'She's as guilty as her rapists': Fury as Indian guru blames victim for vicious gang attack

Daily Mail ^ | 01/07/2013 | HUGO GYE and SUZANNAH HILLS

[SeekAndFind]

A self-described 'spiritual guru' has sparked outrage in India after saying that the 23-year-old rape victim who died after being assaulted by six men was partly responsible for her own attack.

Asaram Bapu said that Jyoti Singh Pandey, whose fate has drawn the sympathy of the world and been treated as a national tragedy within India, was 'as guilty as her rapists'.

He added that she should have been more friendly to her attackers if she wanted to preserve her own life.

Politicians and web users have reacted with fury to the 71-year-old guru's comments.

Asaram Bapu's controversial intervention in the case comes on the day that five of Jyoti's six alleged attackers appeared in court to face charges of murder, rape and abduction.

A judge ordered that the courtroom should be closed to the public after more than 150 people tried to cram in to a room designed for around 30 during the suspects' initial hearing.

'Only five to six people are not the culprits,' Asaram Bapu said. 'The victim is as guilty as her rapists. 'She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop.'

He added: 'This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don't think so.'

Leading political figures were quick to condemn the inflammatory comments, which one opposition politician called 'regrettable, deeply disturbing and painful'.

Sandeep Dikshit, from the ruling Congress party, said, 'Such comments should be condemned as much as possible,' while his colleague Rashid Alvi added that religious figures should 'give serious thought' before commenting on public affairs.

[ravager]

“I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.”

“But I believe that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment. Forgiveness adorns a soldier...But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish; it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature....”

“I have been repeating over and over again that he who cannot protect himself or his nearest and dearest or their honour by non-violently facing death may and ought to do so by violently dealing with the oppressor. He who can do neither of the two is a burden. He has no business to be the head of a family. He must either hide himself, or must rest content to live for ever in helplessness and be prepared to crawl like a worm at the bidding of a bully.”

--By Gandhi

More here..........

http://www.mkgandhi.org/nonviolence/phil8.htm

[coldphoenix]

haha, well said!

[definitelynotaliberal]

Good to know, and I’m surprised. Thank you for sending it.

[SunkenCiv]

This “guru” really should have been made to go get a job.

The appropriate response to his stupidity here would be if muzzies stormed in and made a video of his beheading. I would laugh, and laugh, and laugh. But in the nicest possible way.

Thanks SeekAndFind.