Regarding The Observer feature published March 30 in The Japan Times under the headline " 'If girls look sexy, boys will rape': Do Indian men believe this?": It is a case of shame for the British that, even after exploiting India for 200 years by creating man-made famines, killing ruthlessly and destroying any uprising against its evil rule, they have engaged in a massive propaganda campaign against India for the past 60 years.
The coverage of the December rape and murder of a medical student in New Delhi demonstrates that British media are trying to prove that the culture and religion of India, coupled with complete indifference by police, judicial and civil authorities, have led to unchecked sexual assaults against women.
At the same time, British media ignore the defects in its own society. In the United Kingdom, according to the British Crime Survey, approximately 80,000 women are raped a year. Approximately one in 10 of these rapes is reported. There is a conviction rate of only 6.5 percent.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that in India just over a quarter of alleged rapists are convicted; in the United States, though, only 24 percent of alleged rapes result in an arrest, never mind a conviction.
According to The New York Times, almost one in five women has been raped in her lifetime and that 188,380 Americans were victims of sexual violence in 2010-11. In a study of "sexually coercive college males" titled "Acquaintance Rape: The Hidden Crime" (edited by Andrea Parrot), 43 percent of college-aged men admitted to using coercive behavior to have sex, including ignoring a woman's protest, using physical aggression and forcing intercourse.
British media so far have published at least 30 articles on the rape and murder in New Delhi.
Yet, in Britain, two women a week die at the hands of partners, many more are abused and tortured, but the events are hardly reported on, let alone protested against. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service dismisses innumerable rape cases after citing insufficient evidence. Judges sometimes throw out rape charges that could damage the careers of British soldiers.
British media conveniently ignore rape statistics in other countries to prove British racial superiority. Their coverage of the New Delhi case has turned into smug, self-righteous India bashing. The fact that Indian men and women came out in the thousands to protest against that crime is what defines the spirit of the country, which the British do not want to acknowledge.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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