Indians shout anti-government slogans as they take part in a protest in New Delhi on December 30, 2012 after the cremation ceremony for a gang-rape victim. — AFP Photo/File
NEW DELHI: Indian media are reporting that a Swiss tourist was gang-raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh and that 13 men are being questioned.
Local police superintendent C S Solanki told the Press Trust of India that the woman and her husband had camped out for the night in a forest after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha on Friday when they were attacked by a group of eight men.
He said the couple were beaten and had their belongings stolen, and that the woman was gang-raped.
Solanki said police were questioning 13 men in connection with the attack.
India has seen outrage and protests against rape and attacks on women since the fatal gang-rape of a young woman in a moving bus in New Delhi in December.
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On DawnNews
Comments (48) Closed
Mehboob Ahmed
Mar 16, 2013 11:09am
it happens only in India,
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IBN-E-ASHFAQUE
Mar 16, 2013 01:16pm
The nakedness shown in Bollywood movies day in and day out to Indian youth coupled with wide availability of alchohol will lead to this and more.
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Fuzail Z. Ahmad
Mar 16, 2013 01:22pm
This is a very sad episode. I wonder what Dawn's Indian readers will comment against Pakistan here. A shameful incidence is shameful no matter where it happens - in India or Pakistan. We need to study this and other animal like behaviors for the causes.
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Raja
Mar 16, 2013 02:23pm
India should pass law to cut these animal rapists' ....... that will be a lesson for others who dare to commit rapes.
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G.A.
Mar 16, 2013 02:29pm
Hollywood shows a lot more nudity than Bollywood. By your logic there should be more frequent gang rapes in the U.S. Could it be the strict law and upbringing that prevents these acts?
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karachiite
Mar 16, 2013 02:31pm
hats off to Bollywood.. obsessed with the west, the are making their society more adaptive to voilence, vulgarity and obscenity under the garb of liberalism and modernization.. sadly, very few Indian movies are watchable these days..
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Janjuah
Mar 16, 2013 02:33pm
India is a growing economy and the people of India instead of being proud of this, are becoming arrogant mixed withbollywood touch ....copying completely the west while they remember that theyhave not even reached the east Europe yet and there is long way to go... besides the moral and religious values should not be forgotten otherwise they will be a rich nation but not a great nation......
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Marvin (Edmonton, Canada)
Mar 16, 2013 02:59pm
'Beyond the issue of sex in films, we need to discuss what is behind this violent impulse to harm others in our society. It's not just mental illness. It's not just sexual needs. Our family unit has collapsed. Entitlement along with the desire for immediate pleasure has made it difficult for people to understand how to sacrifice, how to perform their duties, how to deal with daily regrets, difficulties, and issues. Because our kids/youth are not receiving moral direction at home, they fail to apply moral concepts in their lives. They fail in their duties. So, they harm others as they try to profess their grievances. We must address this as a society.''
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indie
Mar 16, 2013 03:02pm
Falling men-women ratio is the chief reason for such crimes which are most prevalent in northern India. Its a national shame. And modern Indian women's emancipation and grand success in every sphere of life like in education, career etc etc does not go down well with frustrated failure cases among men. India is at crossroads today because women are getting better than men day by day and there is a gradual shift of power in the once-patriarchal family system. Women are now chief decision makers even at grass roots level and chief bread earners. The traditional joint family system has fallen apart with nuclear families substituting the past way of life where the head of the family was always a man. Divorce is happening like never before, because until late 1990s, divorce was most rarest like under 5% or so among Hindus. Now its reported to have ballooned upto 30% in Delhi and Mumbai. Indian society needs time for adjustment for this dynamic rate of change in the society unforttely none has the time to pause and ponder. Indian men will have to come to terms with the fact that Indian women are smart and independent and strong and probably better than them.
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A Canadian
Mar 16, 2013 03:15pm
On part of tourists, it is very important that they should research before going on such activities. Recent gang rape of a Delhi student was an enough eye opener that how sick our society has become.
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Ravi Ingale from University of Pune..
Mar 16, 2013 03:18pm
Its nothing new in India. Some people in India are shameless, sex sick and manner less most of the Northern Region. Women can't go outside without her male relative. If so then she sexually abused. Because such sex sick people are available at everycorner of small and backword town of India. New Delhi is exception because here 98% people are migrant. If New Delhi would be the Capital of some Modern state like Maharashtra, Gujrat or Karnataka then such cases in New Delhi had never happened.
