19:05
Unknown
NEW DELHI: A popular Indian spiritual guru sparked a backlash Tuesday after saying a 23-year-old student could have averted a murderous gang-rape by begging for mercy from her attackers.
Self-styled godman Asharam, known to his followers as “Bapu” or father, told his devotees that blame for the assault on a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16 should not just rest with her attackers.
“This tragedy would not have happened if she had chanted God’s name and fallen at the feet of the attackers. The error was not committed by just one side,” he said in video footage which has been widely circulated on the Internet.
The 71-year-old’s remarks — the latest in a series of gaffes by public figures blaming women for the country’s rape epidemic — drew a chorus of condemnation. Ravi Shankar Prasad, spokesman for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the statement was “deeply disturbing and painful”.
Posted in: international
0 comments:
Post a Comment