Passport to Rape

Passport to Rape: How a Notorious Politician Ensures His Victims Stay Mute

In a tale so twisted it sounds like it was cooked up by a soap opera writer on a bad day, Prajwal Revanna, 33, a member of the Indian parliament from Hassan constituency in Karnataka, allegedly recorded himself committing rape. Nearly 3,000 such clips have been circulated in Hassan and uploaded online. Yes, you read that right: 3,000. That's not a typo, it's a nightmare.

The victims range from his 68-year-old family cook to political workers, government officials, and basically anyone who worked for the extended Gowda clan. This clan is headed by Revanna’s grandfather, former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, who ran India for a brief period from June 1996 to April 1997. Imagine a family reunion at their house. Talk about awkward.

In a twist that would make any soap opera villain proud, Revanna’s father, H. D. Revanna, has also been arrested on charges of kidnapping and serial sexual assault. Seems like father and son have more in common than just their last names. The younger Revanna fled to Germany using his diplomatic passport faster than you can say "international scandal." Now, he's chilling in Europe while Indian officials scramble for Interpol’s help to drag him back for a good old-fashioned trial.

The worst part? The burden of Revanna’s perverted hobbies is being borne by his victims. Thanks to the viral circulation of the rape videos, these women’s identities have been exposed. In India’s agrarian and patriarchal society, being a rape survivor is a bigger social taboo than being the rapist. It’s a bit like being punished for having your lunch money stolen because, hey, you had lunch money in the first place.

Police, who seem to have misplaced their empathy manuals, are often unsympathetic to women reporting crimes. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2019, a rape happens every 16 minutes. That’s about the time it takes to make a cup of tea. Trials are a nightmare, with survivors subjected to humiliation and grilling that makes a police interrogation look like a friendly chat.

In a community where marrying off a daughter is considered an economic necessity, families go to great lengths to avoid the “stigma” of rape. It’s almost as if the system says, “Why report a crime when you can just quietly suffer?”

Revanna’s power stems from his grandfather Deve Gowda, who was Prime Minister for what felt like a blink of an eye but seems to have left a lasting legacy of enabling. Gowda has always been a “family first” kind of guy, finding important jobs for his sprawling clan. The systematic exploitation and abuse of women in Hassan predates Prajwal’s political career, turning the area into a veritable stronghold of silence and suffering.

Before a woman could even dial the police, the Gowda clan would get a heads-up and make sure her life turned into a real-life horror story. That's the main reason these women kept quiet. The family’s defense, which could make a stone weep, is that the videos are three to four years old. Apparently, in their twisted logic, crimes have an expiration date, like a carton of milk.

Yes, in India, you’ll be valued as a woman if you don’t complain. Stay silent, conform, and maybe you’ll get a medal and a photo op with some grinning political leader. But if you dare complain against powerful politicians, the entire establishment will rain down on you like a bad monsoon.

As Prajwal hides to ensure he’s not punished for his alleged serial abuses, his victims also have to hide their faces to maintain a facade of honor. Until victim-shaming and apologizing for alleged rapists changes, women in India will keep being abused and remaining silent. And that is no laughing matter.