Perhaps the current government has indeed been lax in its duty to its women, but can it be safely assumed that a Congress government which succeeds it will show a better track record? Have preceding Congress governments taken giant strides in this department? It is time tostop regarding such atavistic crimes as a handy source of political capital.

Chief Minister Shekhawat should not be asked to resign. He should, instead, be called to account. First, he should be asked to explain why the sathin scheme, which was making quite satisfactory progress and clearly benefitting society, was dismantled last year. Was it done because, as the government said, the women involved had already achieved satisfactory levels of empowerment, or because the scheme had empowered them enough to start asking uncomfortable questions of the administration? With reference to the case immediately at hand, Shekhawat should be asked to explain why one of the accused in the the gangrape case, a serving policeman, is still in uniform. The confidence with which the rapists went about their job betrays the fact that they are backed by people in power. And a threat of `elimination' usually implies the capacity to carry it out. Shekhawat needs to explain where the confidence and authority displayed by thesefour masked men derives from.

Ironically, thanks to Pokharan, Rajasthan must be the most scientifically advantaged state today. It is, in fact, in a serious state of scientific temper. It is the testing ground of India's technological prowess. But it also heads the list of the very small number of Indian states which fail the basic tests of civilisation. Even today, despite the substantial initiatives of the past, it remains an area of darkness. Female infanticide and foeticide are still socially acceptable here. Very recently, a Rajasthani village celebrated the first wedding of a girl in more than a century. Girl-children still do not have equal access to education. Child marriages remain acceptable. The state administration has to wake up to the fact that unless it allows social change by permitting women to strive for equal status, it runs the risk of being stuck with a massive human capital problem. In the future, India's strength will be a large pool of skilled manpower -- half of which will consistof women. Any state which seeks to prevent its development is going to be caught in an economic backwater. By failing to secure a future for its women, Rajasthan is compromising its own future.