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raza
Mar 16, 2013 04:59pm
yet the tourists flock to India ! i wonder why
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Awaz
Mar 16, 2013 05:16pm
They cant they are hiding their heads in shame!
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majid canada
Mar 16, 2013 05:17pm
t dont see comments from indians here because they have no reason to blame pakistan for this inhuman episode.
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Ummer Khan
Mar 16, 2013 05:33pm
What on earth is wrong with these people? Is there no humanity left in them? These animals!!
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Julie C
Mar 16, 2013 05:38pm
Camping out, at night, in a forest spells trouble in any part of the world .. unless you are on a 'proper camping ground'. The couple exercised poor judgment.
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Amazed
Mar 16, 2013 06:01pm
A woman should be treasured and honoured. A man has to rape his soul before raping a woman. Indian brothers you should have a deep soul search, there is something terribly wrong going in your society.
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motiram lalwani
Mar 16, 2013 07:03pm
i 100% agree with Fuzail Z.Ahmad that this is indeed a sad regretable incidence. I and my friends in USA from Indian sub-continent urge both the State Government and the Central Government to show the swift judgement by not only giving quick judgementi but also making sure that no repetition takes place. I believe to reduce if not totally stop such future occurrences the Government should introduce and implement very very strict laws , besides installing cctvs , making easy accessible phones (just like usa where you dial 911 and within minutes the police ,fire-fighters and first-aid ambulatory appears to control the happening) and guiding women how to protect themselves. The guiding councilors should organize,coach and give advice to the villagers aswellas urban citizens as to how to stop hooliganism and miscreants.
Finally we pray for the victim and her family for this regretable occurrence in the asian sub-continent whose civilization goes back to thousands of years and where the respect for the visitors is regarded with love and affection.
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Rohit
Mar 16, 2013 07:12pm
Luckily India is at least not plagued by forced conversions which are also backed by the judiciary
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asif
Mar 16, 2013 07:32pm
The country with a the highest incidence of rape and molestation is Egypt. They don't make Bollywood movies there.
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Salman Saifi
Mar 16, 2013 07:49pm
India!!!! women were never your wanted ones. so your sons rape them. but did you tell them how you are also a she???? or are you shy or scared to let their hell leashed onto you as well??Mother India???
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Uzair
Mar 16, 2013 07:52pm
I am hopefull to hear some thing from the indian readers who typically jump on every anti Pakistani news. Probably few of them will come out of the closet to explain the chronic sickness in their society that leads to these types of incidents.
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raja hindustani
Mar 16, 2013 08:23pm
shameful....!!! where r we going...???
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Sanatan Dharma
Mar 16, 2013 08:59pm
Google "Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Shankara Bhashya translated by Swami Madhavananda (1950)". It is available for free online reading on the Internet Archive. Now go to page 935 and read the verse 7 of the Hindu religious scripture Brhadarankyaka Upanishad. This verse advises you what to do when a ask a woman to sleep with you and she refuses: "If she is not willing, he should buy her over; and if she is still unyielding, he should strike her with a stick or with the hand and proceed, uttering the following Mantra, 'I take away your reputation
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biased
Mar 16, 2013 11:20pm
more Nakedness shown in Hollywood too and alcohol also available in USA too..and where these things are not available like Pakistan.. rape happens in Pakistan too...rape happens everywhere.. but in some holy-lands, victim treated as criminal due to some laws like (Hudood Ordinance or sharia law) so lot of rapes go unreported.
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azi
Mar 16, 2013 11:26pm
This must Raise a lot of eye brows for the INDIA lovers in the WEST specially in the US where every body is simply dying to tour India like a pilgrimage, hey guys watch out the Indian society is so open there is no security for women folks regardless they are their own or some innocent tourist...it is a shame, looks like the entire Indian society has gone wanton and promiscuous!!
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Rohit
Mar 16, 2013 11:29pm
Instead of admitting that we south asians have a sick mentality, we just love to blame it on movies, western influence, erosion of religion, or 'invitation' by the victim.
The fact is that there is more nudity in western movies, more vulgar songs there, yet it is the south asians who top in crime against women.
Most people will blame bollywood or the fact that the couple were camping in a remote forest. No one will blame the male-dominated mentality of our people... even people who don't watch movies or claim to be very religious love to rape women on one pretext or the other... I am so ashamed of my south-asian race...
