL is described here https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Hydrochloric-acid as a “highly corrosive liquid”.
Apathy and agony
I am
disturbed that I got hold of acid so easily and that everyone around me
appeared oblivious and apathetic to what I did. Why is it important that we
care? Because an acid attack does not just burn away the skin, eyes, mouth,
hair and clothes, or even, melt internal organs. Because it affects not just
the intended victim, but also her family (the majority of those attacked are
women, no surprises there). Because the survivor has to then, wait years for
justice -- Laxmi was attacked with acid in 2005. The SC judgement banning the
OTC sale of acid (among others) came only in 2013.
But what is truly remarkable is that the acid cannot destroy the indomitable human spirit. Bright, beautiful and inspiring Laxmi Agarwal is herself living proof.
Listen to her
talk at TEDx Jaipur to understand what I mean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fq0YvfluN4
And as I carried that bottle of ‘acid’ home, I found myself thinking that Rs 60 is the cost of a human life in our country.
(I wrote this in January and an edited version was published as an opinion piece in Deccan Herald on Jan 23, 2020)
https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/here-s-why-acid-attacks-still-continue-to-destroy-lives-797435.html
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