Almost every news platform reported the mass-molestation in Bengaluru as an event that put the nation to shame. Yet, the tone was not of surprise, but that of resignation. Almost as if it as a mutual understanding of the fact that in our country, “these things happen”, as G Parameshwara put it. The cherry on top of this cake was when Abu Azmi, SP leader said “If there’s gasoline, there will be fire. If there’s spilt sugar, ants will gravitate towards it for sure.” He has made headlines before for implying that women should be punished for being raped.
In our country, it is popularly known that rape, molestation and other forms for sexual harassment cannot ever be the fault of the perpetrator.
Below lies a compilation of a whole lot of support that perpetrators of sexual crimes have got since the end of 2011, in honour of both Azmi and Parameshwara. This is, to nobody’s surprise, an endless list; Not all cases could be included —
Rape ke liye phaansi dena galat hain. Boys make mistakes. If we come into power we will change the law. Boys and girls fall in love, and later on when their friendship ends, the girl complains that she has been raped.
— Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP on Anti-rape law, April 10, 2014
Law cannot be changed for one man...It has been framed on the recommendations of some mentally-retarded people
— Ram Gopal Yadav on the post-Nirbhaya laws, March 15, 2013
Girls should be very careful about what they wear and what time they move around in the city. Their body language should not attract the attention of potential rapists lurking around in the streets
— Asha Mirje, NCP leader and Maharashtra Woman’s Commission Member, 29th January 2014.
No man will harass a woman until she looks at him in a suggestive manner
— Satyadev Katare, Congress leader in MP, April 24, 2013
Rape is mainly prevalent in urban ‘India’ due to western influence and such crimes against women do not happen in rural ‘Bharat’
—Mohan Bhagwat, RSS, Jan 08 2013
These pretty women, dented and painted, who come for protests are not students. I have seen them speak on television, usually women of this age are not students
— Abhijit Mukherjee, President’s son on the Nirbhaya Delhi protests, 27th December, 2012
Only 5-6 people are not the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her rapists… She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop… This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don’t think so
— Asaram Bapu, Spiritual leader, Jan 7, 2013 in reference to the Nirbhaya rape case
Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.
— Indian Penal Code
Women display their bodies and indulge in various obscene activities. Women are unaware of the kind of message [their actions] generate.
— Chair of the Chhattisgarh State Women Commission.
We should learn from the past, especially in the Mughal era, people used to marry their girls to save them from Mughal atrocities and currently a similar situation is arising in the state
— Om Prakash Chautala, October 11, 2012 after Congress president Sonia Gandhi came down heavily on the extra-judicial institutions.
If you can’t prevent rape, enjoy it
— Ranjit Sinha, CBI director, December 25, 2013 while advocating legalising betting in sports. He was asked why there was an increase in sexual harassment incidents in his constituency