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Wasim Kayani
Mar 17, 2013 12:02am
This is true ""SHINNING INDIA", so please no comments
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abbastoronto
Mar 17, 2013 01:10am
I always felt the same as you.
After I read your comment I went back to the oldies of the 1950s and 1960s where women were fully clad to see if nudity was a factor.
Dancing women trying to tantalize men gave only one message
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anonymous indian
Mar 17, 2013 02:13am
The problem is foreign tourists thinks they are hiking in switzerland or sweden. The fact is countries in south asia are generally not safe for women.
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Reflector
Mar 17, 2013 04:06am
At least in India one doesn't need 4 male witnesses to prove it's rape.
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TamzaKilam
Mar 17, 2013 04:26am
So sorry to see the incredible India bubble popping. It was just too much to expect of such a society. Perhaps worse than the terrorist attacks in Pakistan one might say. No. BOTH are shameful; get your act together 'sub-continent'. I just wonder if the 'sub' refers to sub-civilized.
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May Hoon Na
Mar 17, 2013 05:36am
InshAllah
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IndianTruthSayer
Mar 17, 2013 11:46am
Did not happen. This is just a Swiss Consipracy Theory.
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Ahmed
Mar 17, 2013 12:15pm
Instead of just reporting these incidents we need to study the causes of these inhumane incidents.
When we believe that human beings are no better than animals and forget their spiritual development this is bound to be the result.
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Akil Akhtar
Mar 17, 2013 12:42pm
They will not come and comment on this one.
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ohhhhhh
Mar 17, 2013 04:26pm
I think you have bad experience in India
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Deepak
Mar 17, 2013 04:46pm
I can understand the pain of Pakistan that no one want to visit them. So sad.
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Deepak
Mar 17, 2013 04:48pm
Your comment is as true that all people of Pakistan are terrorists.
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Xeroxus
Mar 17, 2013 06:15pm
In some countries such events are not reported or registered
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anonymous indian
Mar 17, 2013 06:22pm
Uzair,
This chronic sickness is there in Pakistani society as well.infact it is prevalant in all patriarchal societies.The difference is that in India we have begun talking about it in open. This is the first step towards tackling It.you must worry more since your society has not even begun acknowledging this problem.
Research a little bit about how many women in your society are attacked with acid before you point a finger towards India. Do you even talk about it?
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indian
Mar 17, 2013 07:12pm
Uzair,
atleast we are acknowledging and bringing in tough laws on sexual crimes that will include stalking as a non-bailable offence.
You need to ask yourself what your people have done about ridiculous laws like the Hudood laws that need 4 eyewitnesses to prove rape. Do you think any woman can produce 4 witnesses to her rape? Infact these laws in your country encourage rape while discouraging women to not acknowledge it. If you do not acknowledge the existence of rape how do you intend to tackle it?
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Ravi
Mar 17, 2013 08:24pm
Seriously, Dawn , why is this story open for comments ? Are you going The Times of India way ,which will use anything,just anything,to make money ? I am quite disappointed.
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alison
Mar 17, 2013 08:56pm
my message to tourists thinking of going to india is dont bother,the men there have serious issues there with females ,similiar to egypt,with publicity like this these 2 countires will see there tourist industry go down the plughole
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Akil AKhtar
Mar 17, 2013 10:48pm
The bland western societies are interested by the cultural aspects which are missing in their own materialistic lifes, thats the only reason. They don't visit it because it is cleaner or developed or more beautiful....
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avid_supporter
Mar 18, 2013 05:40am
LOL...I agree.
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avid_supporter
Mar 18, 2013 05:40am
I doubt that they will.....They will however give a 'thumbs down' to your comment here :)
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Fuzail Z. Ahmad
Mar 18, 2013 09:36am
I am delighted to see many sane comments from our Indian friends. As for the other Indians who post hate messages against Pakistan on Dawn, please grow up. There is an abundance of hate-India club in Pakistan too but they generally do it retaliation of your hate posts. For all other Indians who are curious about Hadood Ordinance, you are right. It is a despicable law and please believe it that most Pakistanis are against it. It is just that the fanatics may be a small percentage of our population, but they are terrorists, the bane of our country. Producing 4 witnesses is a stipulation and has a short life remaining till the right leaning party comes to power again. And yes, the terrorists are our own creation and we are trying to fix the menace and could use Indian support as well. But Indian blaming Pakistani state actors is just not fair.
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