Guru's view on Indian rape raises anger, but shared by many
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - Comments by an Indian spiritual leader that a gang-rape victim shared blame for her assault disgusted many in a country shaken by the crime, but his view represents a deep streak of chauvinism shared by a broad swathe of a society in transition.
The 23-year-old physiotherapy student and a male companion were left bleeding on a highway after she was raped and beaten on a moving bus in New Delhi on Dec 16. She died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital from internal injuries.
"Guilt is not one-sided," the guru, Asaram Bapu, told followers this week, adding that if the student had pleaded with her six attackers in God's name, and told them she was of the"weaker sex", they would have relented.
Such views have caused outrage among India's growing urban middle class.
